Attempted Last-Lap Pass Goes Wrong, Norris Penalised as Ármannsson Wins Again

Qualifying:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Q1	Q2	Diff.
1	56	Einar Ármannsson		1:06.994	1:08.981
2	7	Charles Leclerc		1:07.590	1:10.294	+0.746
3	94	Pascal Wehrlein		1:07.669	1:09.596	+0.825
4	26	Robert Shwartzman		1:07.806	1:10.341	+0.962
5	60	Ritomo Miyata		1:07.916	1:10.390	+1.072
6	23	Jules Bianchi		1:07.973	1:08.683	+1.129
7	39	Sho Tsuboi		1:07.978	1:08.507	+1.134
8	47	Lando Norris		1:08.112	1:09.736	+1.268
9	88	Robert Kubica		1:08.202	1:09.033	+1.358
10	4	Robin Frijns		1:08.469	1:11.290	+1.625
11	63	George Russell		1:08.885	1:09.341	+2.041
12	57	Dean Stoneman		1:08.962	1:10.094	+2.118
13	18	Sebastian Vettel		1:08.966	1:09.425	+2.122
14	70	Pastor Maldonado		1:09.011	1:12.419	+2.167
15	1	Victoria Desai		1:09.258	1:09.615	+2.414
16	20	Kevin Magnussen		1:09.381	1:09.480	+2.537
17	33	Max Verstappen		1:09.793	1:11.296	+2.949
18	29	Roger Ibe		1:10.027	1:10.966	+3.183
19	55	Carlos Sainz, Jr.		1:10.584	1:11.596	+3.740
20	10	Alessio Lorandi		1:10.639	1:12.009	+3.795
21	95	Beitske Visser		1:10.721	1:11.750	+3.877
22	81	Malik Zidan		1:11.238	1:12.513	+4.394
23	80	Raven Roth		1:11.781	1:13.240	+4.937
24	11	Terry Hawkin		1:12.308	1:14.200	+5.464
25	98	Colton Herta		1:12.545	1:13.049	+5.701
26	21	Théo Pourchaire		1:12.758	1:14.640	+5.914

Report:

After last year’s surprise win by Pastor Maldonado, the Venezuelan crowd was absolutely packing the Globex Autódromo de San Carlos, putting the expanded facilities of the South American track to their limits.

While the hometown favourite failed to finish the race because of a transmission failure, the fans still left happily, seeing an exciting race with overtakes, but also great defensive driving ensued thanks to a mixed grid.

One of the drivers taking advantage of the conditions in qualifying was Einar Ármannsson who was on the track at the right time to take pole position. He managed to hold the lead for most of the race until Norris pushed him out on the final lap. The stewards immediately gave Norris a penalty, giving MRT back-to-back wins at the green table.

Unfortunately, the Venezuela Grand Prix was not just a disappointment for Pastor Maldonado and his many fans in San Carlos, but also for the Toyota motor department: three cars ended up retiring with motor issues. Only Robert Kubica managed to score points for a Toyota-powered team despite five Toyota-powered cars starting in the top 10.

Race:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	56	Einar Ármannsson		49:29.216	1	11
2	47	Lando Norris		+20.944*	8	8
3	88	Robert Kubica		+40.032	9	6
4	1	Victoria Desai		1 Lap	15	5
5	33	Max Verstappen		1 Lap	17	4
6	29	Roger Ibe		1 Lap	18	3
7	10	Alessio Lorandi		1 Lap	20	2
8	95	Beitske Visser		1 Lap	21	1
9	60	Ritomo Miyata		1 Lap	5
10	80	Raven Roth		2 Laps	23
11	98	Colton Herta		2 Laps	25
12	26	Robert Shwartzman		2 Laps	4
13	11	Terry Hawkin		2 Laps	24
14	55	Carlos Sainz, Jr.		2 Laps	19
15	21	Théo Pourchaire		2 Laps	26
Ret	4	Robin Frijns		Motor	10
Ret	70	Pastor Maldonado		Transmission	14
Ret	39	Sho Tsuboi		Loose Wheel	7
Ret	81	Malik Zidan		Transmission	22
Ret	63	George Russell		Motor	11
Ret	23	Jules Bianchi		Suspension	6
Ret	7	Charles Leclerc		Water Leak	2
Ret	18	Sebastian Vettel		Collision	13
Ret	20	Kevin Magnussen		Motor	16
Ret	57	Dean Stoneman		Suspension	12
Ret	94	Pascal Wehrlein		Motor	3

Fastest Lap:

Lando Norris – 1:03.670

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Terry Hawkin – the FAST actually looked like a competitive Formula 1 car in South America thanks to Hawkin’s driving.

Reject Of The Race:

Toyota – three terminal issues with Toyota hydrogen power units, all of them before the halfway point.