planetf1.com

www.gpupdate.net

The cars are being unveiled one by one. Test days are coming up. I’m happy to announce Season 2 of the F1 Oracle!

The rules are very simple. Before every F1 race weekend you predict the answers to 13 questions. Every answer that turns out to be right, earns you 1 point.

On top of that – and this is the only significant change compared to last year – you get to place a joker on one of the 13 questions each race weekend. If your answer to that question turns out to be correct, you win a bonus. The bonus score is determined by the number of players that gave a wrong answer to that same question. It’s like your own personal DRS! This replaces the bonus system we had last year.

Edit: To assure that the bonuses are well balanced, the bonus score will be calculated as a fraction of the total number of players in the round. Based on the 2016 results these fractions are calculated as follows:

6 players or less: 100% of the number of wrong answers
7 players: 75% of the number of wrong answers
8 players: 65% of the number of wrong answers
9 players: 60%
10 players: 55%
11 players: 50%
12 players: 45%
13-14 players: 40%
15-16 players: 35%
17-20 players: 30%
21-25 players: 25%

All resulting bonus scores will be rounded off to the nearest integer.
(If you're interested in the underlying reasoning of the bonus system, see the 8th post of this thread.)

Take for example the last race of the 2016 season, in Abu Dhabi. The game had 10 participants. Placing the joker on the prediction that Hamilton would qualify first, would have netted 1 bonus point: only one contender predicted a different quali winner, 0.55%*1=0.55. Rounded up to 1.
Placing the joker on Vettel setting the fastest lap, like three players predicted: 4 bonus points (7*0.55=3.85. Rounded up to 4).
Etc.

These are the 13 questions:

1. Quali winner [driver]
No. 1 in the official classification of qualifying. Penalties that result in grid position changes are not taken into account.

2. Race winner [driver]
As in the official classification.

3. Fastest lap [driver]
You know, like, he who, err… records the, ehm... fastest lap in the race.

4. Quali surprise [driver]
This is the driver who qualifies highest compared to his WDC ranking. Official qualifying results apply. So, that’s before any grid penalties. For the Australian GP, the 2016 WDC table will be used.

5. Quali victim [driver]
This is the driver who qualifies lowest compared to his WDC ranking. Official qualifying results (before grid penalties) apply. Drivers that fail to set a lap time can still be classified. For the Australian GP, the 2016 WDC table will be used.

6. Overachiever race [driver]
Driver who ends the race in the highest position, compared to his WDC ranking. Only drivers finishing the race in the top 10 (official result) are eligible. This is to avoid attrition to be the dominant factor. (A backmarker who finishes last will still finish the race higher than his WDC ranking if there are DNFs.) For the Australian GP, the 2016 WDC table will be used.

7. Underperformer race [driver]
Driver who ends the race in the worst position, compared to his WDC ranking. All race finish positions are eligible. Driver needs to be classified. For the Australian GP, the 2016 WDC table will be used.

8. First lap hero [driver]
Driver who wins most race positions in the first lap. If all positions stay the same, no driver will be named first lap hero. New rule: In the case a wet race is started behind the safety car, followed by a standing restart, it's this restart that will be used to determine the first lap hero.

9. First lap zero [driver]
Driver who loses most race positions in the first lap. Retirements in lap 1 are not included. If all positions stay the same, no driver will be named first lap zero. New rule: In the case a wet race is started behind the safety car, followed by a standing restart, it's this restart that will be used to determine the first lap zero.

10. First man out [driver]
Driver that retires from the race first. Decided by lap count. So even if one retirement happened noticeably earlier than a second, if both happened in the same lap, both answers are right. Note that ‘none’ is a valid answer too.

11. Safety cars [number]
This is the number of times (different occasions) the safety car is deployed during the race. The number of safety car laps is not relevant. Virtual safety cars are not included.

12. Race leaders (number]
Number of different drivers that crossed start/finish line first over the course of the race. Pole position does not count as leading the race.

