Posted on 6th September 2014
After Qualifying there was a penalty handed out which would have a dramatic impact on the race. Jolyon Palmer was excluded from the Qualifying results for not having enough fuel to provide a sample to the scrutineers – he started from last place which gave his rivals an opportunity to catch up.
Stoffel Vandoorne got a storming start from pole position to keep the race lead from Arthur Pic and Mitch Evans. Raffaele Marciello had a great initial getaway but bogged down when he began climbing up the gears and fell down the order to P19. Simon Trummer and Artem Markelov had similarly bad getaways. Jolyon Palmer had a superb start from last and climbed to P15 after just three laps.
Lap two saw a spectacular accident caused by Kimiya Sato. The Japanese driver got his braking point all wrong and speared into Daniël de Jong at the first corner. The pair retired from the race on the spot. René Binder got a little caught up in that accident and pushed Takuya Izawa into a spin and a retirement. Marciello also suffered the consequences of that incident getting beached in the gravel on the outside of the first chicane.
Championship title fighter Felipe Nasr stopped for fresh option tyres on lap eleven having been unable to get past his team mate Julián Leal in his first stint. Race leader Stoffel Vandoorne pitted on lap twelve with second placed driver Arthur Pic coming in one lap later. Nasr was the fastest man on the track after his pit stop but was unable to make any gains in terms of positions.
Pierre Gasly was going well on his debut until a drive through penalty for speeding in the pit lane came his way. The day went from bad to worse for Caterham Racing when Gasly's team mate Rio Haryanto was handed the same penalty for the same rule infringement.
Daniel Abt was the first man to pit for news tyres and his radical approach to the race looked to be paying off. The German got embroiled in a battle for points with Julián Leal which ended in the Colombian edging Abt onto the grass and into the wall on the entrance to Lesmo 2. Leal picked up a drive through penalty for his dangerous move.
Jolyon Palmer was gaining on his main rival Felipe Nasr every lap and after his pit stop the Briton got into the top ten and just two positions behind the Brazilian.
After 30 laps of racing it was Stoffel Vandoorne who held off a valiant attack from Arthur Pic to secure his third race victory of the season. Pic's second place was his second podium of the season while Mitch Evans' third place was the Kiwi's fourth trip to the rostrum of 2014.
Stéphane Richelmi was the highest placed DAMS driver in fourth place just ahead of André Negrão who came home to his third points paying position in three races. Felipe Nasr cut the gap to Jolyon Palmer by two points in sixth place and Marco Sørensen got his seventh top ten in nine races.
Position Driver Team Gap
1 Vandoorne ART Grand Prix 48:02.203
2 Pic Campos Racing 0.673
3 Evans RT RUSSIAN TIME 4.102
4 Richelmi DAMS 9.502
5 Negrão Arden International 11.140
6 Nasr Carlin 11.605
7 Sørensen MP Motorsport 14.458
8 Palmer DAMS 15.049
9 Coletti Racing Engineering 16.704
10 Cecotto Trident 17.164
11 Quaife-Hobbs Rapax 25.885
12 Lancaster Hilmer Motorsport 29.125
13 Berthon Venezuela GP Lazarus 29.928
14 Leal Carlin 44.529
15 Campana Venezuela GP Lazarus 49.032
16 Haryanto Caterham Racing 57.081
17 Gasly Caterham Racing 57.868
18 Canamasas Trident 63.139
19 Trummer Rapax 70.746
20 Binder Arden International 73.478
21 Markelov RT RUSSIAN TIME 1 LAP
22 Abt Hilmer Motorsport DNF
23 Izawa ART Grand Prix DNF
24 Marciello Racing Engineering DNF
25 Sato Campos Racing DNF
26 De Jong MP Motorsport DNF
