Bourdais Scores Major Points, Title Fight Turns Exciting

Qualifying:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time
1	62	Dave Cassidy		1:06.892
3	63	Jules Bianchi		1:07.184
2	1	Sebastian Vettel		1:07.231
4	2	Lewis Hamilton		1:07.428
5	29	Pastor Maldonado		1:07.453
6	98	Salvatore Miccoli		1:07.534
7	99	Kevin Magnussen		1:07.541
8	90	Daniel Ricciardo		1:07.626
9	27	Nathan McKane		1:07.710
10	21	Stoffel Vandoorne		1:07.786
11	91	Sergio Pérez		1:08.036
12	22	Johnny Cecotto Jr.		1:08.224
13	31	Rhys Davies		1:08.354
14	30	Mike Rockenfeller		1:08.400
15	5	Valtteri Bottas		1:08.440
16	43	Sébastien Bourdais		1:08.443
17	28	Romain Grosjean		1:08.444
18	55	Artem Markelov		1:08.581
19	32	Daniel Melrose		1:09.129
20	67	Marcel Agyemang-Badu		1:09.289
21	66	Esteban Ocon		1:09.257
22	12	Scott Dixon		1:09.373
23	42	Davide Valsecchi		1:09.417
24	11	Carlos Sainz Jr		1:09.503
25	6	Ma Qinghua		1:09.666
26	56	Bradley Dagnall		1:09.777

* demoted five places for changing engine/gearbox

Report:

The poor people working for Valerian-Ferrari need every bit of hope they can get. With their withdrawal not official yet, but rumoured heavily, they can use every positive bit of news the team can get: thank Valerian’s divinity of choice for Bourdais, who drove his heart out, fighting strong rivals to finish seventh.

That was just one story for the French Formula One fans: their title hopes, lying with Jules Bianchi, were given a major boost. The French driver won, admittedly helped by Dave Cassidy’s loyality to the greater cause, whilst a driving error dropped Sebastian Vettel down the order; costing him P1 in the WDC.

Another team that had a good day was Sauber, who were enabled to fly past Ferrari in the standings thanks to yet another supremely professional drive from Pastor Maldonado. The former paydriver from Venezuela has turned into one of the brigtest stars in the sport and has made up for Rockenfeller missing out on points for the first time in a handful of races.

Calinetic-Holden can also be rather pleased with their performance at this race, both cars were in the points. Local guest starter Sergio Pérez, who refused to hide his desire for a return to F1 full-time next year, was able to get the better of his one-off Australian teammate, finishing 1.386 seconds ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, who was happy either way.

Race:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time/Retired	Points
1	63	Jules Bianchi		42:45.446	15
2	62	Dave Cassidy		+3.181	14
3	2	Lewis Hamilton		+8.836	10
4	29	Pastor Maldonado		+18.146	8
5	98	Salvatore Miccoli		+21.031	6
6	99	Kevin Magnussen		+30.696	5
7	43	Sébastien Bourdais		+40.915	4
8	1	Sebastian Vettel		+41.006	3
9	91	Sergio Pérez		+42.749	2
10	90	Daniel Ricciardo		+43.935	1
11	28	Romain Grosjean		+48.472	0
12	22	Johnny Cecotto Jr.		+51.536	4
13	12	Scott Dixon		+52.748	0
14	31	Rhys Davies		+54.997	0
15	66	Marcel Agyemang-Badu		+59.116	0
16	56	Bradley Dagnall		+1 Lap	0
17	30	Mike Rockenfeller		+1 Lap	0
18	5	Valtteri Bottas		+1 Lap	0
19	67	Esteban Ocon		+1 Lap	0
20	42	Davide Valsecchi		+1 Lap	0
21	6	Ma Qinghua		+1 Lap	0
22	32	Daniel Melrose		+1 Lap	0
23	11	Carlos Sainz Jr.		+2 Laps	0
DNF	21	Stoffel Vandoorne		Accident	0
DNF	55	Artem Markelov		Transmission	0
DNF	27	Nathan McKane		Transmission	0

Fastest Lap:

Dave Cassidy – 1:08.744

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Sébastien Bourdais – a truly heroic drive in a miserable vehicle.

Reject Of The Race:

Sebastian Vettel – awful memories of pre-2016 Sebastian Vettel came up again.