13. Classified [number]
Number of cars that are classified; note that cars can be classified after completing 90% of the race distance.

For the Australian race, the WDC ranking of 2016 will be used to answer questions 4 through 7. The only driver that didn’t race in 2016, Lance Stroll, is placed 20th for this purpose:
1. Hamilton 2. Ricciardo 3. Vettel 4. Verstappen 5. Räikkönen 6. Perez 7. Bottas 8. Hülkenberg 9. Alonso 10. Massa 11. Sainz 12. Grosjean 13. Kvyat 14. Magnussen 15. Palmer 16. Wehrlein 17. Vandoorne 18. Ericsson 19. Ocon 20. Stroll.

Answers need to be in before the start of Qualifying of each race.
Editing your answers is allowed, as long as it’s done before the deadline. Make sure you clearly indicate which of the 13 is your joker question before the deadline.

If you are new to this competition and want to see what it’s like before entering, the 2016 thread can be found here: http://forum.planet-f1.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=13229

What do you say? Do you think you can be the 2017 F1 Oracle?
Better get ready for Lights Out then!


Photo: Reuters.

_________________
PF1 forum games
Pick 10 2016: 2nd [3 wins]. 2017: 2nd [1 win].
F1 Oracle 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].
Top Three 2016: 14th. 2017: 1st [5 wins] + Cup.
Group Pick'em 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].

In!

Even though I was generally rubbish at this last year (I think my only real result of note was when I was the first to score 0), I did quite enjoy it

_________________
Top Three Team Champions 2017 (With Jezza13)
Group Pick 'Em 2016 Champion

Definitely in again! This bonus system seems a lot more likely to come up than last year's.

_________________

Pick 10: 1 win, 8 podiums | 2016: 22nd | 2017: 21st | 2018: 3rd |
[size=85]Top Three: 9 wins, 26 podiums | 2016: 9th [6th] | 2017: 16th [6th] | 2018: 4th [4th] |

I will probably be entering this one as well. My plan of focusing on my title bid in the Pick 10 competition last year failed in soul-crushing fashion, so this year I'll just enter every competition and maybe I'll win one of them!

_________________
PICK 10 COMPETITION (4 wins, 14 podiums): 3rd in 2016
TOP THREE CHAMPIONSHIP (No Limit Excedrin Racing): Champions in 2015 & 2018 | 2nd in 2017
AUTOSPORT GP PREDICTOR: 2017 USA & P-F1 Champion | #2 in the world in 2017

Perhaps this table can be of help when deciding which question to nominate for the joker. It lists the number of different answers per question for every GP in 2016. A grey cell means the correct answer was not predicted by any of the 10 (or 9) players.




And here is a format to copy for the first entry:

1. Quali winner:
2. Race winner:
3. Fastest lap:
4. Quali surprise:
5. Quali victim:
6. Overachiever race:
7. Underperformer race:
8. First lap hero:
9. First lap zero:
10. First man out:
11. Safety cars:
12. Race leaders:
13. Classified:

_________________
PF1 forum games
Pick 10 2016: 2nd [3 wins]. 2017: 2nd [1 win].
F1 Oracle 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].
Top Three 2016: 14th. 2017: 1st [5 wins] + Cup.
Group Pick'em 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].

I'm testing the new bonus system. It looks like it could easily have an overpowering effect, especially if our player base grows.
The purpose of the bonus is to add tactical choice and also a certain amount of unpredictability to the game. In my opinion, the bonus score should (on average) not overbalance the normal score.

That's why I'm looking into some alternative scoring: the same rules and scoring system, but with a different number of points for correct answers. First impressions are that with 10-20 players, doubling or even tripling the points for every correct answer to the 13 questions (while keeping the bonus at 1 point per wrong answer of rival players), seems to work much better.

There are a couple uncertainties that make it difficult to pick the right system now:
- the number of players the game will get.
- how players will use jokers: will they pick the high reward questions or the high probability questions?

