Here’s Giles Richards’ report from Paul Ricard.
Here’s the confirmed final standings, barring legal challenge...
Round 8 = DONE
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 23, 2019
A sixth win of 2019 for @LewisHamilton 🏆
And Sebastian Vettel takes the DHL Fastest Lap Award and bonus point#F1 #FrenchGP 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/fydEHSzoKX
Lando Norris succinctly sums up how his race ended.
Aggghh
— Lando Norris (@LandoNorris) June 23, 2019
The three on the podium speak before they have a rather stilted encounter with Jackie Stewart on the way to receiving trophies and spraying champagne.
Hamilton: “It was a very good weekend. I have been racing a long time and this never gets old. I just try to find the edge and I couldn’t do without this incredible team and all the guys back at the factory. I am hyped, it’s a beautiful day in the South of France but it is sweaty. It is very bumpy and actually an awesome track to drive. It wasn’t easy at all. There’s always things happening…this has been the best start ever to the year.”
Bottas: “He is not unbeatable. I will have to work hard to beat him.”
Leclerc: “I have tried everything. In the last two laps, I was getting quite close. I believed in him until the last minute.”
BOTTAS: "The start was my best bet but Lewis had a good one, too. Ultimately, Lewis was quicker today. He was really strong and consistent - he's not unbeatable, I just need to work hard"#FrenchGP 🇫🇷 #F1 pic.twitter.com/qlaLFP9gHB
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 23, 2019
LECLERC: "I gave it everything. I felt ok with the car but the Mercedes were too quick early on. We did a great job with tyre management and I was catching Valtteri for P2, but ran out of laps"#F1 #FrenchGP 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/VYfKJgfzv6
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 23, 2019
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Celebrating the extension of his championship lead to 36 points, his sixth win of the season and his fourth in succession, Hamilton hugs his teammates, giving props to the engineers and staff in the interview that immediately follows victory.
HAMILTON: "I've been racing a long time but it never gets old. I couldn't do what I do without this incredible team. We're making history together. I'm really hyped" #F1 #FrenchGP 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/9fCTrtIEv5
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 23, 2019
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A jubilant Hamilton thanks his team for an “an awesome weekend” and all his complaints of the afternoon are forgotten. Norris, meanwhile, looks to have been overtaken by unfair means, with Ricciardo cutting across him and that will be under investigation. He lost three places as a result of that. Will these standings, er, stand?
🏁 TOP TEN 🏁
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 23, 2019
HAM 📸
BOT
LEC
VER
VET
SAI
RIC
RAI
HUL
NOR#F1 #FrenchGP 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/OjVIia1RJO
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Lewis Hamilton wins the French Grand Prix!
Lap 53/53: Hamilton rolling home to reach the finish, while Charles Leclerc is right on the tail of Bottas, and is within 0.7 seconds of the second placed car. He makes a last-ditch attempt to get there but falls short. Oh no! Ricciardo has overtaken Norris, as have Raikkonen and Hulkenberg...Norris drops down to tenth. Can Vettel claim the fastest lap?...Yes, he can.
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Lap 52/53: Vettel does go into the pits after all in his search for the fastest lap. Norris, who has been lapped by Hamilton, is battling desperately to hold Ricciardo. Really great driving from the teenager.
Lap 51/53: Verstappen says his tyres are “pretty f***ked” and it seems that Vettel will look to chase down his rival for fourth rather than go into the pit to get fast tyres on.
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Lap 50/53: Hamilton has helped Norris’ cause a little, stopping his chasers being able to hunt down their prey. There is a loose bollard on the track and now there is a virtual safety car as a steward makes a brave burst to rescue it.
Lap 48/53: Hulkenberg and Raikkonen is the battle for ninth and tenth. Ricciardo is in eighth, and has been lapped by Hamilton as soon will be Norris. The Mercedes team tell him not to be too daft near Norris as bits may be dropping off the McLaren.
Lap 47/53: Romain Grosjean has to retire in his Haas car. Up ahead, Lando Norris is having untold trouble, telling the radio that his car is now heavy. Must be like driving a B-Reg VW Polo with five passengers and no power steering up a farm track. And the man on the line says it is only going to get worse.
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Lap 46/53: Kyvat and Albon, teammates for Toro Rosso, are going at it with each other down that Mistral straight, that from Chequered Flag. That’s a battle for 15th and 16th, and that’s where the thrills are coming in this race. Albon is holding off his team-mates.
Lap 45/53: Fastest lap now with Bottas as Hamilton is told not to risk all to try and win it back. Vettel is soon to come in for an extra pit lane to be put on the fastest tyres possible to claim that vital point.
