(Reuters) – Team by team analysis of Sunday’s French Formula One Grand Prix at Le Castellet’s Circuit Paul Ricard (listed in current championship order):
RED BULL (Max Verstappen 1, Sergio Perez 4)
Verstappen’s seventh win of the season sent him 63 points clear of Leclerc. Red Bull are 82 points ahead of Ferrari. Verstappen started on the front row and made just one stop on lap 16. Leclerc crashed two laps later, handing him the lead. It was then a straightforward run to the finish with 36 laps on hard tyres. Perez lost third to Hamilton at the start and was passed by Russell three laps from the end after a brief virtual safety car period.
FERRARI (Carlos Sainz 5, Charles Leclerc retired)
Leclerc led from pole and was pulling away when he made a mistake and crashed at Le Beausset on lap 18. It was the third time this season he has retired from the lead. Sainz started 19th due to engine penalties but was 10th after 13 laps. He collected a five second penalty for an unsafe release when he pitted during the safety car triggered by Leclerc’s crash. He pitted again 11 laps from the end after climbing to third, taking a point for fastest lap and voted Driver of the Day.
MERCEDES (Lewis Hamilton 2, George Russell 3)
A first double podium of the season for Mercedes, who gained 21 points on Ferrari. Hamilton, now only the sixth driver to start 300 races, passed Perez at the start and moved up to second after Leclerc’s crash. Russell passed Perez three laps from the end following a virtual safety car period. Both drivers made a one-stop strategy work in the heat.
ALPINE (Fernando Alonso 6, Esteban Ocon 8)
Alpine moved ahead of McLaren and into fourth place. Alonso set a Formula One record of most laps completed by any driver, reaching 18,672, and scored for the seventh race in a row. He overtook Norris at the start for fifth. Ocon’s points were his first in a home race, at the third attempt. The Frenchman received a five second penalty for causing a collision with Tsunoda on lap one, serving it at his sole pitstop. He overtook Ricciardo seven laps from the end for eighth.
MCLAREN (Lando Norris 7, Daniel Ricciardo 9)
Norris started fifth but dropped back, struggling a bit with tyre wear and pace. McLaren had brought an upgrade package which gave them a step up but they had hoped for more. Ricciardo started ninth, with both drivers making one stop.
ALFA ROMEO (Valtteri Bottas 14, Guanyu Zhou 16)
Zhou failed to finish, retiring with a power unit issue, but was classified. He was also handed a five second penalty for a collision with Schumacher. Bottas made a slow start and also had to avoid clashes ahead of him. Both were running at the back after the first lap.
HAAS (Mick Schumacher 15, Kevin Magnussen retired)
Magnussen was last on the grid but was up to 13th at the end of lap one and pitted on lap nine, the first to come in for a change of tyres. He pitted again during the safety car for another set of hards. He then collided with Latifi on lap 38 and retired. Schumacher started 17th, pitting on laps 10 and 19. He spun in a collision with Zhou that the Chinese was blamed for.
ALPHATAURI (Pierre Gasly 12, Yuki Tsunoda retired)
Tsunoda was spun by Ocon at the start, collecting plenty of damage and ultimately retiring. Gasly lost places trying to overtake Albon on lap 28 and lacked grip in the high-speed corners.
ASTON MARTIN (Lance Stroll 10, Sebastian Vettel 11)
Vettel and Stroll were competing hard for the final point but the car lacked downforce. Stroll made a good start and felt he might have caught Ricciardo with more time. Aston Martin are now eight points adrift of AlphaTauri.
WILLIAMS (Alex Albon 13, Nicholas Latifi retired)
Latifi retired after a puncture and car damage due to the incident with Magnussen. Albon did one stop, pitting during the safety car period.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
