Precision dominate Estoril return

Qualifying:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time
1	27	Jules Bianchi		1:24.742
2	96	Diego Álvarez Torrente		1:24.902
3	1	Pastor Maldonado		1:25.511
4	7	Charles Leclerc		1:25.629
5	47	Lando Norris		1:25.654
6	18	Sebastian Vettel		1:25.661
7	64	Dave Cassidy		1:25.662
8	14	Marcel Agyemang-Badu		1:25.788
9	6	Artem Markelov		1:25.857
10	33	Salvatore Miccoli		1:25.940
11	73	Daniel Melrose		1:26.252
12	57	Dean Stoneman		1:26.361
13	94	Pascal Wehrlein		1:26.401
14	56	Einar Ármannsson		1:26.487
15	11	James James Davies		1:26.521
16	55	Santiago Urrutia		1:26.596
17	99	Mike Rockenfeller		1:26.684
18	3	Marvin Kirchhöfer		1:27.017
19	35	Sergey Sirotkin		1:27.061
20	37	Kazuki Nakajima		1:27.421
21	23	Alexander Albon		1:27.789
22	19	Jordan Davies		1:27.936
23	10	Pierre Gasly		1:28.090
24	98	Bradley Dagnall		1:28.186

Report:

The Portugese Grand Prix returned to the Formula One calendar for the first time since 2014, with the Estoril circuit hosting a Formula One race for the first time in 20 years. Having been host to oddball winners in the past such as Frédéric-Maxime Voeckler, it was hoped that this race would deliver as well. It turned out to be anything but.

Qualifying and the race were both similar – that is, utter Precision whitewashes. Bianchi and Torrente locked out the front row on Saturday by 7 tenths of a second, and got a 1-2 on Sunday by 30 seconds. Pastor Maldonado’s strong 3rd place grid slot came to nothing as his transmission broke early on, with Charles Leclerc managing to take his 2nd career podium with another impressive performance from the rookie. Teammate Badu was behind in 4th giving FAST a good points haul today.

With Salvatore Miccoli, Dean Stoneman and Daniel Melrose slotting quietly into 5th, 6th and 7th places, the main focus was on the titanic battle for 8th. Pascal Wehrlein came out on top, with Einar Ármansson close behind giving Calinetic a solid 5 points, moving them ahead of Dawson for 10th in the constructors, and Santiago Urrutia gave Williams an extra point – although they are now well out of reach of FAST in the WCC.

Sergey Sirotkin and Marvin Kirchhöfer were 11th and 12th, and the only notable event to happen in the latter stages of the race was Sebastian Vettel crashing out of 4th place on the penultimate lap, which was hugely embarrassing for the double world champion.

Race:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time/Retired	Points
1	27	Jules Bianchi		1:06:17.149	15
2	96	Diego Álvarez Torrente		+6.028	12
3	7	Charles Leclerc		+31.499	10
4	14	Marcel Agyemang-Badu		+41.935	8
5	33	Salvatore Miccoli		+43.576	6
6	57	Dean Stoneman		+47.474	5
7	73	Daniel Melrose		+58.852	4
8	94	Pascal Wehrlein		+1:25.434	3
9	56	Einar Ármannsson		+1:25.676	2
10	55	Santiago Urrutia		+1:25.835	1
11	35	Sergey Sirotkin		+1:26.041	0
12	3	Marvin Kirchhöfer		+1:26.153	0
13	23	Alexander Albon		1 Lap	0
14	37	Kazuki Nakajima		1 Lap	0
15	19	Jordan Davies		1 Lap	0
16	10	Pierre Gasly		1 Lap	0
17	18	Sebastian Vettel		Accident	0
18	98	Bradley Dagnall		2 Laps	0
DNF	11	James James Davies		Suspension	0
DNF	99	Mike Rockenfeller		Accident	0
DNF	64	Dave Cassidy		Transmission	0
DNF	6	Artem Markelov		Motor	0
DNF	47	Lando Norris		Transmission	0
DNF	1	Pastor Maldonado		Transmission	0

Fastest Lap:

Diego Álvarez Torrente– 1:27.841

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Charles Leclerc – another impressive performance from the rookie nets him a second podium and puts him further on the map of the big F1 teams.

Reject Of The Race:

Caterham-Judd – saw their hopes of catching Precision go away after scoring no points today.