Lap 44/53: Norris is having to hold off Ricciardo, Raikkonen and Hulkenberg, who are in eighth, ninth and tenth. The gap to Ricciardo is dropping fast.
Lap 43/53: Another fastest lap by Hamilton, who is totally cruising to victory, a sixth of the season. This is an awesome display of Mercedes strength. Lando Norris is warned that his hydraulics are jiggered as he tells his team he is having problems. They tell him to do as best as he can.
Lap 42/53: Leclerc has set a fastest lap, which would give him an extra point if he hold on to that, or extends it...but no, Hamilton claims it back, after being warned by his team of his ailing tyres. He says he is OK with them.
Lap 40/53: Lando Norris is told he is not allowed to use DRS to overtake Sainz up ahead of him. The McLarens go past Lance Stroll of Racing Point and up to sixth and seventh as Stroll drops to 13th after a long wait for a pit.
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Lap 39/53: Bottas is told by his team that he has blistering on his tyres, but that he has nothing to worry about.
Lap 38/53: Discussion among the McLaren cars, and the drivers are being asked to pick up the pace. Lando Norris acts a bit teenage when asked to do so, indicating that Carlos Sainz ahead of him is not exactly giving it full gas.
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Lap 37/53: Let’s be fair here, this has not been a classic, after Canada being so full of intrigue and a near-classic at Monaco. A rain shower is required to liven things up, perhaps a shower of pastis to sticky up the track. Meanwhile, Grosjean’s attempt to tell tales on Ricciardo has come to nowt. The stewards will not be doing anything about that flashpoint.
Lap 36/53: Hulkenberg went into the pits, but ended up dropping down to 11th, having been in seventh. He was not helped by a rather slow pit stop. This spoke too soon.
GAINS AND LOSSES: LAP 35/53
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 23, 2019
Hulkenberg and Stroll yet to visit the pits, but going well#F1 #FrenchGP 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/hNqKqeSm7r
Lap 35/53: Lewis Hamilton complains that the tyres he is on now are not as good as those he started on as he heads for his sixth win of the season. You have to be suffer to beautiful, as they say.
Lap 33/53: Ricciardo up to 10th as he overtakes Kyvat, and goes into the points. It’s been a hard day in the Renault for him.
Lap 32/53: Hamilton sets the fastest lap again, and despite his seating problems this has been an armchair ride for him.
Here’s an indication of how quick the cars are this year: at the halfway point of the race, with tyres a bit harder than last year, @ValtteriBottas @MercedesAMGF1 recently went as fast as the fastest race lap last year. Incredible speed. #FrenchGP
— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) June 23, 2019
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Lap 31/53: The stewards are having a look at that Grosjean/Ricciardo tete a tete, but it seems unlikely that they will act. Ricciardo has problems, and one of them is that his drinking straw is not working. He will be absolutely parched at the end of this race.
Lap 29/53: Bottas fights back and sets a fastest lap. Back in the field, Grosjean and Ricciardo have had a spat, with the Frenchman making a complaint about the way the Aussie overtook him.
Updated
Lap 28/53: Bottas under a bit of pressure, though, as Leclerc begins to make inroads. There’s 3.66 seconds between them where the gap to Hamilton is a mighty 11.8 seconds.
Lap 26/53: Vettel, at last, comes in, and having failed to land a blow on the leaders, is now in fifth, behind Verstappen, who made his stop in the 20th lap. Let’s see if that can be the battle to provide entertainment. The race at the front is turning into a procession.
LAP 25/53
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 23, 2019
Race leader @LewisHamilton pits for a new set of tyres
And that's a rapid changeover by the Mercedes crew 👀⏱️#F1 #FrenchGP 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/6SWvZ3NzNV
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Lap 24/53: In goes Bottas, who then concedes a place to Vettel, but stays ahead of Leclerc. Hamilton continues to be the quickest on his tyres but here comes the change, which takes just 2.2 seconds, and he comes out of the pit lane and still ahead of Vettel and Bottas. If this is a one-stop strategy, then the race is his, barring someone letting Mahaveer Raghunathan loose in the second half of the race.
Lap 23/53: Verstappen has whinge to his team that his throttle isn’t working properly. We all know how that feels. Hamilton meanwhile is on the radio and proclaiming that his tyres are fine.
Updated
Lap 22/53: Leclerc has gone into the pits and comes out in fourth, thus swapping placed with Vettel, who is still to pit. The leaders, Mercedes, yet to get the mechanics on the go just yet.
