Belgium - F1 Prediction League (Round 11)

Finally Spa is here! We've had a long break so it will be amazing to get down to racing again. If you haven't already seen the mid-season categories, go here to make your picks. Don't forget, as well as our overall prize there's a £30 Amazon voucher up for grabs to whoever scores the most points in the second half of the season, so good luck to everyone. 

 

We're picking up the pace now  - nine races in three months means an average of a race every one and a half weeks! The races to come could have a huge impact on the championship, especially if one team like Mercedes or Red Bull find themselves with a clear advantage.

Historically speaking Spa has been a very happy hunting ground for Kimi Raikkonen. With four race wins (2004, 2005, 2007, 2009) he's the only active multiple winner. Will Raikkonen be able to repeat his success and take the fight to Vettel in the championship? Or will Vettel or Hamilton strike again?

To refresh your memories after the mid-season break, here's a quick round-up of the standings so far:

For other F1 prediction league articles, please go to: http://formulaoneanalysis.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page.html

Also see the driver speculation 2014 page for constructors offers etc.

 

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Random Category for Spa

Which midfield driver will be the fastest in each three sectors during qualifying?

 

Basically, you need to pick a different midfield driver for each of the three sectors (see below, Sector 1 - yellow, Sector 2 - Red, Sector 3 - Blue). This means no driver repeats although it is okay to pick both drivers in a team e.g. Sector 1 - Maldonado, Sector 2 - Bottas, Sector 3 - Gutierrez.

Midfield drivers are classed as any driver from a team 5th to 9th in the championship - Force India, McLaren, Toro Rosso, Sauber, Williams.

 

 

 

The best sectors for the chosen drivers, using f1.com, will be totalled with the overall fastest time winning. 

The point scoring will be slightly different to usual, the best player in the league will score 3 points, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th best will score 2 points and 5th to 8th will score 1 point.

 

1st - 3 points

2nd, 3rd and 4th - 2 points

5th, 6th, 7th and 8th - 1 point

 

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Post your picks in the following format -

Qualifying: 

Race:

Constructors:

Random: Sector 1 - , Sector 2 - , Sector 3 - . 

The deadline for both the mid-season category and Spa picks is Thursday 22nd August 23:59 GMT.

Let me know if you have any questions about the random, mid-season categories, constructors teams etc. Good luck all!

Mid-season categories 2013

As promised, here are the mid-season categories. This represents another chance to score 25 points so it's a fairly good opportunity to further your position in the championship! Last year the mid-season picks were decisive in the overall championship decision so it's well worth taking some time to consider each category. 

Remember to pick here or in the Spa thread, when it's been posted, before Spa (Thursday 22nd August 23:59). See the bottom of this post for a picking template.

I've avoided repeat categories from the original season picks, it's better this way so hopefully you'll have fun thinking and picking these categories! There are also a few unique 'predict your own performance' categories which are always interesting.

Any way good luck! If you have any queries about the format or any of the categories, please let me know and we can discuss.

Mid-season categories

1.        Fight At The Front: Which team will score the most constructors points in the last 9 races - Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari or Lotus? - 3 points max

1st - 2 points
2nd - 1 point

An extra bonus point will be given for predicting the number of points the top team will score within a 20 points interval (+ or - 10 points). So if you pick 90 points, 80-100 points will score you the additional 1 point. The extra point applies to the top team not your original pick although the two may be the same.

2.         This Season's Not Over Yet: Which team will score the most constructors points in the last 9 races - McLaren, Force India, Sauber, Williams or Toro Rosso - 3 points max

1st - 2 points
2nd - 1 point

An extra bonus point will be awarded for predicting the driver who will score the most points for the team you pick, regardless of where your team finish e.g. if I pick Williams and Bottas, Williams finish fifth but Bottas scores more than Maldonado then I get the bonus point.

3.       To Back Or Not to Back: Predict the correct position of your assigned driver in each of the following categories - 5 points max 

Driver categories:

• Raikkonen, Hamilton, Vettel
• Webber, Alonso, Rosberg
• Grosjean, Button, Massa
• Perez, Di Resta, Sutil
• Vergne, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg

Predict the position of the driver assigned to you within their category (1st, 2nd or 3rd). It's based on points in the last nine races. 

Example: Dead Jedi has been assigned Raikkonen for the first category (see below), if he predicts that Raikkonen finishes third in this category, over the last nine races, but in fact he finishes second with Vettel on 140, Raikkonen on 120 and Hamilton on 118, then Dead Jedi will score 0 points. You will only score 1 point for every exactly correct prediction.

Drivers have been assigned by a random list generator (see end of this post) for screenshots.

Assigned driver by picker

If you're new and you want to predict in this category, please pick from the following set options (first come, first served so you cannot choose the same set as someone else who has already picked): 

Raikkonen, Webber, Massa, Sutil, Vergne

Raikkonen, Alonso, Button, Di Resta, Hulkenberg

Hamilton, Alonso, Button, Sutil, Hulkenberg

Hamilton, Rosberg, Grosjean, Di Resta, Ricciardo

Vettel, Rosberg, Grosjean, Perez, Ricciardo

Vettel, Webber, Massa, Perez, Vergne

 4.             Pole Master: Which driver will score the most pole positions in the last 9 races? - 1 point max

1st - 1 point

In the event of a tie, the decision shall be made on countbacks i.e. most 2nd places and then most 3rd places etc. If this is all identical then the first pole will count as the decider.

5.           I Live For The Champagne: Which driver will score the most podiums in the last 9 races? - 2 points max

1st - 2 points
2nd - 1 point

In the event of a tie, the positions of the driver will be taken into account. The driver with the most wins will win, then second places. If identical records then the first podium spot will be the differentiator e.g. a win in Spa will be the best option.
 