I have edited the OP to reflect this ongoing search. I'll keep you posted and welcome any thoughts.

_________________
PF1 forum games
Pick 10 2016: 2nd [3 wins]. 2017: 2nd [1 win].
F1 Oracle 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].
Top Three 2016: 14th. 2017: 1st [5 wins] + Cup.
Group Pick'em 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].

Perhaps a way to use that joker system would be to have the bonus multiplication reduced depending on how many entrants there are. So let's say we get the ten players we had last season; the bonus could be worth 50% of the incorrect answers. If that number rises up towards 20 active players, the percentage could be reduced down to 33% or even 25%. That way the bonus would be worth three points if there were six incorrect answers (with ten of us playing) but potentially still worth three points if there were 12 incorrect answers with 20 of us participating. If we said ten players equals a 50% bonus, it could even then be calculated on a sliding scale whereby every extra participant at any race reduces the bonus by 2.5%.

I don't know how much that would help, and you could of course start from a higher percentage (say, 66% for ten players, dropping 3% with every extra participant) if it means the bonus ends up being too small. However, if the problem is that the bonus is too powerful then that might be a way to water it down a little whilst still retaining a system that seems quite promising.

Oh, and I'll be back to defend my title this year. I finished so far ahead last year I've decided to forgo any winter testing and just go straight to Melbourne

_________________
Pick 10 | 1st x3, 2nd x3, 3rd x7
2018: 5th | 2017: 6th | 2016: 8th | 2015: 2nd | 2014: 15th | 2013: 17th | 2012: 11th

Yes, I think it’s a good call to vary the bonus, not the regular score.

In 2016 28% of all answers given was correct, 72% was wrong. Based on this, I calculated the expected bonus score with different number of players. Of course, picking a higher risk answer should result in a higher bonus when correct, picking a low risk answer in a lower bonus score.

Then the main question is, what would be a good, balanced range for the bonus score?
My gut feeling is that the average expected bonus score should be high enough to have an impact, but lower than the expected normal score of the winner. The average score in a GP per player was 3.7 points in 2016. The round winner took 5.8 points on average. Last season’s overall winner (that would be Jenson’s Understeer) took 4.9 points on average per GP. I think the expected bonus should be between these values of 3.7 and 4.9 points. Again, this bonus can be (much) higher if you’re prepared to take more risks with your jokers.

The table below shows the expected bonus based on the 2016 answers for different number of players. In red are the numbers when the bonus score is too high (in my opinion), in blue are the numbers where the jokers don’t have enough impact. The sweet spots are the green numbers. I’m leaning towards the lower end of the proportion scale, the framed numbers.



So, that would result in these calculations of the bonus score:

8 players: 65% of the proportion of wrong answers
9 players: 60%
10 players: 55%
11 players: 50%
12 players: 45%
13-14 players: 40%
15-16 players: 35%
17-20 players: 30%
21-25 players: 25%

I wouldn’t like to introduce decimal points into the game, so I propose all resulting bonus scores will be rounded off to the nearest integer.

Example 1:
Say in Melbourne, we have 15 entries. You predict Hamilton to drive the fastest lap and use your joker on this question. It turns out you were right. Out of the 14 other contenders, 7 predicted a different driver for the fastest lap. Your bonus is: 0.35*7=2.45 points (rounded down to 2).

Example 2:
Again with 15 entries in the first GP, you correctly predict Magnussen to be the first lap hero (joker). You were the only one to do so. Your bonus is: 0.35*14=4.9 (rounded up to 5).

Now, 2 and 5 points don’t seem like all that much. But when the average normal score (in 2016) is 3.7, this will have a nice big impact without making the answers to all of your other 12, joker-less questions insignificant.

Thoughts?

_________________
PF1 forum games
Pick 10 2016: 2nd [3 wins]. 2017: 2nd [1 win].
F1 Oracle 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].
Top Three 2016: 14th. 2017: 1st [5 wins] + Cup.
Group Pick'em 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].

