Race Round-Up: What Happened In France?

Verstappen Zooms To French Win Over Double Mercedes Podium After Costly Leclerc Mistake

P1 – VER

It was the speedy Red Bull of Max Verstappen who crossed the chequered flag first on Sunday, thanks to a costly snap of oversteer from polesitter Charles Leclerc on Lap 18. While Leclerc’s screams on the radio will haunt me for the rest of my life, it was a relatively straightforward race once the Dutch Lion and current championship leader (now a whopping 63 points ahead!) inherited the lead, ahead of Hamilton by over 10 seconds at the end of the race.

P2 – HAM

After a stealthy start no one but a seven-time world champion could provide, Lewis finished second for the day after starting P4.

P3 – RUS

It appears as though George Russell is the type of guy to catch Sergio Perez sleeping on the late safety car restart, as the Brit claimed the final podium position in France for the first Mercedes double-podium of 2022. Only 0.8 seconds between Russell and Perez at the flag can only mean one thing: is Mercedes … back (kind of)?

Best of the Rest

Sergio Perez was likely not too impressed with his P4 finish in France after a few on-track tussles with the Mercedes of George Russell. Despite no penalties awarded, Perez also experienced some sort of safety car snafu when he received double messages about the restart. It was all Russell needed to get ahead of Perez and claim the final trophy of the day.

It was the Ferrari of Driver of the Day, Carlos Sainz, who crossed the line fifth after starting 19th thanks to engine penalties. Ferrari’s strategists and pit wall once again left fans equally confused and bewildered as Sainz had to correct them on his penalty for the unsafe release, and their questionable radio to pit while Sainz was ~literally~ battling Sergio Perez at full speeds. Is Ferrari Ferrari’s own worst enemy?

Fernando Alonso crossed the line sixth after passing the McLaren of Lando Norris (P7) at the start. His teammate, Esteban “Estie Bestie” Ocon finished eighth ahead of Daniel Ricciardo (P9), moving Alpine ahead of McLaren in the constructors’ championship. Please don’t remind me of Daniel’s career choices, okay? (I support you Daniel, I do! BUT…)

It appeared that team orders are most certainly NOT a thing at the Aston Martin garage with Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel battling at the beginning and the end, with Stroll claiming the final point in France.

Looking Ahead

It’s the final race before the (much needed) summer break this week in Hungary. After last year’s popcorn of a Grand Prix, can we expect another first-time race winner? Rain looks to be on the horizon in Budapest, so you might as well get the popcorn ready, just in case. I mean, I wouldn’t want you to be hungry in Hungary! *insert the Charles effect here.*