Fuel Trouble Hands Dave Cassidy Victory

Qualifying:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time
1	1	Sebastian Vettel		1:16.624
2	2	Lewis Hamilton		1:16.774
3	62	Dave Cassidy		1:17.166
4	63	Jules Bianchi		1:17.256
5	27	Nathan McKane		1:17.405
6	21	Stoffel Vandoorne		1:17.530
7	98	Salvatore Miccoli		1:17.664
8	90	Daniel Ricciardo		1:17.672
9	91	Max Verstappen		1:17.689
10	99	Kevin Magnussen		1:17.794
11	29	Pastor Maldonado		1:17.931
12	28	Romain Grosjean		1:18.006
13	43	Sébastien Bourdais		1:18.064
14	55	Artem Markelov		1:18.165
15	22	Johnny Cecotto Jr.		1:18.220
16	5	Valtteri Bottas		1:18.470
17	31	Rhys Davies		1:18.551
18	32	Daniel Melrose		1:18.558
19	67	Marcel Agyemang-Badu		1:18.777
20	30	Mike Rockenfeller		1:18.793
21	42	Davide Valsecchi		1:18.967
22	56	Bradley Dagnall		1:19.029
23	6	Ma Qinghua		1:19.181
24	12	Scott Dixon		1:19.509
25	66	Esteban Ocon		1:19.557
26	11	Shad Griffith		1:19.798

* demoted five places for changing engine/gearbox

Report:

The first Pepsi Australian Grand Prix of 2018 proved a very interesting Saturday race, given as a couple of teams have brought different aerodynamic upgrades for this race, hoping to turn the midfield battle in their favour.

This did not affect the business end of the grid, as the Caterham boys were once more superior in qualifying, easily stomping the competition on the way to Sebastian Vettel’s eight pole of the year, once more tying the pole trophy.

As it turned out, though, being good in qualifying alone does not suffice, as Lewis Hamilton threw his chances at success away with an error in the race itself. Sebastian Vettel was free to take advantage and win, but a fatal lack of fuel ended his hope of winning this Grand Prix, leaving Cassidy to snatch that win at the last second.

The above-mentioned midfield battle saw Calinetic, Haas and Sauber battle it out throughout the entire race, with Haas looking like having the edge. Unfortunately, their hard work became undone when Vandoorne learned that in a close fight, every mistake allows Max Verstappen to take his first podium, and Cecotto imitated Vettel.

Race:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time/Retired	Points
1	62	Dave Cassidy		48:59.677	15
2	1	Sebastian Vettel		+1.247	14
3	91	Max Verstappen		+22.876	10
4	29	Pastor Maldonado		+24.779	8
5	90	Daniel Ricciardo		+26.813	6
6	21	Stoffel Vandoorne		+28.727	5
7	99	Kevin Magnussen		+42.860	4
8	43	Sébastien Bourdais		+43.266	3
9	55	Artem Markelov		+44.554	2
10	30	Mike Rockenfeller		+48.760	1
11	66	Esteban Ocon		+53.616	0
12	67	Marcel Agyemang-Badu		+57.522	0
13	2	Lewis Hamilton		+60.524	0
14	5	Valtteri Bottas		+67.559	0
15	42	Davide Valsecchi		+69.744	0
16	11	Shad Griffith		+71.513	0
17	6	Ma Qinghua		+75.459	0
18	56	Bradley Dagnall		+76.590	0
19	12	Scott Dixon		+77.147	0
20	32	Daniel Melrose		+78.769	0
21	22	Johnny Cecotto Jr.		Fuel	0
DNF	98	Salvatore Miccoli		Brakes	0
DNF	31	Rhys Davies		Puncture	0
DNF	28	Romain Grosjean		Transmission	0
DNF	27	Nathan McKane		Transmission	0
DNF	63	Jules Bianchi		Accident	0

Fastest Lap:

Stoffel Vandoorne – 1:16.812

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Calinetic-Holden – nailed their upgrade and got rewarded for doing so.

Reject Of The Race:

Williams-Ferrari – were a complete waste of space on the track.