Round 15 · 2018

Marina Bay Street Circuit

Marina Bay, Singapore · September 16, 2018 · Circuit History · Wikipedia

Kings of this circuit
The race, in perspective

Race debrief

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

R152018
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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 627 earlier finishes across 37 races, 2008–2018. 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
L. HamiltonMercedes #12585 No error range P1 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
M. VerstappenRed Bull #52297 No error range P2 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
S. VettelFerrari #22470 No error range P3 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
V. BottasMercedes #32426 No error range P4 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
K. RäikkönenFerrari #42370 No error range P5 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
D. RicciardoRed Bull #102133 No error range P6 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
F. AlonsoMcLaren #142036 No error range P7 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
C. SainzRenault #92156 No error range P8 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
C. LeclercSauber #181992 No error range P9 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
N. HülkenbergRenault #112085 No error range P10 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
M. EricssonSauber #152034 No error range P11 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
S. VandoorneMcLaren #162027 No error range P12 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
P. GaslyToro Rosso #132082 No error range P13 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
L. StrollWilliams #172018 No error range P14 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
R. GrosjeanHaas F1 Team #122083 No error range P15 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
S. PérezForce India #72206 No error range P16 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
B. HartleyToro Rosso #201942 No error range P17 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
K. MagnussenHaas F1 Team #82162 No error range P18 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
S. SirotkinWilliams #191981 No error range P19 Not assessedQualifying unavailable
E. OconForce India #62208 No error range DNFCollision Not assessedQualifying unavailable
How useful is the model? See the historical check

Average absolute error on 627 classified finishes in 37 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
2.42places
Elo only
2.78places

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

Alonso+39.7 Elo

Largest Elo loss

Ocon−67.7 Elo

Largest grid-to-finish gain

Vandoorne+6 places

The bigger picture

Championship after this round

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

  1. 1 Hamilton 281pts 0
  2. 2 Vettel 241pts 0
  3. 3 Räikkönen 174pts 0
  4. 4 Bottas 171pts 0
  5. 5 Verstappen 148pts 0

Movement since round 14. 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 🇬🇧 L.Hamilton 1 +25 281 P1 +11.6 2,596
P2 🇳🇱 M.Verstappen 2 +18 148 P5 +33.2 2,330
P3 🇩🇪 S.Vettel 3 +15 241 P2 +7.8 2,478
P4 🇫🇮 V.Bottas 4 +12 171 P4 +5.8 2,432
P5 🇫🇮 K.Räikkönen 5 +10 174 P3 +5.5 2,375
P6 🇦🇺 D.Ricciardo 6 +8 126 P6 +31.5 2,164
P7 🇪🇸 F.Alonso 11 +4 +6 50 P8 +39.7 2,075
P8 🇪🇸 C.Sainz 12 +4 +4 38 P12 +15.4 2,171
P9 🇲🇨 C.Leclerc 13 +4 +2 15 P15 +33.2 2,025
P10 🇩🇪 N.Hülkenberg 10 +1 53 P7 +13.6 2,098
P11 🇸🇪 M.Ericsson 14 +3 0 6 P18 +14.8 2,048
P12 🇧🇪 S.Vandoorne 18 +6 0 8 P16 +9.5 2,036
P13 🇫🇷 P.Gasly 15 +2 0 28 P13 -5.0 2,078
P14 🇨🇦 L.Stroll 20 +6 0 6 P17 -1.8 2,016
P15 🇫🇷 R.Grosjean 8 -7 0 27 P14 -17.6 2,065
P16 🇲🇽 S.Pérez 7 -9 0 46 P10 -42.2 2,164
P17 🇳🇿 B.Hartley 17 0 2 P19 -10.6 1,932
P18 🇩🇰 K.Magnussen 16 -2 0 49 P9 -48.4 2,114
P19 🇷🇺 S.Sirotkin 19 0 1 P20 -28.2 1,953
DNF 🇫🇷 E.Ocon 9 0 45 P11 -67.7 2,140

Qualifying results are not available for this race.

Elo Changes