Max Verstappen was again unstoppable in Formula 1‘s French GP on Sunday, comfortably cruising to first place.
Mercedes ended the day happy as well, with both Lewis Hamilton (second) and George Russell (third) claiming podium finishes. The race was Hamilton‘s 300th GP.
Charles Leclerc started the brightest of the bunch, and he was leading ahead of Verstappen early on and it looked for a while as though the afternoon would be his.
The Dutchman started to press Leclerc after a handful of laps, with things getting a little more intense at the front, while Mercedes were showing their strength with both Hamilton and Russell from the early stages.
Still in the first half of the 53 laps, though, Leclerc crashed out. He had been talking about strategy before crashing into the barriers at Turn 11 in Lap 19. The team radio made his disappointment clear, as he was heard yelling ‘no’ just moments after being removed from the race and the pain in his voice was clear.
Approaching and beyond the midway point, Verstappen got a firm grip on first place and never looked overly troubled from then on, even if attention momentarily shifted to Carlos Sainz as he made a push for podium from behind.
Sainz did pull off a remarkable overtake of Sergio Perez around Lap 42, but he was then ordered to pit by his team and Russell then took advantage of Perez being caught sleeping on Lap 51.
Never really in doubt after Leclerc‘s retirement, which he himself took full blame for, Verstappen had more than enough to see himself home for another triumph.
Verstappen claimed his seventh victory of the season ahead of Hamilton and Russell.
2022 French Grand Prix Top 10
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
- Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
- Fernando Alonso (Alpine)
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
- Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
F1 2022 Drivers’ Championship
- Max Verstappen – 233 points
- Charles Leclerc – 170 points
- Sergio Perez – 163 points
- Carlos Sainz – 144 points
- George Russell – 143 points
- Lewis Hamilton – 127 points
- Lando Norris – 70 points
- Esteban Ocon – 56 points
- Valtteri Bottas – 46 points
- Fernando Alonso – 37 points
Marca