I think you've got it bang on TBH.

I think someone who plays a risky joker which works out should be in the running to win the round, but not to win by so much that it effects the overall league too much. Your proposal seems to do that.

_________________
Top Three Team Champions 2017 (With Jezza13)
Group Pick 'Em 2016 Champion

Seeing the numbers detailed like that (really good analysis, by the way) is really useful. It's right around what I was expecting it to be, and I think you're in the right ballpark with the percentages you've selected. Going higher is going to result in a situation where bonuses dominate, whilst going lower would mean they have no real impact. So I'd go with the ones you've selected. The only thing to add would be that, in the event whereby the bonuses are much higher than expected in the first few races, would it be worth saying it's something that can be reviewed and tweaked (if necessary) after say, four or five races?

_________________
Pick 10 | 1st x3, 2nd x3, 3rd x7
2018: 5th | 2017: 6th | 2016: 8th | 2015: 2nd | 2014: 15th | 2013: 17th | 2012: 11th

Cheers Herb and Jenson's Understeer.

Picking the percentage numbers as above, will effectively cap the bonus at 5 or 6 points at most.
To see how this would work out in reality, I looked at the 2016 Australian GP as an example. I added five fictional players to the 10 actual entries from last year. Then I almost randomly assigned a joker for each player (the blue cells). You can see the impact of the bonus in the resulting scores.



Edit: The fictional players are 10-14.

_________________
PF1 forum games
Pick 10 2016: 2nd [3 wins]. 2017: 2nd [1 win].
F1 Oracle 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].
Top Three 2016: 14th. 2017: 1st [5 wins] + Cup.
Group Pick'em 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].

Sign me up

_________________
PF1 pick 10 2016: 7th (1 win, 4 podiums), 2017: 17th (3 podiums)
Awards: Sergio perez trophy & Podium specialist
PF1 pick 3 2015: constructors 2nd, singles 5th
Autosport Gp 2016/17 - 5th
F1 Oracle 2017: 2nd (6 wins), 2016:5th (2wins)

Count me in, as well!

_________________
Top 10 Competition
2016: 12th, Podiums: 2nd Great Britain

Top 3 Competition
2016: 5th, Wins in: Spain, 1st Great Britain

F1 Oracle 2016: 2nd, Wins in: Australia, Russia, Canada, Great Britain

Group Pick'em 6th, Podiums: 2nd Monaco

I'm in.

_________________
One & only - 'Iceman' Kimi Räikkönen

Pick 10|'18: /'17: P8{3P}/'16: P12{2P}/'14: P24{2P}
Top 3|'18: /'17: P4{8W},Team: P3 /'16: P8{1W},Team: P2
Group Pick'em|'17: P6{4P}/'16: P6{5P}
F1 Oracle|'18: /'17: P3{3W}/'16: P2{4W}

I have edited the OP to include the new bonus system in the rules.

_________________
PF1 forum games
Pick 10 2016: 2nd [3 wins]. 2017: 2nd [1 win].
F1 Oracle 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].
Top Three 2016: 14th. 2017: 1st [5 wins] + Cup.
Group Pick'em 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].

Big chance I'm going to edit some predictions after free practice, but I feel a duty here.
My joker question is in red.

Australia

1. Quali winner: Hamilton
2. Race winner: Hamilton
3. Fastest lap: Raikkonen
4. Quali surprise: Stroll
5. Quali victim: Alonso
6. Overachiever race: Bottas
7. Underperformer race: Ricciardo
8. First lap hero: Magnussen
9. First lap zero: Raikkonen
10. First man out: Vandoorne
11. Safety cars: 1
12. Race leaders: 3
13. Classified: 14

_________________
PF1 forum games
Pick 10 2016: 2nd [3 wins]. 2017: 2nd [1 win].
F1 Oracle 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].
Top Three 2016: 14th. 2017: 1st [5 wins] + Cup.
Group Pick'em 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].

