Torrente Retirement Hands Bianchi British Grand Prix Victory

Qualifying:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time
1	27	Jules Bianchi		48.724
2	18	Sebastian Vettel		48.738
3	96	Diego Álvarez Torrente		48.777
4	73	Daniel Melrose		48.917
5	64	Dave Cassidy		48.935
6	1	Pastor Maldonado		48.938
7	11	James James Davies		48.902*
8	6	Artem Markelov		49.001
9	35	Sergey Sirotkin		49.001
10	55	Santiago Urrutia		49.072
11	47	Lando Norris		49.345
12	14	Marcel Agyemang-Badu		49.374
13	57	Dean Stoneman		49.398
14	33	Salvatore Miccoli		49.489
15	22	Kazuki Nakajima		49.547
16	99	Mike Rockenfeller		49.600
17	3	Marvin Kirchhöfer		49.603
18	23	Alexander Albon		49.995
19	94	Pascal Wehrlein		50.107
20	56	Einar Ármannsson		50.124
21	10	Pierre Gasly		50.124
22	19	Jordan Davies		50.170
23	7	Charles Leclerc		50.178
24	98	Bradley Dagnall		50.323

* given three-place grid penalty for causing an avoidable accident

Report:

Most pundits predicted that the British Grand Prix would be a one-sided affair with Precision-Mercedes rolling to an easy 1-2. Thankfully, this prediction turned out to be nonsense and a true battle ensued.

Sebastian Vettel, who struggled this season, was able to put his massive skill to use and nearly stole pole position on Saturday. Even then, he stuck around, only a second or two behind race leader Bianchi.

During the pitstop phase, Bianchi’s teammate successfully completed an overcut, taking the lead and then extending it to 5 seconds before disaster struck: a motor failure took him out of the running on lap 42.

This allowed Dave Cassidy to pass Daniel Melrose on the second-to-last lap to secure a vital podium finish for Ferrari. Sergey Sirotkin and Pastor Maldonado both impressed in fifth and sixth as well.

Race:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time/Retired	Points
1	27	Jules Bianchi		44:25.676	15
2	18	Sebastian Vettel		+3.738	12
3	64	Dave Cassidy		+15.256	10
4	73	Daniel Melrose		+16.869	8
5	35	Sergey Sirotkin		+27.052	6
6	1	Pastor Maldonado		+36.820	5
7	47	Lando Norris		+40.743	4
8	33	Salvatore Miccoli		1 Lap	3
9	6	Artem Markelov		1 Lap	2
10	99	Mike Rockenfeller		1 Lap	1
11	57	Dean Stoneman		1 Lap	0
12	11	James James Davies		1 Lap	0
13	94	Pascal Wehrlein		1 Lap	0
14	7	Charles Leclerc		1 Lap	0
15	56	Einar Ármannsson		2 Laps	0
16	22	Kazuki Nakajima		2 Laps	0
17	3	Marvin Kirchhöfer		2 Laps	0
18	10	Pierre Gasly		2 Laps	0
19	23	Alexander Albon		2 Laps	0
20	55	Santiago Urrutia		2 Laps*	0
21	98	Bradley Dagnall		3 Laps	0
22	19	Jordan Davies		3 Laps	0
DNF	96	Diego Álvarez Torrente		Motor	0
DNF	14	Marcel Agyemang-Badu		Collision	0

Fastest Lap:

Diego Álvarez Torrente – 49.382

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Sebastian Vettel – he fought the superior Precisions with his own talent alone.

Reject Of The Race:

Santiago Urrutia – ruins both Williams’ and FAST’s afternoon with an overeager move through the first corners.