Round 4 · 2014

Shanghai International Circuit

Shanghai, China · April 20, 2014 · Circuit History · Wikipedia

Kings of this circuit
The race, in perspective

Race debrief

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

R042014
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22 stored results 22/22 Elo snapshots 22/22 numbered grid slots 0/22 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 577 earlier finishes across 35 races, 2004–2013. No results from this race enter its expectation.

0/22 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.

0/22 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 → P22vs expectedReading
L. HamiltonMercedes #42358 No error range P1 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
N. RosbergMercedes #22453 No error range P2 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
F. AlonsoFerrari #32443 No error range P3 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
D. RicciardoRed Bull #122104 No error range P4 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
S. VettelRed Bull #12516 No error range P5 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
N. HülkenbergForce India #52296 No error range P6 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
V. BottasWilliams #112147 No error range P7 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
K. RäikkönenFerrari #62262 No error range P8 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
S. PérezForce India #92217 No error range P9 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
D. KvyatToro Rosso #132090 No error range P10 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. ButtonMcLaren #72254 No error range P11 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. VergneToro Rosso #191995 No error range P12 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
K. MagnussenMcLaren #152081 No error range P13 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
P. MaldonadoLotus F1 #172003 No error range P14 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
F. MassaWilliams #82245 No error range P15 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
E. GutiérrezSauber #162035 No error range P16 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. BianchiMarussia #221896 No error range P17 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
K. KobayashiCaterham #142090 No error range P18 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
M. ChiltonMarussia #211931 No error range P19 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
M. EricssonCaterham #201971 No error range P20 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
R. GrosjeanLotus F1 #102197 No error range DNFGearbox Not assessedQualifying unavailable
A. SutilSauber #181999 No error range DNFEngine Not assessedQualifying unavailable
How useful is the model? See the historical check

Average absolute error on 577 classified finishes in 35 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
2.56places
Qualifying only
2.72places
Elo only
3.04places

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 grid-to-finish gain

Maldonado+8 places

The bigger picture

Championship after this round

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

  1. 1 Rosberg 79pts 0
  2. 2 Hamilton 75pts 0
  3. 3 Alonso 41pts +1
  4. 4 Hülkenberg 36pts −1
  5. 5 Vettel 33pts +1

Movement since round 3. 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 →
22
Result Entries
Avg Elo
Highest Elo (Vettel)
2
Non-finishes

Race

Qualifying

# Driver Grid +/- Points Season Pts Season # Elo Change Elo
P1 🇬🇧 L.Hamilton 1 +25 75 P2 +37.6 2,395
P2 🇩🇪 N.Rosberg 4 +2 +18 79 P1 +19.0 2,472
P3 🇪🇸 F.Alonso 5 +2 +15 41 P3 +13.4 2,457
P4 🇦🇺 D.Ricciardo 2 -2 +12 24 P6 +58.8 2,163
P5 🇩🇪 S.Vettel 3 -2 +10 33 P5 -7.5 2,509
P6 🇩🇪 N.Hülkenberg 8 +2 +8 36 P4 +13.7 2,309
P7 🇫🇮 V.Bottas 7 +6 24 P7 +31.7 2,179
P8 🇫🇮 K.Räikkönen 11 +3 +4 11 P12 +5.8 2,267
P9 🇲🇽 S.Pérez 16 +7 +2 18 P10 +6.6 2,223
P10 🇷🇺 D.Kvyat 13 +3 +1 4 P14 +21.5 2,112
P11 🇬🇧 J.Button 12 +1 0 23 P8 -12.8 2,241
P12 🇫🇷 J.Vergne 9 -3 0 4 P13 +23.9 2,019
P13 🇩🇰 K.Magnussen 15 +2 0 20 P9 +3.2 2,084
P14 🇻🇪 P.Maldonado 22 +8 0 0 P20 +9.4 2,012
P15 🇧🇷 F.Massa 6 -9 0 12 P11 -37.8 2,207
P16 🇲🇽 E.Gutiérrez 17 +1 0 0 P17 -9.0 2,026
P17 🇫🇷 J.Bianchi 19 +2 0 0 P22 +4.7 1,901
P18 🇯🇵 K.Kobayashi 18 0 0 P19 -31.3 2,059
P19 🇬🇧 M.Chilton 21 +2 0 0 P18 -13.1 1,918
P20 🇸🇪 M.Ericsson 20 0 0 P21 -25.5 1,946
DNF 🇫🇷 R.Grosjean 10 0 0 P15 -69.5 2,127
DNF 🇩🇪 A.Sutil 14 0 0 P16 -43.0 1,956

Qualifying results are not available for this race.

Elo Changes