Magnussen Wins in Style, Opens 2018 Season

Qualifying:

Pos#DriverConstructorTime
198Salvatore MiccoliDGN-Mercedes1:08.659
299Kevin MagnussenDGN-Mercedes1:08.800
327Nathan McKaneFerrari1:08.804
41Sebastian VettelCaterham-Judd1:08.940
52Lewis HamiltonCaterham-Judd1:08.980
629Pastor MaldonadoSauber-Judd1:08.982
762Dave CassidyPrecision-Mercedes1:09.059
85Valtteri BottasWilliams-Ferrari1:09.081
928Marcel Agyemang-BaduFerrari1:09.292
1021Stoffel VandoorneHaas-Judd1:09.330
1142Davide ValsecchiValerian-Ferrari1:09.299
1222Johnny Cecotto Jr.Haas-Judd1:09.360
1391Max VerstappenCalinetic-Holden1:09.377
1431Rhys DaviesHolden1:09.436
1590Daniel RicciardoCalinetic-Holden1:09.473
1643Sergio PérezValerian-Ferrari1:09.609
1732Daniel MelroseHolden1:09.649
1867Pierre GaslyRed Bull-Mercedes1:09.735
196Matt SolomonWilliams-Ferrari1:10.145
2030Nico HülkenbergSauber-Judd1:10.216
2112Scott DixonFlanders-Holden1:10.456
2266Josef NewgardenRed Bull-Mercedes1:10.489
2356Bradley DagnallMansell-Mercedes1:10.673
2463Jules BianchiPrecision-Mercedes1:10.856
2555Artem MarkelovMansell-Mercedes1:10.888
2611Daniël de JongFlanders-Holden1:11.203

Report:

Kevin Magnussen scored his first race win in the first race of this season.

The happiest day of the year 2018 was March 3: Formula One returned to the screens of audiences worldwide. The premier racing series in the world today had a lot of debate after pre-season testing promised an awfully close field. It delivered on the hype with a thrilling battle in the city of Las Vegas, which saw Kevin Magnussen come out on top.

DGN were the strongest team on the American street track, taking control of qualifying and closing out the front row. At the start, Magnussen and polesitter Miccoli perfectly defended themselves against the opposition, securing a 1-2 after the first lap. Miccoli was in a great position to take his first win until his race engineer lost the lead to Magnussen on strategy.

Miccoli even dropped out of the podium spots when Nathan McKane and Sebastian Vettel used their superior pace to get past the Italian at the second round of stops. In the end, it was only fourth for the young Italian. He finished ahead of Marcel Agyemang-Badu, who had a thrilling debut, battling against three-time champion of the world Lewis Hamilton.

Pierre Gasly proved that he is able to take over Fernando Alonso’s job as the man carrying the entire dysfunctional Red Bull operation on his shoulders, completely demolishing his rookie teammate and scoring three valueable points. The much hyped newcomers Holden were also able to score, Rhys Davies finished the race in tenth position.

Race:

Pos#DriverConstructorTime/RetiredPoints
199Kevin MagnussenDGN-Mercedes50:15.22815
227Nathan McKaneFerrari+11.97012
31Sebastian VettelCaterham-Judd+12.70710
498Salvatore MiccoliDGN-Mercedes+13.80010
528Marcel Agyemang-BaduFerrari+28.6736
62Lewis HamiltonCaterham-Judd+30.6645
75Valtteri BottasWilliams-Ferrari+31.3234
867Pierre GaslyRed Bull-Mercedes+45.4453
922Johnny Cecotto Jr.Haas-Judd+48.5482
1031Rhys DaviesHolden+50.5091
1191Max VerstappenCalinetic-Holden+56.5600
1243Sergio PérezValerian-Ferrari+59.3680
1329Pastor MaldonadoSauber-Judd+59.7840
1456Bradley DagnallMansell-Mercedes+65.4940
1590Daniel RicciardoCalinetic-Holden+66.1920
1612Scott DixonFlanders-Holden+67.2930
1721Stoffel VandoorneHaas-Judd+68.7500
1863Jules BianchiPrecision-Mercedes+1 Lap0
1911Daniël de JongFlanders-Holden+1 Lap0
2055Artem MarkelovMansell-Mercedes+1 Lap0
2166Josef NewgardenRed Bull-Mercedes+1 Lap0
DNF6Matt SolomonWilliams-FerrariEngine0
DNF62Dave CassidyPrecision-MercedesTransmission0
DNF42Davide ValsecchiValerian-FerrariSuspension0
DNF30Nico HülkenbergSauber-JuddSuspension0
DNF32Daniel MelroseHoldenThrottle0

Fastest Lap:

Salvatore Miccoli – 1:09.611

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Pierre Gasly – Great job taking a weak Red Bull car to P8.

Reject Of The Race:

Josef Newgarden – Was extremely disappointing in his debut race at home.