I'll join again, hoping to improve on my last-but-one ranking!

Going to be away next week, so will get the prediction in early:

Australia 2017 (joker in red)

1. Quali winner: Lewis Hamilton
2. Race winner: Lewis Hamilton
3. Fastest lap: Sebastian Vettel
4. Quali surprise: Lance Stroll
5. Quali victim: Fernando Alonso
6. Overachiever race: Esteban Ocon
7. Underperformer race: Sergio Perez
8. First lap hero: Fernando Alonso
9. First lap zero: Daniel Ricciardo
10. First man out: Lance Stroll
11. Safety cars: 2
12. Race leaders: 2
13. Classified: 15

_________________
NH#1: Quick Nick Heidfeld
NH#2: HULK SMASH

PF1 Pick 10 Podiums: 6 (2nd IND '11; 1st JPN '12; 1st MCO '13; 3rd DEU '16; 3rd USA '16, 3rd MEX '16)

Australia

1. Quali Winner: Vettel
2. Race Winner: Raikkonen
3. Fastest Lap: Raikkonen
4. Quali Surprise: Stroll
5. Quali Victim: Alonso
6. Overachiever: Ocon
7. Underperformer: Alonso
8. First Lap Hero: Ocon
9. First Lap Zero: Stroll
10. First Man Out: Palmer
11: Safety Cars: 1
12. Race Leaders: 2
13. Classified: 16

_________________
Top 10 Competition
2016: 12th, Podiums: 2nd Great Britain

Top 3 Competition
2016: 5th, Wins in: Spain, 1st Great Britain

F1 Oracle 2016: 2nd, Wins in: Australia, Russia, Canada, Great Britain

Group Pick'em 6th, Podiums: 2nd Monaco

1. Quali winner: Vettel
2. Race winner: Vettel
3. Fastest lap: Hamilton
4. Quali surprise: Stroll
5. Quali victim: Alonso
6. Overachiever race: Stroll*
7. Underperformer race: Hulkenberg
8. First lap hero: Alonso
9. First lap zero: Raikkonnen
10. First man out: Vandoornw
11. Safety cars: 1
12. Race leaders: 3
13. Classified: 16


* = joker

_________________
Top Three Team Champions 2017 (With Jezza13)
Group Pick 'Em 2016 Champion

1. Quali winner: Hamilton
2. Race winner: Hamilton
3. Fastest lap: Vettel
4. Quali surprise: Massa
5. Quali victim: Alonso
6. Overachiever race: Massa
7. Underperformer race: Perez*
8. First lap hero: Grosjean
9. First lap zero: Kvyat
10. First man out: Alonso
11. Safety cars: 1
12. Race leaders: 2
13. Classified: 17


* = joker

1. Quali winner: Hamilton
2. Race winner: Hamilton
3. Fastest lap: Vettel
4. Quali surprise: Stroll
5. Quali victim: Alonso
6. Overachiever race: Stroll *JOKER*
7. Underperformer race: Perez
8. First lap hero: Massa
9. First lap zero: Stroll
10. First man out: Alonso (FWIW, I had a dream last night where Alonso ended up in the gravel on the first lap and had to retire. Admittedly, this was in Barcelona, and he was trying to go round the outside of a Red Bull, but I'm still going to take it as a sign for this weekend!)
11. Safety cars: 1
12. Race leaders: 3
13. Classified: 14

_________________
Pick 10 | 1st x3, 2nd x3, 3rd x7
2018: 5th | 2017: 6th | 2016: 8th | 2015: 2nd | 2014: 15th | 2013: 17th | 2012: 11th

Australia
1. Pole: Hamilton
2. Race winner: Hamilton
3. Fastest lap: Vettel
4. Quali surprise: stroll
5. Quali victim: Perez
6. Overachiever race: ocon (joker)
7. Under performer race: Perez
8. First Lap hero: alonso
9. First lap zero: grosjean
10. First man out: alonso
11. Safety cars: 1
12. Race leaders: 2
13. Classified: 15

_________________
PF1 pick 10 2016: 7th (1 win, 4 podiums), 2017: 17th (3 podiums)
Awards: Sergio perez trophy & Podium specialist
PF1 pick 3 2015: constructors 2nd, singles 5th
Autosport Gp 2016/17 - 5th
F1 Oracle 2017: 2nd (6 wins), 2016:5th (2wins)

Okay, here goes! I don't anticipate amending anything after FP3, so these are probably final.

