Round 19 · 2015

Yas Marina Circuit

Abu Dhabi, UAE · November 29, 2015 · Circuit History · Wikipedia

Kings of this circuit
The race, in perspective

Race debrief

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

R192015
Share this debrief
Preview share card ↗
20 stored results 20/20 Elo snapshots 20/20 numbered grid slots 0/20 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 608 earlier finishes across 36 races, 2006–2015. No results from this race enter its expectation.

0/20 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.

0/20 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 → P20vs expectedReading
N. RosbergMercedes #22480 No error range P1 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
L. HamiltonMercedes #12605 No error range P2 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
K. RäikkönenFerrari #72233 No error range P3 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
S. VettelFerrari #32452 No error range P4 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
S. PérezForce India #62257 No error range P5 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
D. RicciardoRed Bull #92219 No error range P6 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
N. HülkenbergForce India #112146 No error range P7 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
F. MassaWilliams #102154 No error range P8 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
R. GrosjeanLotus F1 #132123 No error range P9 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
D. KvyatRed Bull #52285 No error range P10 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
C. SainzToro Rosso #162056 No error range P11 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. ButtonMcLaren #152080 No error range P12 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
V. BottasWilliams #42308 No error range P13 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
M. EricssonSauber #172032 No error range P14 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
F. NasrSauber #142085 No error range P15 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
M. VerstappenToro Rosso #82224 No error range P16 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
F. AlonsoMcLaren #182021 No error range P17 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
W. StevensManor Marussia #201902 No error range P18 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
R. MerhiManor Marussia #191976 No error range P19 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
P. MaldonadoLotus F1 #122124 No error range DNFCollision Not assessedQualifying unavailable
How useful is the model? See the historical check

Average absolute error on 608 classified finishes in 36 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
2.36places
Qualifying only
2.57places
Elo only
2.88places

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

Vettel+11 places

The bigger picture

Championship after this round

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

  1. 1 Hamilton 381pts 0
  2. 2 Rosberg 322pts 0
  3. 3 Vettel 278pts 0
  4. 4 Räikkönen 150pts +1
  5. 5 Bottas 136pts −1

Movement since round 18. 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 →
20
Result Entries
Avg Elo
Highest Elo (Hamilton)
1
Non-finishes

Race

Qualifying

# Driver Grid +/- Points Season Pts Season # Elo Change Elo
P1 🇩🇪 N.Rosberg 1 +25 322 P2 +23.7 2,504
P2 🇬🇧 L.Hamilton 2 +18 381 P1 +5.8 2,611
P3 🇫🇮 K.Räikkönen 3 +15 150 P4 +43.5 2,277
P4 🇩🇪 S.Vettel 15 +11 +12 278 P3 +5.8 2,458
P5 🇲🇽 S.Pérez 4 -1 +10 78 P9 +25.7 2,283
P6 🇦🇺 D.Ricciardo 5 -1 +8 92 P8 +24.9 2,244
P7 🇩🇪 N.Hülkenberg 7 +6 58 P10 +30.2 2,176
P8 🇧🇷 F.Massa 8 +4 121 P6 +21.8 2,176
P9 🇫🇷 R.Grosjean 18 +9 +2 51 P11 +20.1 2,143
P10 🇷🇺 D.Kvyat 9 -1 +1 95 P7 -13.4 2,272
P11 🇪🇸 C.Sainz 10 -1 0 18 P15 +17.1 2,073
P12 🇬🇧 J.Button 12 0 16 P16 +6.3 2,086
P13 🇫🇮 V.Bottas 6 -7 0 136 P5 -37.7 2,270
P14 🇸🇪 M.Ericsson 17 +3 0 9 P18 -0.1 2,032
P15 🇧🇷 F.Nasr 14 -1 0 27 P13 -15.4 2,070
P16 🇳🇱 M.Verstappen 11 -5 0 49 P12 -45.4 2,178
P17 🇪🇸 F.Alonso 16 -1 0 11 P17 -19.4 2,002
P18 🇬🇧 W.Stevens 19 +1 0 0 P21 -10.4 1,892
P19 🇪🇸 R.Merhi 20 +1 0 0 P19 -26.7 1,949
DNF 🇻🇪 P.Maldonado 13 0 27 P14 -56.6 2,068

Qualifying results are not available for this race.

Elo Changes