F1 French Grand Prix results: Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas give Mercedes a 1-2 finish
Lewis Hamilton extended his points lead with the win in France on Sunday.
Lewis Hamilton won the French Grand Prix on Sunday as Mercedes complete a 50th 1-2 finish for the team in Formula 1.
A fourth straight win for Lewis Hamilton, a small challenge from Charles Leclerc against Valtteri Bottas over second place on the final lap but other than that, excitement and close racing were things not associated with this race.
In a week that saw Formula 1 boss Chase Carey say that, although viewing figures were stable, the lack of excitement and the dominance of Mercedes and Hamilton were damaging the sport, another race which made even the race commentators David Croft and Martin Brundle criticise the lack of action was something F1 desperately did not need.
Hamilton continues to cruise toward a sixth F1 title. He leads teammate Valtteri Bottas by 36 points and Ferrari challenger Sebastian Vettel by a whopping 76 points in a series where a victory is worth 25 points.
Of course, criticism cannot be aimed at either Hamilton or Mercedes. Hamilton complained about his tires on the radio but won comfortably by 18 seconds in a race that saw just six cars finish on the lead lap, and Mercedes gave him the car to do it.
Finishing a staggering quarter of a minute behind his teammate, Bottas had all the hallmarks of a broken man when facing the media after the race and Esteban Ocon, the Mercedes reserve driver, must be licking his lips at his prospects of landing the Mercedes drive for 2020, prospects that continue to appear to grow.
“(There was) not that much happening from my side,” said Bottas. “The start was the best bet for me but Lewis had a good start as well and ultimately Lewis was quicker today. I couldn’t match his pace so that’s something for me to have a look at before the next one.
“I’m very proud of the team and myself. It’s just important that we can understand today what we can do better for next time.”
In a car which was second best to Mercedes by a margin throughout the weekend, Leclerc managed to find some pace late on to cruise up onto the back of Bottas’ Mercedes. Leclerc put pressure on Bottas on the final lap, but it was not to be and, after starting third, Leclerc picked up his third career F1 podium.
“I gave it everything,” said Leclerc. “Obviously, the first run was quite OK, I felt ok with the car, but Mercedes were just too quick, and on the second stint it was just about tire management.
“I think we did a very good job on that and then towards the end I was catching Valtteri. I think he was struggling a little bit to turn his tires on again after the virtual safety car, so I saw an opportunity but unfortunately, there was not enough laps for me to try something.”
Race Results
Pos.
Driver
Constructor
Race Time
Points
1
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport
25
2
Valtteri Bottas
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport
+18.056
18
3
Charles Leclerc
Scuderia Ferrari
+18.985
15
4
Max Verstappen
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
+34.905
12
5
Sebastian Vettel
Scuderia Ferrari
+1:02.796
10 (+1)
6
Carlos Sainz
McLaren F1 Team
+1:35.462
8
7
Daniel Ricciardo
Renault F1 Team
+1 Lap
6
8
Kimi Raikkonen
Alfa Romeo Racing
+1 Lap
4
9
Nico Hulkenberg
Renault F1 Team
+1 Lap
2
10
Lando Norris
McLaren F1 Team
+1 Lap
1
11
Pierre Gasly
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
+1 Lap
12
Sergio Perez
SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team
+1 Lap
13
Lance Stroll
SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team
+1 Lap
14
Daniil Kvyat
Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda
+1 Lap
15
Alexander Albon
Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda
+1 Lap
16
Antonio Giovinazzi
Alfa Romeo Racing
+1 Lap
17
Kevin Magnussen
Rich Energy Haas F1 Team
+1 Lap
18
Robert Kubica
ROKiT Williams Racing
+2 Laps
19
George Russell
ROKiT Williams Racing
+2 Laps
Romain Grosjean
Rich Energy Haas F1 Team
DNF
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