Rainstorm Causes Red Flag, Melrose Wins at Magny-Cours
Qualifying:
Pos | # | Driver | Constructor | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 27 | Jules Bianchi | 1:14.480 | |
2 | 73 | Daniel Melrose | 1:14.738 | |
3 | 18 | Sebastian Vettel | 1:14.975 | |
4 | 64 | Dave Cassidy | 1:15.141 | |
5 | 6 | Artem Markelov | 1:15.149 | |
6 | 99 | Mike Rockenfeller | 1:15.264 | |
7 | 1 | Pastor Maldonado | 1:15.286 | |
8 | 47 | Lando Norris | 1:15.464 | |
9 | 33 | Salvatore Miccoli | 1:15.557 | |
10 | 7 | Charles Leclerc | 1:15.743 | |
11 | 57 | Dean Stoneman | 1:15.921 | |
12 | 96 | Diego Álvarez Torrente | 1:14.640* | |
13 | 3 | Marvin Kirchhöfer | 1:16.004 | |
14 | 35 | Sergey Sirotkin | 1:16.084 | |
15 | 55 | Santiago Urrutia | 1:16.299 | |
16 | 11 | James James Davies | 1:16.398 | |
17 | 22 | Kazuki Nakajima | 1:16.512 | |
18 | 14 | Marcel Agyemang-Badu | 1:16.829 | |
19 | 19 | Jordan Davies | 1:16.845 | |
20 | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein | 1:16.989 | |
21 | 56 | Einar Ármannsson | 1:17.113 | |
22 | 98 | Bradley Dagnall | 1:17.151 | |
23 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | 1:17.394 | |
24 | 23 | Alexander Albon | 1:17.527 |
* given ten-place grid penalty for causing an avoidable accident
Report:
Many weathermen predicted rain to arrive at some point during the French Grand Prix, much to the delight of F1 fans who know that a good rain shower can turn a race upside-down and offer new chances for everyone.
Unfortunately, this day, the weather gods clearly overdid it, resulting in a massive rain storm that made it unable to race a F1 car; leaving the fans with only half a race and the drivers with only half the points.
However, even if it is only a 7.5-point win, Daniel Melrose will be glad to take it after surviving a lap in the heavy rain on dry tyres and then not spinning off when many ahead of him did, including stars like Bianchi and Vettel.
Other teams also profited from the bad environment, Williams got into position for a 3-5 finish and Theodore finally achieved the first points of the year, mostly thanks due to the survival skills of Dagnall.
Race:
Pos | # | Driver | Constructor | Time/Retired | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 73 | Daniel Melrose | 32:00.546 | 15 | |
2 | 96 | Diego Álvarez Torrente | +11.160 | 12 | |
3 | 3 | Marvin Kirchhöfer | +11.779 | 10 | |
4 | 33 | Salvatore Miccoli | +22.687 | 8 | |
5 | 55 | Santiago Urrutia | +32.049 | 6 | |
6 | 1 | Pastor Maldonado | +34.713 | 5 | |
7 | 98 | Bradley Dagnall | +47.261 | 4 | |
8 | 99 | Mike Rockenfeller | +51.912 | 3 | |
9 | 19 | Jordan Davies | +53.374 | 2 | |
10 | 22 | Kazuki Nakajima | +72.346 | 1 | |
11 | 57 | Dean Stoneman | Accident | 0 | |
12 | 47 | Lando Norris | Accident | 0 | |
13 | 7 | Charles Leclerc | Accident | 0 | |
14 | 27 | Jules Bianchi | Accident | 0 | |
15 | 6 | Artem Markelov | Accident | 0 | |
16 | 18 | Sebastian Vettel | Accident | 0 | |
17 | 64 | Dave Cassidy | Accident | 0 | |
18 | 14 | Marcel Agyemang-Badu | Accident | 0 | |
19 | 11 | James James Davies | Accident | 0 | |
20 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Accident | 0 | |
21 | 23 | Alexander Albon | 1 Lap | 0 | |
DNF | 35 | Sergey Sirotkin | Transmission | 0 | |
DNF | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein | Motor | 0 | |
DNF | 56 | Einar Ármannsson | Motor | 0 |
Fastest Lap:
Jules Bianchi – 1:16.524
Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:
Bradley Dagnall – once more he proves that he makes up for a lack of pace with a blessing of fortunes.
Reject Of The Race:
Race Stewards – if they had waved the red flag earlier, the result would have been more representative and presentable.