Australia

1. Quali winner: Lewis Hamilton
2. Race winner: Lewis Hamilton
3. Fastest lap: Kimi Raikkonen
4. Quali surprise: Esteban Ocon
5. Quali victim: Fernando Alonso
6. Overachiever race: Valtteri Bottas
7. Underperformer race: Sergio Perez
8. First lap hero: Fernando Alonso
9. First lap zero: Carlos Sainz, Jr.
10. First man out: Fernando Alonso
11. Safety cars: Zero
12. Race leaders: Two
13. Classified: Seventeen

The 'First Lap Zero' really feels like a stab in the dark. It's just going to be some unlucky sod who gets hit and spun around or whatever - out of them all, that's really the one I feel most like I'm just totally guessing at.

_________________
PICK 10 COMPETITION (4 wins, 14 podiums): 3rd in 2016
TOP THREE CHAMPIONSHIP (No Limit Excedrin Racing): Champions in 2015 & 2018 | 2nd in 2017
AUTOSPORT GP PREDICTOR: 2017 USA & P-F1 Champion | #2 in the world in 2017

I don't think I have time to adjust my picks between FP3 and Quali, so I'm making a couple of changes now:

_________________
PF1 forum games
Pick 10 2016: 2nd [3 wins]. 2017: 2nd [1 win].
F1 Oracle 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].
Top Three 2016: 14th. 2017: 1st [5 wins] + Cup.
Group Pick'em 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].

All right, here goes!

Australian Grand Prix
1. Quali winner: Lewis Hamilton
2. Race winner: Sebastian Vettel
3. Fastest lap: Kimi Raikkonen
4. Quali surprise: Esteban Ocon
5. Quali victim: Sergio Perez
6. Overachiever race: Esteban Ocon
7. Underperformer race: Fernando Alonso
8. First lap hero: Fernando Alonso
9. First lap zero: Daniil Kvyat
10. First man out: Jolyon Palmer
11. Safety cars: 1
12. Race leaders: 3
13. Classified: 16

Joker's in red.

_________________

Pick 10: 1 win, 8 podiums | 2016: 22nd | 2017: 21st | 2018: 3rd |
[size=85]Top Three: 9 wins, 26 podiums | 2016: 9th [6th] | 2017: 16th [6th] | 2018: 4th [4th] |

About 100 minutes to go before the deadline now!

Just in case someone is thinking of picking Giovinazzi for one or more questions: he is not eligible for this race (because he was not in the list of drivers).

_________________
PF1 forum games
Pick 10 2016: 2nd [3 wins]. 2017: 2nd [1 win].
F1 Oracle 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].
Top Three 2016: 14th. 2017: 1st [5 wins] + Cup.
Group Pick'em 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].

Australian GP 2017

1. Quali winner: Lewis Hamilton
2. Race winner: Lewis Hamilton
3. Fastest lap: Valtteri Bottas
4. Quali surprise: Esteban Ocon
5. Quali victim: Fernando Alonso
6. Overachiever race: Esteban Ocon
7. Underperformer race: Fernando Alonso
8. First lap hero: Fernando Alonso
9. First lap zero: Lance Stroll
10. First man out: Stoffel Vandoorne
11. Safety cars: 1
12. Race leaders: 3
13. Classified: 16

Joker is in RED

_________________
One & only - 'Iceman' Kimi Räikkönen

Pick 10|'18: /'17: P8{3P}/'16: P12{2P}/'14: P24{2P}
Top 3|'18: /'17: P4{8W},Team: P3 /'16: P8{1W},Team: P2
Group Pick'em|'17: P6{4P}/'16: P6{5P}
F1 Oracle|'18: /'17: P3{3W}/'16: P2{4W}

Well, that was waste of effort yesterday. I'm changing the changes.

