Things Fall into Place for Vettel, Despite Cassidy Victory

Qualifying:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time
1	2	Lewis Hamilton		1:21.977
2	63	Jules Bianchi		1:22.108
3	62	Dave Cassidy		1:22.421
4	1	Sebastian Vettel		1:22.680
5	98	Salvatore Miccoli		1:23.062
6	99	Kevin Magnussen		1:23.213
7	5	Fernando Alonso		1:23.347
8	27	Nathan McKane		1:23.351
9	90	Daniel Ricciardo		1:23.556
10	29	Pastor Maldonado		1:23.681
11	31	Rhys Davies		1:23.919
12	43	Sébastien Bourdais		1:24.207
13	21	Stoffel Vandoorne		1:24.267
14	28	Marcel Agyemang-Badu		1:24.370
15	91	Max Verstappen		1:24.385
16	32	Daniel Melrose		1:24.510
17	67	Pierre Gasly		1:24.889
18	12	Scott Dixon		1:24.940
19	30	Nico Hülkenberg		1:25.095
20	6	Matt Salomon		1:25.104
21	55	Artem Markelov		1:25.218
22	22	Johnny Cecotto Jr.		1:25.262
23	66	Josef Newgarden		1:25.484
24	42	Davide Valsecchi		1:25.512
25	56	Bradley Dagnall		1:25.726
26	11	Daniël de Jong		1:26.366

* demoted five places for changing engine/gearbox

Report:

Formula One is a risky business: these well-paid superstars are risking their lives in extremely fast cars in order to achieve glory and fame. Unfortunately, today we were reminded of that fact, as Lewis Hamilton suffered an injury and will have to rest for the next Grand Prix weekend with a hand injury.

Up to that disappointing development, Hamilton was in a good position, winning the start and then controlling the race, taking advantage of a mistake by Vettel’s strategist. After Hamilton retired, Vettel had to deal with the Precisions, who nailed their strategy and managed to be faster than the superior Caterham car.

Bianchi was the first to go past Vettel, however, his destined victory failed to materialise: a driver error had Bianchi carrying too much speed into the final corner, running out of road. It was Dave Cassidy, who had managed to get past Sebastian Vettel as well, who went on to win again, giving himself a confidence boost after signing a contract extension despite suffering a bad year so far.

Behind the two leading cars, it was Salvatore Miccoli who was able to establish himself as best of the rest after spending the first laps battling against Nathan McKane, giving us a preview to the thrilling Ferrari/DGN fight that will await us for the remaining 24 races of this Formula One season. Fernando Alonso came fifth, challenging McKane in the end, showing that he may very well still have a future in this sport, if he so chooses.

Race:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time/Retired	Points
1	62	Dave Cassidy		47:55.562	15
2	1	Sebastian Vettel		+2.192	12
3	98	Salvatore Miccoli		+10.007	10
4	27	Nathan McKane		+22.064	8
5	5	Fernando Alonso		+23.925	6
6	90	Daniel Ricciardo		+37.420	5
7	63	Jules Bianchi		+38.399	4
8	99	Kevin Magnussen		+44.127	3
9	43	Sébastien Bourdais		+47.071	2
10	29	Pastor Maldonado		+54.751	1
11	12	Scott Dixon		+62.487	0
12	31	Rhys Davies		+63.523	0
13	32	Daniel Melrose		+66.022	0
14	6	Matt Salomon		+72.711	0
15	28	Marcel Agyemang-Badu		+72.976	0
16	55	Artem Markelov		+84.100	0
17	22	Johnny Cecotto Jr.		+86.938	0
18	67	Pierre Gasly		+87.196	0
19	91	Max Verstappen		+1 Lap	0
20	66	Josef Newgarden		+1 Lap	0
21	11	Daniël de Jong		+1 Lap	0
DSQ	21	Stoffel Vandoorne		+42.467	0
DNF	2	Lewis Hamilton		Accident	2
DNF	56	Bradley Dagnall		Accident	0
DNF	42	Davide Valsecchi	Valerian-Ferrari	Accident	0
DNF	30	Nico Hülkenberg		Accident	0

Fastest Lap:

Lewis Hamilton – 1:25.587

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Scott Dixon – Despite not getting points this time around, he made significantly better-funded teams look stupid again.

Reject Of The Race:

Haas-Judd – Failed to fulfill their duties and got the setup wrong, resulting in them being quite slow.