F1 - French Grand Prix: Hamilton Takes Dominent Victory, Bottas & Vettel Crash
F1 returned to France for the first time since 2008, and to Circuit Paul Ricard since 1990, however there were doubts with the suitability of F1 racing at Paul Ricard, which of recent years has been a test circuit. The doubts of the cars' ability to race at the venue comes off the back of 3 races which saw little or no overtaking. There was also complaints that Paul Ricard's unique run-off areas and multiple layouts were making drivers and spectators dizzy. However, the race itself put to rest any doubts, and we were treated in a race that was good especially compared to the last 3 rounds.
Pick a line, any line...
Hamilton lead Bottas of the front row at the start of the race, however it was Vettel who got the best start from 3rd, but was blocked in by both Mercedes on the run down to Turn 1. The consequence was Vettel didn't have a braking reference, causing him to lock up and collide with Bottas, sending the Fin spinning. The crash broke Vettel's front wing and gave Bottas a rear left puncture, causing both to box.
There was more action at Turn 3, when Frenchman Pierre Gasly lost the rear under braking and slammed into compatriot Esteban Ocon, putting both out of their home race on lap 1.
During both incidents, the track's run off was under scrutiny, as a lot of drivers decided to cut the corners massively to avoid the collisions, or in Verstappen's case, use a completely different circuit layout.
A safety car was thrown to clear up the mess at Turn 3, with Hamilton leading Verstappen and Sainz, who made an amazing start in his Renault.
However, his podium was not to be, as the faster cars soon overtook the Renault after the restart.
Vettel, now on soft tyres, was carving his way through the field, mostly at the chicane on the Mistral Straight, and even got himself up into 3rd, however with 5 second penalty, that position was not to stay.
Vettel, Ricciardo and Raikkonen all battled for the final podium spot for the rest of the race, with Raikkonen showing impressive pace in the latter stages of the race to take 3rd, behind Hamilton and Verstappen.
Sainz's race went from bad to worse, after loosing out on the podium position in the early stages, he reported a loss of power in the closing laps, but held on for 8th.
Leclerc, who shone in qualifying to start P8 and give Sauber their first Q3 appearance since 2015, held on for 10th places, having run in the top 6 after lap 1.
Finally, Stroll suffered a dramatic front left puncture at Signe, the fastest corner of the circuit, putting him out of the race in the last few laps.
Full Results:
