Roger Ibe Wins First Grand Prix, Norris Throws It Away Again

Qualifying:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Q1	Q2	Diff.
1	37	Victoria Desai		1:16.017	1:15.671
2	23	Alexander Albon		1:15.862	1:15.866	+0.191
3	94	Pascal Wehrlein		1:16.236	1:15.868	+0.197
4	57	Dean Stoneman		1:15.983	1:15.942	+0.271
5	1	Artem Markelov		1:15.978	1:16.278	+0.307
6	29	Roger Ibe		1:16.139	1:16.093	+0.422
7	47	Lando Norris		1:18.513	1:16.208	+0.537
8	33	Max Verstappen		1:16.571	1:16.366	+0.695
9	39	Sho Tsuboi		1:16.555	1:16.447	+0.806
10	18	Sebastian Vettel		1:16.514	1:16.958	+0.843
11	20	Kevin Magnussen		1:17.714	1:16.562	+0.891
12	70	Sérgio Sette Câmara		1:17.199	1:16.984	+1.313
13	77	Valtteri Bottas		1:17.095	1:17.068	+1.397
14	26	Robert Shwartzman		1:17.661	1:17.330	+1.659
15	31	Esteban Ocon		1:18.240	1:18.021	+2.350
16	11	Terry Hawkin		1:18.099	1:18.277	+2.428
17	23	Jules Bianchi		1:19.719	1:18.761	+3.090
18	56	Einar Ármannsson		1:19.147	1:19.070	+3.399
19	95	Beitske Visser		1:20.408	1:19.668	+4.015
20	55	Carlos Sainz, Jr.		1:20.894	1:20.392	+4.721
21	4	Robin Frijns		1:20.722	1:20.498	+4.827
22	46	Alessandro Cicognani		1:20.968	1:20.777	+5.106
23	7	Charles Leclerc		1:21.551	1:22.553	+5.880
24	84	Jack Aitken		1:22.975	No Time	+7.304*

* 10-place grid penalty for causing an avoidable accident

Report:

Winning the Formula One world championship requires tremendous motorsport ability, a lot of luck and a mind of steel. In theory, Lando Norris has all of these things. Unfortunately, theory has not been practice over the last seven days.

Once again, Lando Norris looked likely to win the Grand Prix. Instead, he made another error that left him watching as someone else was given the trophy for the winner. 2Mr. Excitement” Roger Ibe won his first Grand Prix in a dramatic event.

Victoria Desai provided sparks as well, after a technical issue forced her into an additional pitstop, she found herself in second ahead of Norris and fought off the charging Brit. Still, Caterham’s WCC lead expanded as Norris-Vettel finished third and fourth.

Artem Markelov, whose dreams of back-to-back titles are already in trouble, got a valuable first points finish. Kevin Magnussen and Terry Hawkin returned to the top 10, valuable for their teams; even if it left the actual star in the midfield, Jules Bianchi, behind.

Race:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time/Retired	Points
1	29	Roger Ibe		68:11.529	15
2	37	Victoria Desai		+14.948	12
3	47	Lando Norris		+15.154	10
4	18	Sebastian Vettel		+23.967	8
5	23	Alexander Albon		+47.785	6
6	70	Sérgio Sette Câmara		+52.351	5
7	1	Artem Markelov		+55.528	4
8	33	Max Verstappen		+63.527	3
9	20	Kevin Magnussen		1 Lap	2
10	11	Terry Hawkin		1 Lap	1
11	23	Jules Bianchi		1 Lap
12	77	Valtteri Bottas		1 Lap
13	56	Einar Ármannsson		1 Lap
14	57	Dean Stoneman		1 Lap
15	39	Sho Tsuboi		2 Laps
16	95	Beitske Visser		3 Laps
17	46	Alessandro Cicognani		3 Laps
18	85	Jack Aitken		4 Laps
19	55	Carlos Sainz, Jr.		4 Laps
20	7	Charles Leclerc		5 Laps
21	4	Robin Frijns		5 Laps
DNF	14	Esteban Ocon		Accident
DNF	94	Pascal Wehrlein		Accident
DNF	26	Robert Shwartzman		Transmission

Fastest Lap:

Lando Norris – 1:18.220

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Jules Bianchi – once more he came just shy of the points, but proved his status as MRT’s ace.

Reject Of The Race:

Lando Norris – throwing away a likely win in the second consecutive race is not how you earn glory.