Lap 21/53: Vettel up to fourth as Verstappen pits, and so that’s Mercedes in first and second and then Ferrari in third and fourth. Hamilton has blazed away and has six seconds, just about on Bottas.
Lap 20/53: Perez takes his medicine and takes a pit that is extended to almost ten seconds. Sainz goes into the pits to follow on from Norris, his McLaren teammate, and he is now back in 10th.
FASTEST SECTORS ⏱️
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 23, 2019
That @RacingPointF1 is on 🔥 in the middle sector#F1 #FrenchGP 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/cnfKsG0Gnh
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Lap 19/53: Ricciardo overtakes Gasly using DRS to move up to 15th. Lando Norris comes in for a change, and has dropped into 12th, ahead of Romain Grosjean.
Lap 17/53: Ricciardo comes in, and that takes quite a while as he changes his tyres to what presumably is a harder compound. He is down to 16th now, though plenty of others have to come in, too.
Updated
Lap 16/53: Very few people have pitted so far, despite many of the teams beginning the race on soft tyres. Hamilton is now 3.7 seconds ahead of Bottas, who has almost six seconds on Leclerc. Vettel is closing on Verstappen and that looks like being the battle of the day.
Updated
Lap 15/53: Hamilton is now complaining about his seat, which he says is broken. That could be uncomfortable for the rest of the race. Despite a sore rear end and potential back ache, he is still the fastest man out there.
Lap 13/53: Someone had to do this gag...Vettel claimed the fastest lap, only for Hamilton to take it off him.
In a desperate attempt to divert attention from his encounter with the police & and scrutiny of his character, Boris Johnson graduates from zip wire to deliver the trophy for today’s #F1 #FrenchGP 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/LC4OBUmEnZ
— And Another Thing (@aglawton52) June 23, 2019
Lap 12/53: Hamilton has set the fastest lap again. Racing Point, Sergio Perez’s team, are not happy about that five-second penalty, saying he was forced off at the start. Shades of l’affair Vettel?
Lap 10/53: Bottas is almost 3.9 seconds clear of Leclerc and Mercedes, barring problems with those engine settings, look to have this one licked. It has been confirmed Perez has indeed received a five-second penalty.
LAP 10/53
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 23, 2019
Confirmation of a time penalty for @SChecoPerez for leaving the track and gaining an advantage on the opening lap 👀#F1 #FrenchGP 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/lZuIb6lIHN
LAP 10/53
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 23, 2019
1 HAM
2 BOT
3 LEC
4 VER
5 VET
6 SAI
7 NOR
8 GAS#F1 #FrenchGP 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/McGvr9DfEg
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Lap 8/53: Vettel burns past Sainz, and is in fifth. He’s motoring along, and now closing on Verstappen. Sergio Perez is going to be penalised for taking a shortcut at the start, having channelled his inner Mahaveer Raghunathan.
Updated
Lap 6/53: Hamilton is opening up a gap of 2.1 seconds, and is setting fastest laps. Ominous for the others. He has a rather terse conversation with his man on the radio. “Make your decision and stick to it,” he says. Anyone get the impression he isn’t easy to deal with. There does seem to be a problem with his engine settings.
Updated
Lap 5/53: Verstappen is now happy with his engine again, so will not need to go in after all. Vettel moves into sixth, having overtaken Lando Norris, so that’s a better sign for Ferrari’s leading man.
Lap 3/53: Hamilton has 1.5 seconds on Bottas. Verstappen is telling his garage that his engine is not performing as expected. Looks like he may need to call in to get his battery looked at. As yet, though, Sainz is yet to trouble him. Vettel already 10 seconds back on Hamilton.
Lap 2/53: Hamilton had a wobble, suggesting the track’s temperature is high. Alex Albon has dropped from 11th to 16th, while Verstappen looks to have held off Sainz.
And they're off!
The formation lap was a dance to protect tyres, and was very slow indeed. But here’s the real stuff. Hamilton gets away in front, Sainz and Verstappen go wheel to wheel. One of the Force Indias goes off the track, and that looks like Sergio Perez. Sainz looking to overtake Verstappen and up his back wheel through the lap. Hamilton, Bottas and Leclerc keep the places they won on the grid. Vettel is in seventh. Ricciardo has lost a couple of places, while Norris lost a place to Sainz’s excellent start off the grid.
Updated
The track temperature is 57 degrees, which is hot, very hot. It’s a very warm day in the south of France. And off they go on their formation lap, as Hamilton tries his best not to have to sit on the grid for too long and overheat his car.
Colm Boyle has a prediction to make. “I’m sticking my neck out and say Norris on the podium. I know the guillotine might be the result.”
