Motor Failures Decide World Championships in China

Qualifying:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Q1	Q2	Diff.
1	57	Dean Stoneman		1:47.207	1:46.408
2	63	George Russell		1:47.810	1:47.217	+0.809
3	1	Artem Markelov		1:48.918	1:49.308	+2.900
4	23	Alexander Albon		1:46.770	1:49.642	+3.234
5	18	Sebastian Vettel		1:49.659	1:50.477	+3.251
6	39	Sho Tsuboi		1:50.185	1:49.685	+3.277
7	77	Valtteri Bottas		1:50.387	1:49.755	+3.367
8	37	Victoria Desai		1:54.386	1:49.995	+3.587
9	29	Roger Ibe		1:50.312	1:52.201	+3.904
10	47	Lando Norris		1:50.754	1:50.509	+4.101
11	26	Robert Shwartzman		1:52.319	1:50.664	+4.256
12	70	Pastor Maldonado		1:50.815	1:50.701	+4.293
13	20	Kevin Magnussen		1:54.819	1:50.819	+4.411
14	33	Mick Schumacher		1:51.417	1:51.169	+4.761
15	4	Robin Frijns		1:51.324	1:51.592	+4.916
16	55	Carlos Sainz, Jr.		1:53.271	1:52.002	+5.594
17	11	Terry Hawkin		1:52.401	1:52.095	+5.687
18	31	Esteban Ocon		1:53.289	1:52.173	+5.765
19	23	Jules Bianchi		1:53.361	1:52.175	+5.767
20	95	Beitske Visser		1:53.638	1:53.012	+6.882
21	56	Einar Ármannsson		1:53.710	1:53.135	+6.679
22	46	Alessandro Cicognani		1:54.706	1:53.438	+7.265
23	7	Charles Leclerc		1:54.831	1:55.522	+8.432
24	84	Jack Aitken		1:55.846	1:55.452	+9.044

Report:

The pressure on the shoulders of Victoria Desai coming into the season finale must have been compatible to that of a neutron star. Finishing ahead of Sebastian Vettel would have made her the first Indian, the first woman, the first Ferrari driver since 2013 and the first rookie since Daniel Ricciardo to win the World Driver’s Championship.

Despite that pressure showing with a relatively poor qualifying outing, she made her way to the front in the race and was set to take the crown even before her title rival suffered the first motor failure of his season that ended any chance of him becoming a three-times champion.

Unfortunately, Ferrari’s celebrations were slightly marred as they could not secure the constructor’s title. Four Ferrari motors blew up throughout the entire race, first Albon’s, then the debuting Mick Schumacher’s and lastly the final race of Desai’s first season in Formula One ended the same way.

Roger Ibe was the fourth victim, but his misfortune arrived on the final lap, so he was able to rescue his car over the line. Still, it allowed Artem Markelov to close out his last race wearing number 1 in first place. Precision and Toyota also profited from the chaos to score both with both cars, the second time this happened all season.

Race:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time/Retired	Points
1	1	Artem Markelov		59:39.924	15
2	29	Roger Ibe		+3.141	12
3	47	Lando Norris		+6.880	10
4	70	Pastor Maldonado		+31.244	8
5	63	George Russell		+31.991	6
6	57	Dean Stoneman		+38.114	5
7	20	Kevin Magnussen		+40.577	4
8	39	Sho Tsuboi		+43.963	3
9	77	Valtteri Bottas		+46.545	2
10	11	Terry Hawkin		+55.530	1
11	14	Esteban Ocon		+75.479
12	95	Beitske Visser		+115.911
13	27	Jules Bianchi		1 Lap
14	57	Einar Ármannsson		1 Lap
15	46	Alessandro Cicognani		1 Lap
16	7	Charles Leclerc		1 Lap
17	85	Jack Aitken		1 Lap
18	55	Carlos Sainz, Jr.		1 Lap
19	4	Robin Frijns		2 Laps
DNF	37	Victoria Desai		Motor
DNF	33	Mick Schumacher		Motor
DNF	23	Alexander Albon		Motor
DNF	18	Sebastian Vettel		Motor
DNF	26	Robert Shwartzman		Transmission

Fastest Lap:

Victoria Desai – 1:43.110

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Artem Markelov – one final victory to make up for a disappointing title defense.

Reject Of The Race:

Ferrari – their poor reliability cost them the constructor’s crown and it took breathtaking good luck to not lose the other title as well.