Round 5 · 2004

Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya

Montmeló, Spain · May 09, 2004 · Circuit History · Wikipedia

Kings of this circuit
The race, in perspective

Race debrief

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

R052004
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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 432 earlier finishes across 38 races, 1996–2004. 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
M. SchumacherFerrari #12515 No error range P1 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
R. BarrichelloFerrari #22307 No error range P2 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. TrulliRenault #52264 No error range P3 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
F. AlonsoRenault #62230 No error range P4 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
T. SatoBAR #92109 No error range P5 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
R. SchumacherWilliams #72171 No error range P6 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
G. FisichellaSauber #122068 No error range P7 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. ButtonBAR #42271 No error range P8 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
F. MassaSauber #142061 No error range P9 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
D. CoulthardMcLaren #82138 No error range P10 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
K. RäikkönenMcLaren #102108 No error range P11 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
M. WebberJaguar #152029 No error range P12 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
C. da MattaToyota #112070 No error range P13 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
G. PantanoJordan #181938 No error range DNFSteering Not assessedQualifying unavailable
J. Pablo MontoyaWilliams #32302 No error range DNFBrakes Not assessedQualifying unavailable
C. KlienJaguar #162022 No error range DNFThrottle Not assessedQualifying unavailable
O. PanisToyota #132062 No error range DNFHydraulics Not assessedQualifying unavailable
N. HeidfeldJordan #171999 No error range DNFHydraulics Not assessedQualifying unavailable
G. BruniMinardi #191922 No error range DNFSpun off Not assessedQualifying unavailable
Z. BaumgartnerMinardi #201920 No error range DNFSpun off Not assessedQualifying unavailable
How useful is the model? See the historical check

Average absolute error on 223 classified finishes in 18 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
2.23places
Qualifying only
2.29places
Elo only
2.86places

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

Sato+42.5 Elo

Largest grid-to-finish gain

Massa+8 places

The bigger picture

Championship after this round

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

  1. 1 Schumacher 50pts 0
  2. 2 Barrichello 32pts 0
  3. 3 Button 24pts 0
  4. 4 Alonso 21pts +1
  5. 5 Trulli 21pts +1

Movement since round 4. 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.

BAR

SatoP5+42.5 Elo
ButtonP8−7.8 Elo

3 places apart at the finish.

Jaguar

WebberP12+5.5 Elo
KlienDNF−22.6 Elo

Non-finish recorded; no finishing gap comparison.

Toyota

da MattaP13−9.2 Elo
PanisDNF−37.1 Elo

Non-finish recorded; no finishing gap comparison.

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 (Schumacher)
7
Non-finishes

Race

Qualifying

# Driver Grid +/- Points Season Pts Season # Elo Change Elo
P1 🇩🇪 M.Schumacher 1 +10 50 P1 +14.3 2,529
P2 🇧🇷 R.Barrichello 5 +3 +8 32 P2 +30.7 2,338
P3 🇮🇹 J.Trulli 4 +1 +6 21 P5 +30.0 2,294
P4 🇪🇸 F.Alonso 8 +4 +5 21 P4 +28.3 2,258
P5 🇯🇵 T.Sato 3 -2 +4 8 P8 +42.5 2,151
P6 🇩🇪 R.Schumacher 6 +3 12 P7 +23.8 2,195
P7 🇮🇹 G.Fisichella 12 +5 +2 2 P10 +35.3 2,103
P8 🇬🇧 J.Button 14 +6 +1 24 P3 -7.8 2,263
P9 🇧🇷 F.Massa 17 +8 0 1 P11 +21.8 2,083
P10 🇬🇧 D.Coulthard 10 0 4 P9 +0.5 2,138
P11 🇫🇮 K.Räikkönen 13 +2 0 1 P12 -1.4 2,107
P12 🇦🇺 M.Webber 9 -3 0 1 P13 +5.5 2,035
P13 🇧🇷 C.da Matta 11 -2 0 0 P14 -9.2 2,061
DNF 🇮🇹 G.Pantano 19 0 0 P17 +6.0 1,944
DNF 🇨🇴 J.Pablo Montoya 2 0 18 P6 -64.0 2,238
DNF 🇦🇹 C.Klien 16 0 0 P16 -22.6 1,999
DNF 🇫🇷 O.Panis 7 0 0 P15 -37.1 2,025
DNF 🇩🇪 N.Heidfeld 15 0 0 P20 -33.2 1,965
DNF 🇮🇹 G.Bruni 18 0 0 P18 -28.2 1,894
DNF 🇭🇺 Z.Baumgartner 20 0 0 P19 -35.2 1,885

Qualifying results are not available for this race.

Elo Changes