“Alright, Lewis,” Mercedes’s strategist James Vowles radioed Lewis Hamilton at the end of Sunday’s race. “This one’s on us.” (ESPN)
LE CASTELLET, France—Even after an early error, Max Verstappen was able to make Sunday a two-stop race. And that strategy enabled the Dutchman to pass Lewis Hamilton with three laps to go and win Sunday’s French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard by 2.9 seconds. Red Bull partner Sergio Perez took third.
The victory put Verstappen 19 points ahead of Hamilton in the Driver’s Championship as Red Bull increased the Constructor Championship lead over the Silver Arrows to 37 points.
Max Verstappen: At the beginning, it was difficult with the wind. We tried to keep the car stable and, once we made a pit stop, we used hard tires because they (Mercedes) were pushing from behind. We had to work hard for it, but it was very rewarding.
While the outcome disappointed Hamilton, he knows the season has a long way to go. “They (Red Bull) just had a lot of power going through the straights,” Hamilton said. “I had no tires left in the end, and, unfortunately, I had lost the position.”
Verstappen went off the course at turn two at the beginning of the race, giving the lead to Hamilton, which the Briton was able to hold onto early on. But when Red Bull pitted him quickly for the first of Verstappen’s two pit stops, that strategy ruined the opportunity for Hamilton to keep his lead until the Dutchman made his second pit stop with 20 laps to go. Hamilton had a choice to pit again but, by then, his lead and even the podium might have been lost. With that reasoning, Hamilton stayed out on track–even though he maintained the lead longer than expected. But Hamilton’s tires were pretty much out of traction, allowing Verstappen to pass Hamilton on the back straight with only a couple of laps to go.
Likewise, Perez took advantage of Valtteri Bottas and his poor tires, passing the Finn with a couple of laps to go. Bottas ended fourth. “The car was pretty much hard to stay with the wind, and the tires worked out pretty well,” Perez said afterward. “We had a great race, and it was good for the team.”
Behind Bottas were the two McLarens of Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, finishing fifth and sixth, respectively, while home hero Pierre Gasly took seventh in the Alpha Tauri. Fernando Alonso gave home-standing Alpine fans a good race, finishing in eighth place. The Aston Martin duo of Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll took ninth and tenth, respectively.
Sunday’s race was historic, too. It was only the tenth time in Formula 1 history that all cars finished a Grand Prix race.
The F1 season continues with consecutive races starting next weekend in Austria. First up is the Steiermark GP followed by the nation’s annual race, the Austrian Grand Prix, on July 4th. Both races are home events for season-leading Red Bull Racing.
