Energy Mismanagement Costs ROOKIE Racing Win, Vettel Lucky Again

Qualifying:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Q1	Q2	Diff.
1	39	Sho Tsuboi		1:12.879	1:11.716
2	88	Robert Kubica		1:12.830	1:11.806	+0.090
3	20	Kevin Magnussen		1:12.794	1:12.026	+0.310
4	7	Charles Leclerc		1:13.135	1:12.216	+0.500
5	57	Dean Stoneman		1:13.000	1:12.249	+0.533
6	94	Pascal Wehrlein		1:13.097	1:12.292	+0.576
7	63	George Russell		1:13.079	1:12.349	+0.633
8	60	Ritomo Miyata		1:13.531	1:12.389	+0.673
9	4	Robin Frijns		1:13.442	1:12.483	+0.767
10	55	Carlos Sainz, Jr.		1:13.529	1:12.604	+0.888
11	47	Lando Norris		1:14.005	1:12.742	+1.026
12	18	Sebastian Vettel		1:14.111	1:13.091	+1.375
13	56	Einar Ármannsson		1:14.281	1:13.353	+1.637
14	23	Jules Bianchi		1:14.583	1:13.357	+1.641
15	1	Victoria Desai		1:14.549	1:13.579	+1.863
16	10	Alessio Lorandi		1:14.580	1:13.881	+2.165
17	33	Max Verstappen		1:14.940	1:13.887	+2.171
18	26	Robert Shwartzman		1:14.830	1:13.889	+2.173
19	29	Roger Ibe		1:15.202	1:13.927	+2.211
20	70	Pastor Maldonado		1:14.804	1:13.971	+2.255
21	95	Beitske Visser		1:15.217	1:14.144	+2.428
22	81	Malik Zidan		1:15.341	1:14.276	+2.560
23	98	Colton Herta		1:15.248	1:14.280	+2.564
24	80	Raven Roth		1:15.565	1:14.406	+2.690
25	11	Terry Hawkin		1:15.739	1:14.850	+3.134
26	21	Théo Pourchaire		1:16.215	1:15.196	+3.480

Report:

One of the amazing traits of motorsport is that it is explicitly designed to push man and machinery to the breaking point. This occasionally results in some odd results and this year’s Cyprus Grand Prix will be remembered as one of those oddities.

The race began with a major crash caused by Pascal Wehrlein leaving his teammate no room. Despite going airborne, Kevin Magnussen’s car proved stable enough to tank that impact. George Russell proved not so lucky, the first retirement.

After that, the race was a stable affair out front, as the two ROOKIE Racing cars had the edge. In the midfield, drivers starting down the order like Jules Bianchi and Lando Norris embarrassed themselves in wheel-to-wheel racing.

Then came the drama: on the final lap, team radio lit up as many teams told their drivers to desperately save energy. One of the few drivers not hampered was Sebastian Vettel, who flew by both Ármannsson and Tsuboi for his third win of the year.

Race:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	18	Sebastian Vettel		40:32.390	12	10
2	56	Einar Ármannsson		+1.095	13	8
3	39	Sho Tsuboi		+5.109	1	7
4	1	Victoria Desai		+11.019	15	5
5	88	Robert Kubica		+17.760	2	4
6	33	Max Verstappen		+24.815	17	3
7	29	Roger Ibe		+26.624	19	2
8	26	Robert Shwartzman		+27.193	18	1
9	94	Pascal Wehrlein		+27.683	6
10	70	Pastor Maldonado		+28.517	20
11	98	Colton Herta		+34.379	23
12	60	Ritomo Miyata		+44.476	8
13	80	Raven Roth		+53.557	24
14	57	Dean Stoneman		+81.855	5
15	20	Kevin Magnussen		+93.756	3
16	81	Malik Zidan		1 Lap	22
17	95	Beitske Visser		1 Lap	21
18	55	Carlos Sainz, Jr.		1 Lap	10
Ret	47	Lando Norris		Transmission	3
Ret	10	Alessio Lorandi		Collision	19
Ret	23	Jules Bianchi		Motor	14
Ret	11	Terry Hawkin		Motor	25
Ret	7	Charles Leclerc		Loose Wheel	4
Ret	4	Robin Frijns		Motor	9
Ret	21	Théo Pourchaire		Transmission	26
Ret	63	George Russell		Collision	7

Fastest Lap:

Sebastian Vettel – 1:11.852

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Charles Leclerc – would have finished in the top 5 if not for a technical problem.

Reject Of The Race:

Energy Management – while it is unclear who is responsible for this embarrassment, it was not the best look for motorsport.