In Ferocious Rain, Hamilton Scores First Victory of 2019

Qualifying:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time
1	2	Lewis Hamilton		1:20.236
2	63	Diego Álvarez Torrente		1:20.242
3	29	Pastor Maldonado		1:20.524
4	30	Dean Stoneman		1:20.629
5	1	Sebastian Vettel		1:20.803
6	62	Jules Bianchi		1:20.840
7	23	Pierre Gasly		1:21.011
8	33	Einar Ármannsson		1:21.127
9	34	Valtteri Bottas		1:21.176
10	24	Kevin Magnussen		1:21.324
11	22	Jordan Davies		1:21.685
12	91	Max Verstappen		1:21.824
13	21	Stoffel Vandoorne		1:21.901
14	28	Daniel Melrose		1:22.075
15	27	Dave Cassidy		1:22.101
16	31	Romain Grosjean		1:22.342
17	55	Artem Markelov		1:22.688
18	119	Felix Rosenqvist		1:22.824
19	118	Carlos Sainz Jr		1:23.160
20	90	Daniel Ricciardo		1:23.310
21	32	Alexander Albon		1:23.412
22	67	Mike Rockenfeller		1:23.623
23	56	Sergey Sirotkin		1:23.701
24	6	Santiago Urrutia		1:23.805
25	5	Mikhail Aleshin		1:24.100
26	66	Pascal Wehrlein		1:24.113

Report:

Weather reports predicted that a rain storm could affect the second race at Istanbul Park for the entire week of the Grands Prix. Indeed, they were right, as the water came and it came hard. Safety Car driver Maven O’Connor sure earned his money today, starting the race in front of the pack and staying there for one third of the race distance.

After the conditions had calmed down to a point where actual racing became an option again, pole driver Lewis Hamilton was asked to lead the field into the 11th lap, the first of actual racing. He did so, retaining the lead and slowing down the pack to the point his team-mate could move one spot ahead after a bad qualifying saw him in P6.

As Hamilton build his lead and kept it through the pitstop phases, a major threat appeared. Despite a bad pitstop strategy, Jules Bianchi was able to threaten Hamilton with extreme speed. However, the British superstar managed to hang on in the final lap and finally grab that elusive win, the first one of his otherwise so-far disappointing year.

Rain gives a chance to the minor teams to advance further than they normally would: BR Mansell was one of those teams, placing their drivers in 13th and 15th after penalties to Dave Cassidy and Carlos Sainz, Jr.; the other one was Holden, which enabled Romain Grosjean to secure another two points, demonstrating his skills to all once more.

Race:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time/Retired	Points
1	2	Lewis Hamilton		60:07.159	15
2	62	Jules Bianchi		+1.684	12
3	29	Pastor Maldonado		+5.049	10
4	1	Sebastian Vettel		+11.778	8
5	30	Dean Stoneman		+19.003	6
6	33	Einar Ármannsson		+24.579	5
7	24	Kevin Magnussen		+28.227	4
8	23	Pierre Gasly		+29.792	3
9	31	Romain Grosjean		+35.493	2
10	34	Valtteri Bottas		+36.151	1
11	22	Jordan Davies		+38.778	0
12	21	Stoffel Vandoorne		+41.321	0
13	55	Artem Markelov		+42.962	0
14	32	Alexander Albon		+43.705	0
15	56	Sergey Sirotkin		+46.608	0
16	28	Daniel Melrose		+47.149	0
17	90	Daniel Ricciardo		+47.923	0
18	67	Mike Rockenfeller		+49.729	0
19	118	Carlos Sainz Jr		+51.208*	0
20	27	Dave Cassidy		+57.791**	0
21	5	Mikhail Aleshin		+60.756	0
22	6	Santiago Urrutia		+62.168	0
DNF	63	Diego Álvarez Torrente		Loose Wheel	0
DNF	91	Max Verstappen		Collision	0
DNF	66	Pascal Wehrlein		Transmission	0
DNF	119	Felix Rosenqvist		Collision	0

* given five-second penalty
* given twenty-second penalty

Fastest Lap:

Jules Bianchi – 1:33.422

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Romain Grosjean – he has become an elite driver, taking every chance to help Holden’s cause.

Reject Of The Race:

Carlos Sainz, Jr. – taking out your teammate after a safety car period is simply unneeded.