Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes-Benz AMG by almost three seconds and took victory in the exciting Formula 1 Grand Prix of France in 2021 at the Paul Ricard Circuit on Sunday.
Third place on the podium went to the other Red Bull driver Sergio Perez, who finished around nine seconds behind his team-mate.
Verstappen started the race from pole position, but soon lost the lead to Hamilton at the exit of Turn 1 due to a slight oversteer. Verstappen quickly rejoined and was eventually able to jump to the top thanks to an undercut as both drivers stopped for new tires, with Verstappen going first on lap 18 and Hamilton one lap later.
2021 Formula 1 French Grand Prix
Then Red Bull took a risk on lap 32 and again called on Verstappen to get fresh tires to emulate Hamilton’s successful two-stop strategy at the Spanish Grand Prix. Verstappen left the pit lane in fourth, ahead of Hamilton, his Mercedes colleague Valtteri Bottas and Perez.
Verstappen still had about 20 laps to charge forward. His first real challenge was to get past Bottas on lap 44, which he managed inside through Les Signes. Then it was Hamilton’s turn to defend a pass from Verstappen. The Red Bull driver’s moment came on the penultimate lap, with a DRS-assisted bang on the Mistral straight and a quick pass into Turn 8.
Thanks to his most recent victory plus an extra point for the fastest lap, Verstappen’s lead in the drivers’ standings has increased to 131 points in 2021. Hamilton is second with 119 points and Perez is third with 84 points. In the constructors’ championship, Red Bull leads the 178 from Mercedes and 110 from McLaren with 215 points. The next race on the calendar is the Austrian Grand Prix next weekend.
Max Verstappen at the Formula 1 French Grand Prix 2021
Please find below the full results of the 2021 Formula 1 French Grand Prix:
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
2) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Benz AMG +2.904 seconds
3) Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing +8,811 seconds
4) Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-Benz AMG +14.618 seconds
5) Lando Norris, McLaren +64,032 seconds
6) Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren +75.857 seconds
7) Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri +76.596 seconds
8) Fernando Alonso, Alpine +77,695 seconds
9) Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin +79.666 seconds
10) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +91.946 seconds
11) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari +99,337 seconds
12) George Russell, Williams +1 lap
13) Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri +1 round
14) Esteban Ocon, Alpine +1 lap
15) Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo +1 lap
16) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +1 lap
17) Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo +1 lap
18) Nicholas Latifi, Williams +1 lap
19) Mick Schumacher, Haas +1 lap
20) Nikita Mazepin, Haas +1 lap
