Vandoorne Ruins Close Showdown

Qualifying:

[table “” not found /]

* 10-place grid penalty for engine/gearbox change

Report:

After his own teammate had cost him his legendary point-scoring streak, Vettel was looking for revenge. Regrettably, Daniil Kwjat managed to deny the German his desire to get the better of him, although he had some aid: after a pair of great laps saw Kwjat and Vettel in a 1-2 on the grid, a good start by Kwjat managed to keep him in the lead, as Vettel dropped behind Bianchi, losing some time in the first laps.

Once that was done, the hunt for the lead was on: both Caterhams being on highly different strategies. Whilst Daniil’s race engineer was more concerned with long-term track position, Sebastian’s race engineer decided to make use of fresh tyres when it counted. In the end, both strategies worked out and it was down to a shootout for the win – with Nathan McKane sneaking in after making up ground on Kwjat in the middle stint.

Regrettably, that is where the backmarkers decided to make a point: first Will Power escaped the grasp of the leaders, he went unpunished on account of actually being faster. Stoffel Vandoorne had not the same luck, as he couldn’t even prevent Vettel from relapping him. Sebastian was highly unpleased with the Belgian driver, who joins Bradley Dagnall (who ruined Simon Pagenaud’s race) in making the backmarkers look back.

Behind the leaders, Precision-Mercedes with a great run to secure their grip on P3 in the world championship, Jules Bianchi had the advantage over Esteban Ocon, who looks likely to run in Austria, as the team evaluates him for a potential 2018 drive alongside Dave Cassidy. Williams improved their situation by bringing both cars in the finish, Cassidy beating out Power with a great last stint.

Race:

[table “” not found /]

Fastest Lap:

Pastor Maldonado – 1:07.893

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Luiz Razia – Was there when the chance arose, got a neat point for Peugeot.

Reject Of The Race:

Stoffel Vandoorne – Ruining the fun of a final-lap three-way fight sure angered FOM boss Christian Horner.