Round 2 · 2012

Sepang International Circuit

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia · March 25, 2012 · Circuit History · Wikipedia

Kings of this circuit
The race, in perspective

Race debrief

What did we expect after qualifying—and who beat it?

R022012
Share this debrief
Preview share card ↗
24 stored results 24/24 Elo snapshots 24/24 numbered grid slots 0/24 qualifying results
Elo × qualifying → race result

Did they beat the expectation?

A strong driver recovering from a poor qualifying position isn't automatically a surprise. This model estimates a finish from both inputs, then compares it with what happened.

Experimental · v1

Expected finish assumes a classified finish. DNFs stay in the full grid but receive no performance verdict. Qualifying is not the starting grid; grid differences are flagged, not silently substituted.

Fit on 489 earlier finishes across 32 races, 2002–2011. No results from this race enter its expectation.

0/24 entrants have an estimate. Missing Elo or qualifying stays visible below; a grid position is not used as a qualifying result.

Top 3

Beat the estimate

No comparable estimates available for this race yet.

Flop 3

Below the estimate

No comparable estimates available for this race yet.

0/24 entrants assessed. Up to three per side, ranked by expected minus actual finish. DNFs, missing estimates and gaps rounding to 0.0 are excluded. “Flop” means below the model's estimate—not poor driving. A ranked gap can still be inside the usual error range.

Full grid: pre-race Elo rank, qualifying position, estimated finish, actual result and difference from expectation. Positive differences mean finishing ahead of the estimate.
DriverPre-race EloQualifyingExpectedResultP1 ← position → P24vs expectedReading
F. AlonsoFerrari #32510 No error range P1 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
S. PérezSauber #102140 No error range P2 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
L. HamiltonMcLaren #52345 No error range P3 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
M. WebberRed Bull #42490 No error range P4 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
K. RäikkönenLotus F1 #62288 No error range P5 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
B. SennaWilliams #172007 No error range P6 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
P. di RestaForce India #92206 No error range P7 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. VergneToro Rosso #152030 No error range P8 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
N. HülkenbergForce India #132069 No error range P9 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
M. SchumacherMercedes #122100 No error range P10 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
S. VettelRed Bull #12534 No error range P11 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
D. RicciardoToro Rosso #211930 No error range P12 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
N. RosbergMercedes #72268 No error range P13 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. ButtonMcLaren #22511 No error range P14 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
F. MassaFerrari #82242 No error range P15 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
V. PetrovCaterham #142064 No error range P16 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
T. GlockMarussia #231856 No error range P17 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
H. KovalainenCaterham #201965 No error range P18 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
P. MaldonadoWilliams #191970 No error range DNFEngine Not assessedQualifying unavailable
C. PicMarussia #182006 No error range P20 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
N. KarthikeyanHRT #241833 No error range P21 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
P. de la RosaHRT #162021 No error range P22 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
K. KobayashiSauber #112133 No error range DNFRetired Not assessedQualifying unavailable
R. GrosjeanLotus F1 #221895 No error range DNFCollision Not assessedQualifying unavailable
How useful is the model? See the historical check

Average absolute error on 489 classified finishes in 32 earlier races within the last ten years. Each race was held out and predicted using only older races; all three models use the same samples.

Elo + qualifying
2.51places
Qualifying only
2.61places
Elo only
3.00places

The range scales the 80th percentile of earlier held-out absolute errors to this field size, rounding outward. It is an empirical error guide, not a guaranteed 80% chance for a particular driver. We require at least five checked races and 100 checked finishes before showing it.

Inputs are field-normalised Elo rank and qualifying position. The target is position among all race entries, trained only on classified finishers. Estimates are averages, not a unique predicted finishing order. Penalties, the circuit, weather, incidents and strategy aren't model inputs. Historical qualifying coverage is patchy; this is an exploratory backtest on corrected records, not proof of live forecasting accuracy.

The rating ledger

What changed in Elo?

These are actual rating changes. The expectation model above does not change Elo or fantasy scoring.