_________________
PF1 forum games
Pick 10 2016: 2nd [3 wins]. 2017: 2nd [1 win].
F1 Oracle 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].
Top Three 2016: 14th. 2017: 1st [5 wins] + Cup.
Group Pick'em 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].

Now watch Mercedes be back ahead by half a second in qualifying.

_________________
PICK 10 COMPETITION (4 wins, 14 podiums): 3rd in 2016
TOP THREE CHAMPIONSHIP (No Limit Excedrin Racing): Champions in 2015 & 2018 | 2nd in 2017
AUTOSPORT GP PREDICTOR: 2017 USA & P-F1 Champion | #2 in the world in 2017

You may be right, but I did not get out of bed in the middle of the night to leave my picks unchanged.

_________________
PF1 forum games
Pick 10 2016: 2nd [3 wins]. 2017: 2nd [1 win].
F1 Oracle 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].
Top Three 2016: 14th. 2017: 1st [5 wins] + Cup.
Group Pick'em 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].

Aw, the first point thrown out of the window of the season. Ah well, at least my bonus chance is still intact.

_________________
PF1 forum games
Pick 10 2016: 2nd [3 wins]. 2017: 2nd [1 win].
F1 Oracle 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].
Top Three 2016: 14th. 2017: 1st [5 wins] + Cup.
Group Pick'em 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].

Australian GP Oracle Results

Entries: 10
Bonus value: 55% of wrong answers on joker question

1. Quali winner: Lewis Hamilton
2. Race winner: Sebastian Vettel
3. Fastest lap: Kimi Räikkönen
4. Quali surprise: Romain Grosjean (+6 positions)
5. Quali victim: Daniel Ricciardo (-8 positions)
6. Overachiever race: Esteban Ocon (+9 positions; 10th)
7. Underperformer race: Nico Hülkenberg (-3 positions)
8. First lap hero: Lance Stroll (P19 to P14)
9. First lap zero: Marcus Ericsson (P14 to P18)
10. First man out: Romain Grosjean (lap 13)
11. Safety cars: 0
12. Race leaders: 4 (Ham, Vet, Bot, Rai)
13. Classified: 13



WDC going to China:
1. Sebastian Vettel – 2. Lewis Hamilton – 3. Valtteri Bottas – 4. Kimi Räikkönen – 5. Max Verstappen – 6. Felipe Massa – 7. Sergio Perez – 8. Carlos Sainz – 9. Daniil Kvyat -10. Esteban Ocon – 11. Nico Hülkenberg - 12. Antonio Giovinazzi – 13. Stoffel Vandoorne – 14. Fernando Alonso / Kevin Magnussen / Lance Stroll / Daniel Ricciardo / Marcus Ericsson / Jolyon Palmer / Romain Grosjean / Pascal Wehrlein

_________________
PF1 forum games
Pick 10 2016: 2nd [3 wins]. 2017: 2nd [1 win].
F1 Oracle 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].
Top Three 2016: 14th. 2017: 1st [5 wins] + Cup.
Group Pick'em 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].

Congrats to Mayhem, who is the first (and only!) to taste the spoils of the new bonus system!

A very low scoring round for all of us by the way.

_________________
PF1 forum games
Pick 10 2016: 2nd [3 wins]. 2017: 2nd [1 win].
F1 Oracle 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].
Top Three 2016: 14th. 2017: 1st [5 wins] + Cup.
Group Pick'em 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].

Apparently I should have put my joker on safety cars - I'd have made out like a bandit!

I was so sure I'd take the bonus for Ocon though, especially after Stroll got his gearbox penalty. Ah well.