6.             Destruction Derby: Which circuit will feature the greatest number of retirements? - 2 points max

1st - 2 points
2nd - 1 point

Ties will be decided by lap of the last retirement, the earlier the better.

7.            Perfect Procession: Which circuit will feature the least number of retirements? - 2 points max

1st - 2 points
2nd - 1 point

Ties will be decided by the lap of the first retirement, the later the better.

8.           I Was On Holiday During The First Half: Which driver will have the most improved second half of the season? – 2 points max

1st - 2 points
2nd - 1 point

A separate championship will be run for the last nine races. The overall position of the drivers in the last nine races will be compared to the current championship positions (after ten rounds). The driver who wins this category will be the one who is the greatest number of positions above their current championship standing.

Example (with a five person championship):
 
Current Championship Standings
1st Vettel 172
2nd Raikkonen 134
3rd Alonso 133
4th Hamilton 124
5th Webber 105 

Results from final nine races
1st Hamilton 160
2nd Vettel 158
3rd Raikkonen 134
4th Webber 130
5th Alonso 119

Hamilton will score 3 points (4-1), Vettel -1 points, Raikkonen -1 points, Webber 1 point and Alonso -2 points. Hamilton would be the most improved driver in this situation and would score you 2 points, Webber would score you 1 point.

9.           Mr Consistency: Which driver’s finishing position will be closest to their qualifying position on average? – 2 points max

1st - 2 points
2nd - 1 point

The winner will be the driver who finishes the least amount of positions away from their qualifying position on average. Weekends where your driver DNFs will not count in this category.


Example:

Spa

Ricciardo (Q: 9th, R: 12th)
Vergne (Q: 13th, R: 11th)

Monza 

Ricciardo (Q: 12th, R: 12th)
Vergne (Q: 11th, R: Retires)

Singapore 

Ricciardo (Q: 9th, R: 10th)
Vergne (Q: 10th, R: Retires)

Ricciardo scores 3 pts for Spa, 0 pts for Monza and 1 pt for Singapore. Average = 1.33 pts.
Vergne scores 2 pts for Spa, Monza and Singapore are excluded. Average = 2 pts.


Predict your own results

10.     How many points will you score for race weekends in total for the championship? - 1 point max

+/- 15 pts - 1 point

The current race weekend totals are as follows:
 
Scott 139
Kim 130
Kiszol 120
Rajaram 119 (in 9 races)
Sangan 118
Dragan 109
Joe 107
Aled Lewis 107
Michael 102
Dead Jedi 101
Ediglo 100 (in 8 races)
Paul Smith 97
Wander 82 (in 7 races)
Jasper94 77 (late for 6 weekends, costing 30 points)
MetalGatherer 47 (in 6 races)

Unless stated otherwise there have been no late penalties and pickers have picked for all ten races. Bear this in mind when trying to guess how many race weekend points you'll score across all 19 races.

11.     How many mid-season category points will you score? - 1 point max

+/- 1 pt - 1 point 

As stated, if you pick 14 points overall out of the remaining 24 then you will score the 1 point if you score 13-15.

12.      How many points will you score in your best weekend out of the last 9 races (out of 25) - 1 point max

+/- 1 pt - 1 point

Current best for each picker:

Aled Lewis 19

Dead Jedi 17

Dragan 17 

Ediglo 18 

Jasper94 15  

Joe 15

Kim 20 

Kiszol 19 

MetalGatherer 22

Michael 17

Paul Smith 16

Rajaram 19

Sangan 18

Scott 22

Wander 18

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Template

1. Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari or Lotus
Constructor:
Points:

2. McLaren, Force India, Sauber, Williams or Toro Rosso
Constructor:
Driver:

3.
Assigned Driver 1: 1st/2nd/3rd
Assigned Driver 2: 1st/2nd/3rd
Assigned Driver 3: 1st/2nd/3rd
Assigned Driver 4: 1st/2nd/3rd
Assigned Driver 5: 1st/2nd/3rd

4. Most poles: 

5. Most podiums:

6. Track with most retirements: [Spa/Monza/Singapore/Korea/Suzuka/India/Abu Dhabi/US/Brazil]

7. Track with least retirements: [Spa/Monza/Singapore/Korea/Suzuka/India/Abu Dhabi/US/Brazil]

8. Most improved driver:

9. Most consistent driver:

10. Total race weekend points:

11. Mid-season category points: 0-24

12. Best weekend score: 0-25

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Picks are due Thursday 22nd August 2013 23:59, please don't be late. They are due at the same time as your Spa picks.


If there are any categories that you wish to discuss or improve, or if you have any further suggestions please let me know! Good luck!


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Random.Org - Category pick 

 

Mid-season review 2013

Now that we're at the halfway point of the season, I'd like to take some time to reflect on the first half. It's been pretty incredible, there's been a heated battle for the top positions and with nine races and the mid-season category left there are plenty of opportunities to win both the drivers and constructors championships. The Minichamps Car is still up for grabs as our top prize but a £30 Amazon voucher is now available for the player who scores the most points in the second half of the season.

There'll be a lot going on in the prediction league in the coming months so stay tuned. This post should cover a lot of important stuff and by popular vote we'll be having a mid-season category. I'll be releasing the full details next week so please check back. The picks will be due at the same time as Spa (22/08/2013)

The contents of this post are:

• Championship standings and winners during the year
• League movements during the year
• Team report and constructor transfer talk (plus offers of a new contract for some - also see the driver speculation 2014 page)
• Random stats (most picked driver and teams, best and worst weekends and sessions so far this year etc.)