Largest Elo gain

Pérez+61.6 Elo

Largest grid-to-finish gain

Vergne+10 places

The bigger picture

Championship after this round

Top five in the stored standings. Points include sprint results where applicable.

  1. 1 Alonso 35pts +4
  2. 2 Hamilton 30pts +1
  3. 3 Button 25pts −2
  4. 4 Webber 24pts 0
  5. 5 Pérez 22pts +3

Movement since round 1. A dash means the earlier standing is unavailable.

Explore the season →
Across the garage

Teammate results

Two-driver constructor entries from this race. A result comparison, not an adjustment for strategy or reliability.

What this analysis can—and cannot—tell you

This debrief is calculated from stored results and rating snapshots. The experimental expectation model learns from earlier races only, using Elo rank and qualifying together; it never feeds back into Elo. It is not a separately reviewed race report.

Elo uses the result order, including retirements. It does not isolate driver skill from the car, reliability, penalties or strategy. Elo seed comparisons use pre-race ratings, never today's ratings. Equal ratings share the midpoint of their rank range (for example, tied first and second become seed 1.5).

Grid gains use numbered starting slots and classified finishes only. Zero or missing grid values are excluded; a position gained is not necessarily an overtake. Qualifying gaps use the latest segment both teammates have a valid time for, never Q1 against Q3.

Lap-by-lap pace, tyre stints, pit-stop execution and safety-car effects are not available in this report. Missing data is omitted, not inferred.

Read the Elo methodology →
24
Result Entries
Avg Elo
Highest Elo (Alonso)
3
Non-finishes

Race

Qualifying

# Driver Grid +/- Points Season Pts Season # Elo Change Elo
P1 🇪🇸 F.Alonso 8 +7 +25 35 P1 +20.3 2,530
P2 🇲🇽 S.Pérez 9 +7 +18 22 P5 +61.6 2,202
P3 🇬🇧 L.Hamilton 1 -2 +15 30 P2 +26.0 2,371
P4 🇦🇺 M.Webber 4 +12 24 P4 +4.1 2,494
P5 🇫🇮 K.Räikkönen 10 +5 +10 16 P7 +21.6 2,310
P6 🇧🇷 B.Senna 13 +7 +8 8 P8 +58.7 2,065
P7 🇬🇧 P.di Resta 14 +7 +6 7 P10 +21.4 2,227
P8 🇫🇷 J.Vergne 18 +10 +4 4 P11 +43.1 2,073
P9 🇩🇪 N.Hülkenberg 16 +7 +2 2 P13 +31.0 2,100
P10 🇩🇪 M.Schumacher 3 -7 +1 1 P14 +19.9 2,120
P11 🇩🇪 S.Vettel 5 -6 0 18 P6 -41.9 2,493
P12 🇦🇺 D.Ricciardo 15 +3 0 2 P12 +34.1 1,964
P13 🇩🇪 N.Rosberg 7 -6 0 0 P15 -23.6 2,244
P14 🇬🇧 J.Button 2 -12 0 25 P3 -57.9 2,453
P15 🇧🇷 F.Massa 12 -3 0 0 P19 -31.9 2,210
P16 🇷🇺 V.Petrov 19 +3 0 0 P20 -10.3 2,054
P17 🇩🇪 T.Glock 20 +3 0 0 P17 +13.7 1,870
P18 🇫🇮 H.Kovalainen 24 +6 0 0 P21 -7.1 1,958
DNF 🇻🇪 P.Maldonado 11 0 0 P16 -13.8 1,956
P20 🇫🇷 C.Pic 21 +1 0 0 P18 -25.3 1,981
P21 🇮🇳 N.Karthikeyan 23 +2 0 0 P22 -7.5 1,825
P22 🇪🇸 P.de la Rosa 22 0 0 P23 -39.7 1,982
DNF 🇯🇵 K.Kobayashi 17 0 8 P9 -63.4 2,070
DNF 🇫🇷 R.Grosjean 6 0 0 P24 -33.2 1,861

Qualifying results are not available for this race.

Elo Changes