Red Bull Racing looked back on the race at Paul Ricard, where Sergio Perez finished fourth after Max Verstappen, who won his seventh win of the season, succeeded in expanding his championship lead.
After title-fighting rival Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) left the line after a shocking crash on lap 18, Max Verstappen scored his seventh win of the season with rock-solid driving.
Sergio Perez, who was surprised by George Russell (Mercedes) after the release of the VSC introduced at the end of the race, ended up in 4th place. Lewis Hamilton came in second after the winner Max, and two Mercedes Benz were on the podium.
Round 12
At the start of the race, pole sitter Leclerc made a great start, holding Max in 2nd place and taking a hole shot. On the other hand, the Czech Republic, which started from the 3rd grid, was delayed in moving and allowed Hamilton to take the lead immediately after the start. Behind him, Russell defended 4th in the starting position over Fernando Alonso (Alpine), who overtook Lando Norris (McLaren).
After the first few laps behind Leclerc, Max launches an attack at the end of the sixth lap. Max lined up outside at Le Beausset, but Leclerc kept him away due to his skillful line-taking. Meanwhile, behind that, Hamilton surpassed the Czech onslaught. The Czech Republic made a hard push against Hamilton in the first five laps, but the tires began to suffer from grip due to the wake turbulence behind Hamilton’s machine. The Czech Republic decided to manage the tire wear at a distance from Hamilton and work on the next move.
Further behind, Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), who started from the 19th grid with a power unit replacement penalty, was steadily increasing his position in the group. On the 10th lap, he will rise to 12th place following Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin).
As the first stint progressed, Leclerc, who had managed tire wear for several laps, began to widen the gap with Max, and by the end of 14 laps he had a 1.4 second gap with Max. Hamilton kept third about 7 seconds behind Max, and the Czech Republic continued to run 1.6 seconds ahead of Russell, although the gap with Hamilton widened to 3 seconds.
Max made the first pit stop after 16 laps and changed to hard tires. Finished in 2.4 seconds and joined the course in 7th place behind Norris. Max quickly moved up to 6th place, dodging Norris’s big bulge at the tricky Le Beausset corner.
However, while passing Le Beausset on lap 18, Leclerc suddenly lost control of the rear, and the potential value of the undercut was lost. Leclerc spun hard and slammed into the barrier and retired.
A safety car was introduced without a break, and many drivers, including Hamilton and the Czech Republic, made a pit stop. The Czech work took 5.6 seconds, but as Hamilton pitted out, he managed to get in front of Russell, who was behind Hamilton.
With the safety car leading, Max took the lead with Hamilton and the Czech Republic, followed by Alonso, Norris and Sainz behind Russell in 4th place. When the safety car leaves and the race resumes, Sainz immediately sets up a move. Sainz, who was able to close the gap, passed Norris and Alonso, and on lap 23, he approached Russell about two seconds behind. However, after that, Sainz was asked to release unsafe to Alex Albon (Williams) in the pit when the safety car was introduced, and was penalized for 5 seconds.
The race came back, Max led Hamilton 3.3 seconds behind, and the Czech Republic ran 1.4 seconds behind Hamilton. Russell was under heavy pressure from Sainz just 0.5 seconds behind, and Alonso kept Norris and Ricardo in 6th place.
Sainz set up on lap 30 and came out in front of Russell at the start of turn 9. Sainz easily evaded from the outside of the Signe Corner, keeping Russell on the inside line. With this, Sainz moved up to 4th place, just 2.5 seconds behind the Czech Republic. On lap 41, he approached the Czech Republic and attacked again in Signe. The Czech Republic stubbornly resisted, but Sainz, who far outpaced the pace, overtook the Czech Republic in the final corner to take third.
The Czech Republic is visibly suffering from poor tire grip, and Russell tries to overtake by closing the gap. The Czech Republic skillfully took the line on Turn 8, but Russell tried to overtake from the inside, forcing him to make a corner cut and run off. The Czech Republic returns to the track behind Sainz and remains fourth despite protests over Russell’s radio.
On lap 42, Ferrari called Sainz into the pits to take a time penalty, and the Czech Republic returned to 3rd place when he replaced it with a new medium tire. Sainz joined the course in 9th place, but soon recovered his position, and on lap 47 he passed Alonso to 5th place and chased Russell by 22 seconds.
On lap 49, Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) stopped the car in the run-off area on Turn 5, and when the virtual safety car (VSC) was introduced, the race returned to the start. After the 50th lap, when the VSC was lifted, Russell attacked the Czech Republic and easily evaded the Czech Republic, which had been backing off to stay within the Speed Delta.
The Czech Republic also tried to fight back, but Russell succeeded in keeping the position in the last three laps, keeping the Czech Republic away. Hamilton & Russell’s Mercedes Benz won 2nd and 3rd place respectively after Max received the checkered flag, which is his 27th career win. The Czech Republic finished fourth.
Behind the Czech Republic, Sainz finished in 5th place over Alonso, and Norris finished the race in 7th place ahead of Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren). Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) was in 10th place, the final point.
Max Verstappen
“The pace was very good from the start, but when I was chasing other cars on this circuit, the tires overheated so hard that I couldn’t move. Still, I kept calm and kept approaching. It was a very unlucky race for Charles (Leclerc). I was relieved that he wasn’t injured. Both cars were so fast that it should have been a pretty enjoyable race. I focused on racing and tire management. I couldn’t make another pit stop because the pit lane was so long on this circuit. It was a great day today, but there are still many races waiting and We will always aim for the maximum points. The battle is not over yet. “
Sergio Perez
“It was a difficult race today. Unfortunately I couldn’t get the podium because I wasn’t fast enough. I struggled with tire management and it was a difficult task to deal with well. With George (Russell) The battle was close but enjoyable. I was hoping for a one-two finish, but the Mercedes were so strong that it was difficult to overtake them. There are a few things to analyze, but for Hungary. I want to recover the pace and get stronger and come back. “
Christian horner
“The important thing today is that Charles (Leclerc) was safe. The battle between Max and Charles in the first stint was spectacular. We took the initiative and aimed for an undercut. Max is effective. It’s a shame we couldn’t see how our strategy would work because we were in the track position. It was a great battle. The result was Max’s victory and a lot of points. It’s a pity that the Czech Republic didn’t make it to the podium. The timing of the introduction of VSC was bad, and the pit stop was lengthened due to a software error. Despite the factors involved, today was an important day for the team. ”
Category: F1 / F1 French GP / Red bull