There’s an Elton John gag here somewhere.
The trophy has arrived by special delivery 🚀👤#F1 #FrenchGP 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/XL1zMVsdEw
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 23, 2019
Specks of cement dust next to Daniel Ricciardo’s car, though he seems relaxed enough. “I think we’ll have a good race package,” he says, rather corporately. Meanwhile, Seb Vettel’s car needed some running repairs, and had to have spark plugs replaced. It’s been a tough weekend for Ferrari.
McLaren had a great day in qualifying yesterday, with two drives making the top six, with Norris in fifth and Carlos Sainz in sixth. That’s the best in a long time, and a sign of progress for the team.
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Max Verstappen says the track “looks lovely” as he heads off for the nation anthem, sung by a child who doesn’t have much of a future as a singer and an oddly low-volume baritone. That was parochial...now there’s some acrobats. There is a village fete vibe to to the presentation here. And that’s just fine.
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Jackie Stewart, in trademark tartan cap, is in the pit lane. “Mercedes still have it,” says the great man.
It was time to wish an F1 legend a Happy 80th Birthday on the grid earlier
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 23, 2019
Featuring tartan hats in honour of Sir Jackie, and one enormous cheese cake! 🧀 🎂#F1 #FrenchGP 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/FerhtMzAkA
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Lewis Hamilton has just scootered down to his car in the style of a hipster/Brentian sales exec. The track is showing its first sign of wear and tear after all the build-up races. “We just want to move forward, and hopefully we can move up a couple of positions,” says Frenchman Pierre Gasly on his home track.
L’image d’une saison ... pic.twitter.com/rvL7vXVPX4
— Frédéric Ferret (@FredericFerret) June 23, 2019
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Mentioning Jackie Stewart, 80 last week, here’s look back at this days as a crusader for safety.
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Lewis Hamilton was more than satisfied after securing his third pole position of the season.
I dream of days like this when all the elements align with the team & then within myself. And we deliver on every level. So appreciative of the way in which my team work together and constantly strive for greatness. Thank you. Pole done. Now let’s race 🙏🏾 #FrenchGP 📷 @MSI_Images pic.twitter.com/s9zdRwEgrb
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) June 22, 2019
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Daniel Ricciardo is eighth on the grid, he spoke to Giles Richards.
Here’s the grid positions. Lando Norris in fifth place on the grid is a hugely impressive qualifying performance.
How will that long run down to Turn 1 pan out? 🤔
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 23, 2019
Mercedes hold the aces, but there will be opportunities in behind 👀#F1 #FrenchGP 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/TQHVs9bbH2
QUALIFYING CLASSIFICATION: @LewisHamilton's 60th pole for Mercedes 👊#FrenchGP 🇫🇷 #F1 pic.twitter.com/robH5jBvIg
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 22, 2019
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Preamble
Let’s start with a diversion. The name Paul Ricard conjures two things. The first is the yellow branded ashtray that many a Brit abroad filched in the 1970s: Ricard himself was the industrialist who brought mass-produced pastis to the market. You know, that aniseed drink that the French drink at odd times of the day. Also, that the circuit was used on the ZX Spectrum game Chequered Flag. It had a hugely satisfying straight in which you could put your joystick into full throttle...
Ah, memories. The old circuit is in its second year back on the F1 schedule, and that famous straight, the Mistral, is where Lewis Hamilton will look to put even further distance between himself and his rivals. Teammate Valtteri Bottas is 29 points back, and Sebastian Vettel, who lost his appeal against his penalty at the Canadian GP, fully 62 points back on 100 points. Hamilton can claim a sixth win of the season if he wins today, and that has to be on the cards. Bottas is second on the grid, with Charles Leclerc in third. Poor old Seb is back in seventh.
All a bit too predictable? Then there is fun to be had in Formula 2. Get this man a ride in F1.
Indian Formula Two driver Mahaveer Raghunathan has been banned for a race after collecting nine penalty points in a single afternoon at the French Grand Prix.
The 20-year-old, who competes under a Dutch licence, infringed three virtual safety car procedures in Saturday’s race at le Castellet and was handed three points for each infringement.
Added to the points he already had, Raghunathan reached the 12 point limit that triggers an automatic ban, meaning the Chennai-born driver will miss next weekend’s round in Austria.
The MP Motorsport driver has yet to score a point this season. In April he was given a 10-place grid penalty after he took the chequered flag twice at the Bahrain season-opener, continuing at racing speed for an extra lap after the finish.
The race goes at 2.10pm UK time.
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