Lewis Hamilton scores dominant French Grand Prix victory

4 years, 9 months ago - 24 June 2019, Autoblog
Lewis Hamilton scores dominant French Grand Prix victory
The top four finished in the order they started

Lewis Hamilton put on a display of domination in a processional French Grand Prix on Sunday to go 36 points clear in the Formula One world championship and stretch Mercedes's winning run to 10 races. On a scorchingly hot afternoon at Le Castellet's Paul Ricard circuit, Hamilton put the rest of the field in the shade as he led from start to finish to take his fourth win in a row and sixth of the season.

The Briton took the checkered flag 18 seconds ahead of Finnish teammate Valtteri Bottas, who was pushed hard at the end by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in a short-lived moment of tension.

While Mercedes celebrated their 50th one-two finish, fans around the world could be excused for stifling their yawns after a race that staked a solid claim for most boring of the year.

"We are creating history together and I'm so proud to be part of this team," said Hamilton, who also won from pole last year at Le Castellet in a race where traffic gridlock on the roads outside proved more of a talking point.

"It wasn't easy at all and everything is on the edge. I had quite big blisters on the front two tires - but this has been the best start of the year."

The five-times world champion now has 79 career wins, 12 short of Michael Schumacher's all-time record with 13 races remaining this season.

He has 187 points to Bottas's 151. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, fifth on Sunday, is now 76 points behind Hamilton — the equivalent to more than three race wins.

Mercedes, heading for an unprecedented sixth straight constructors' and drivers' title double, have won all eight races this year as well as the last two of 2018 and look unstoppable.

If they win in Austria next weekend, they will equal McLaren's achievement of 11 wins in a row in 1988 — the longest sequence of success in the modern era.

Statistics aside, the race was a forgettable one with the top four finishing in the order they started and an absence of controversy after a Canadian Grand Prix that stirred up plenty of heated debate.

BROKEN BOLLARD

Until the closing laps, the main thrill was provided by a brave marshal who darted across the track to retrieve a broken bollard.

Hamilton made a clean start, was 2.3 seconds clear of Bottas after six laps and continued to pull away despite complaining at one point that something had broken on his seat - a gripe undermined by the Briton lapping faster and faster.

He was so far ahead by the time he pitted that he came out ahead of Vettel, who had yet to make his stop.

Max Verstappen was fourth for Red Bull while Vettel, who had started seventh on the grid, pitted on the penultimate lap for fresh tires to snatch an extra point for fastest lap from Hamilton.

"This weekend, the biggest aim was to close the gap as much as possible and we failed," said Vettel, who has not won for 16 races.

"We have to understand why some of the bits we brought didn't work and hopefully we can try again and the track layout in Austria next week will go our way."

Spaniard Carlos Sainz finished sixth for McLaren ahead of Daniel Ricciardo for Renault.

The Australian was later handed two five-second penalties for leaving the track, rejoining unsafely and gaining an advantage, dropping him to 11th and out of the points.

Kimi Raikkonen moved up to seventh for Alfa Romeo with Renault's Nico Hulkenberg eighth and Lando Norris ninth for McLaren after losing three places on the last lap due to an hydraulics problem.

The final point went to Red Bull's French driver Pierre Gasly. His compatriot Romain Grosjean, in a Haas, was the only retirement. 

FORMULA 1 PIRELLI GRAND PRIX DE FRANCE 2019 - RACE RESULT

21-23 Jun 2019 Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet

144Lewis HamiltonMERCEDES531:24:31.19825
277Valtteri BottasMERCEDES53+18.056s18
316Charles LeclercFERRARI53+18.985s15
433Max VerstappenRED BULL RACING HONDA53+34.905s12
55Sebastian VettelFERRARI53+62.796s11
655Carlos SainzMCLAREN RENAULT53+95.462s8
77Kimi RäikkönenALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI52+1 lap6
827Nico HulkenbergRENAULT52+1 lap4
94Lando NorrisMCLAREN RENAULT52+1 lap2
1010Pierre GaslyRED BULL RACING HONDA52+1 lap1
113Daniel RicciardoRENAULT52+1 lap0
1211Sergio PerezRACING POINT BWT MERCEDES52+1 lap0
1318Lance StrollRACING POINT BWT MERCEDES52+1 lap0
1426Daniil KvyatSCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA52+1 lap0
1523Alexander AlbonSCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA52+1 lap0
1699Antonio GiovinazziALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI52+1 lap0
1720Kevin MagnussenHAAS FERRARI52+1 lap0
1888Robert KubicaWILLIAMS MERCEDES51+2 laps0
1963George RussellWILLIAMS MERCEDES51+2 laps0
NC8Romain GrosjeanHAAS FERRARI44DNF0

Note - Vettel scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race. Ricciardo originally finished seventh, but received a five-second post-race time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, plus an identical penalty for failing to rejoin the track safely.

2019 Driver Standings

1Lewis HamiltonGBRMERCEDES187
2Valtteri BottasFINMERCEDES151
3Sebastian VettelGERFERRARI111
4Max VerstappenNEDRED BULL RACING HONDA100
5Charles LeclercMONFERRARI87
6Pierre GaslyFRARED BULL RACING HONDA37
7Carlos SainzESPMCLAREN RENAULT26
8Kimi RäikkönenFINALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI19
9Daniel RicciardoAUSRENAULT16
10Nico HulkenbergGERRENAULT16
11Kevin MagnussenDENHAAS FERRARI14
12Lando NorrisGBRMCLAREN RENAULT14
13Sergio PerezMEXRACING POINT BWT MERCEDES13
14Daniil KvyatRUSSCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA10
15Alexander AlbonTHASCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA7
16Lance StrollCANRACING POINT BWT MERCEDES6
17Romain GrosjeanFRAHAAS FERRARI2
18Antonio GiovinazziITAALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI0
19George RussellGBRWILLIAMS MERCEDES0
20Robert KubicaPOLWILLIAMS MERCEDES0

2019 Constructor Standings

1MERCEDES338
2FERRARI198
3RED BULL RACING HONDA137
4MCLAREN RENAULT40
5RENAULT32
6RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES19
7ALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI19
8SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA17
9HAAS FERRARI16
10WILLIAMS MERCEDES0