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PICK 10 COMPETITION (4 wins, 14 podiums): 3rd in 2016
TOP THREE CHAMPIONSHIP (No Limit Excedrin Racing): Champions in 2015 & 2018 | 2nd in 2017
AUTOSPORT GP PREDICTOR: 2017 USA & P-F1 Champion | #2 in the world in 2017

Low scoring it may be, but I feel I'm off to a decent start! Congrats to Mayhem for cashing in on the bonus for the very first race of the season.

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Pick 10: 1 win, 8 podiums | 2016: 22nd | 2017: 21st | 2018: 3rd |
[size=85]Top Three: 9 wins, 26 podiums | 2016: 9th [6th] | 2017: 16th [6th] | 2018: 4th [4th] |

I hope you all don't mind I keep the results dry and factual this season.
The way I did it last year required precision first (making no mistakes) and some creativity when writing second. I found that to be a fairly difficult combination, especially when I was tired and trying to get the results out on the day of the GP. And in the end, I felt the little write-ups didn't add much to the information in the score table anyway.

I will some post additional analytics after 4 or 5 races, esp. the table with points scored per question/player.

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PF1 forum games
Pick 10 2016: 2nd [3 wins]. 2017: 2nd [1 win].
F1 Oracle 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].
Top Three 2016: 14th. 2017: 1st [5 wins] + Cup.
Group Pick'em 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].

Thanks,

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PF1 pick 10 2016: 7th (1 win, 4 podiums), 2017: 17th (3 podiums)
Awards: Sergio perez trophy & Podium specialist
PF1 pick 3 2015: constructors 2nd, singles 5th
Autosport Gp 2016/17 - 5th
F1 Oracle 2017: 2nd (6 wins), 2016:5th (2wins)

Over the whole of last season, there was only one race with a lower average score per player (1.1 in Azerbaijan) than in Oz '17 (2.0, excluding Mayhem's bonus). Spain '16 (where the Mercs took each other out) had the same 2.0 average per player.
The upside from this: if there are any potential players still on the fence about this game: it's not too late to join and win the Oracle 2017!

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PF1 forum games
Pick 10 2016: 2nd [3 wins]. 2017: 2nd [1 win].
F1 Oracle 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].
Top Three 2016: 14th. 2017: 1st [5 wins] + Cup.
Group Pick'em 2016: 3rd [4 wins]. 2017: 1st [6 wins].

China 2017 (joker in red)

1. Quali winner: Lewis Hamilton
2. Race winner: Lewis Hamilton
3. Fastest lap: Sebastian Vettel
4. Quali surprise: Daniel Ricciardo
5. Quali victim: Marcus Ericsson
6. Overachiever race: Daniel Ricciardo
7. Underperformer race: Antonio Giovinazzi
8. First lap hero: Fernando Alonso
9. First lap zero: Kevin Magnussen
10. First man out: Kevin Magnussen
11. Safety cars: 0
12. Race leaders: 3
13. Classified: 16

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NH#1: Quick Nick Heidfeld
NH#2: HULK SMASH

PF1 Pick 10 Podiums: 6 (2nd IND '11; 1st JPN '12; 1st MCO '13; 3rd DEU '16; 3rd USA '16, 3rd MEX '16)

China

1. Quali winner: Lewis Hamilton
2. Race winner: Lewis Hamilton
3. Fastest lap: Kimi Raikkonen*
4. Quali surprise: Daniel Ricciardo
5. Quali victim: Antonio Giovinazzi
6. Overachiever race: Daniel Ricciardo
7. Underperformer race: Antonio Giovinazzi
8. First lap hero: Fernando Alonso
9. First lap zero: Valterri Bottas
10. First man out: Fernando Alonso
11. Safety cars: 1
12. Race leaders: 3
13. Classified: 15

* = joker

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Top Three Team Champions 2017 (With Jezza13)
Group Pick 'Em 2016 Champion