Max Verstappen won his seventh victory of the season at the Formula 1 French Grand Prix. Ferrari once again played a role in the new triumph of the defending champion, more specifically Charles Leclerc, who lost a lot of points this time, but that’s not the only reason why fans of the Italian stable can be sad. Some have deciphered what it would take for Verstappen to be less successful this year – but this answer is also related to Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton couldn’t drink at the race in Le Castellet, he at least got an ice cream after being waved off. Here are the F1 highlights from the French GP!
THE FERRARI TACTICS STILL WORKED ON SATURDAY. Carlos Sainz Jr. started the race weekend in France with the knowledge that he would definitely not be able to start from the position he obtained during qualifying on Sunday. Shortly before qualifying, it also became certain that Sainz could only start the race from the last row due to the replacement of even more power components, but he could at least help his team-mate who was driving to the pole position in Q3.
Great team effort
: babavos56 #f1 pic.twitter.com/xhMQe29wGH
— Inside The Paddock | Best F1® Memes (@PaddockMemes) July 24, 2022
ANOTHER HEARTBREAKING SCENE FROM LECLERC. Although he could not shake off Max Verstappen after the start, Charles Leclerc led the race until he slipped at turn 11. This time, however, he dropped a lot of points mainly due to his own fault, for which he took responsibility after the race and admitted that if he makes such mistakes, he might not deserve the world championship title.
Total heartbreak for Charles Leclerc #FrenchGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/boNWYn8vlY
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 24, 2022
TIMING IS NOT FERRARI’S STRENGTH. One of the most exciting battles of the race at Paul Ricard came on lap 36, when Sainz attacked Sergio Pérez for third position. However, during the overtaking maneuver, Ferrari came up with the idea of challenging their competitor to change a wheel. Not surprisingly, Sainz quickly shook off the engineer who spoke to him.
Ferrari Get Out of Me Ear
: MrBIGtinyHappy #f1 pic.twitter.com/OkreGcw2Bn
— Inside The Paddock | Best F1® Memes (@PaddockMemes) July 25, 2022
THIS YEAR’S MERCEDES WOULD BE BETTER THAN THIS. Although both Mercedes drivers were able to stand on the podium at the end of the French Grand Prix, the chances of victory still seem slim for the team that has dominated the last few years. However, looking at Ferrari’s performances in recent weeks, we wouldn’t be surprised if Leclerc considered his options.
“But why should I join Mercedes, give me 1 good reason”
: gousuman #f1 pic.twitter.com/415sOJRkKc
— Inside The Paddock | Best F1® Memes (@PaddockMemes) July 24, 2022
THE ONLY ANTIDOTE TO VERSTAPPEN. Although Red Bull had a somewhat difficult start to the season, due to Ferrari’s technical and other errors, as well as Verstappen’s strong performance, the defending champion is starting to pull away in the world championship points race. His advantage over Leclerc is now 63 points, but some have realized that Verstappen’s dominance could be curbed – if he also had to compete for Ferrari.
NO WATER AT 32 DEGREE, THROUGH 53 ROUNDS. Lewis Hamilton completed a difficult race in Le Castellet: his hydration system did not work during the heat race. In such a situation, a competitor can lose up to three kilograms during a competition, and the exhausted seven-time world champion was not surprisingly waiting for the award ceremony from a special position in the so-called “cool-down room”.
Hamilton watches the race highlights on the floor of the cool down room. He revealed that his water bottle hadn’t been working during the race #FrenchGP pic.twitter.com/C8ZeryqVoX
— WTF1 (@wtf1official) July 24, 2022
Among other things, Hamilton had to fulfill his obligations to the press after the stressful race, but Will Buxton, one of the Formula 1 reporters, was prepared and offered the ice cream from a cooler bag to the runner who finished in second place.
He didn’t have a working drinks bottle during the race, so Lewis couldn’t resist the offer of an ice lolly afterwards! #FrenchGP #F1 @MercedesAMGF1 @LewisHamilton pic.twitter.com/bQUZFqhhJ7
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 24, 2022
NORRIST IS NOT CONFUSED BY THE BAD RATIO. Verstappen took the 27th victory of his career, which puts him in eighth place in the all-time ranking, tied with Jackie Stewart. Lando Norris also “congratulated” the new success after running into Verstappen on the way home.
1. | Max Verstappen | holland | Red Bull-Honda | 1:30:02.112 |
2. | Lewis Hamilton | brit | Mercedes | 10.587 mp h. |
3. | George Russell | brit | Mercedes | 16.495 mp h. |
4. | Sergio Perez | Mexican | Red Bull-Honda | 17.310 mp h. |
5. | Carlos Sainz | Spanish | Ferrari | 28.872 mp h. |
6. | Fernando Alonso | Spanish | Alpine-Renault | 42.879 mp h. |
7. | Lando Norris | brit | McLaren-Mercedes | 52.026 mp h. |
8. | Stephen Ocon | France | Alpine-Renault | 56.959 mp h. |
9. | Daniel Ricciardo | Australian | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:00.372 p h. |
10. | Lance Stroll | Canadian | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1:02.549 p h. |
11. | Sebastian Vettel | German | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1:04.494 p h. |
12. | Pierre Gasly | France | AlphaTauri-Honda | 1:05.448 p h. |
13. | Alexander Albon | Thai | Williams-Mercedes | 1:08.565 p h. |
14. | Valtteri Bottas | finn | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1:16.666 p h. |
15. | Mick Schumacher | German | Haas-Ferrari | 1:20.394 p h. |
16. | Csou Kuan-jü | Chinese | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 6 runs h. |
17. | Nicholas Latifi | Canadian | Williams-Mercedes | 13 runs h. |
18. | Kevin Magnussen | paste | Haas-Ferrari | 16 runs h. |
19. | Charles Leclerc | Monaco | Ferrari | 36 runs h. |
20. | Cunoda Juki | Japan | AlphaTauri-Honda | 36 runs h. |
PILOTS | VICTORY | PODIUM | SCORE | FASTEST LAPS | PONT | |
1. | Max Verstappen | 7 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 233 |
2. | Charles Leclerc | 3 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 170 |
3. | Sergio Perez | 1 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 163 |
4. | Carlos Sainz | 1 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 144 |
5. | George Russell | – | 4 | 11 | – | 143 |
6. | Lewis Hamilton | – | 5 | 11 | 1 | 127 |
7. | Lando Norris | – | 1 | 9 | 1 | 70 |
8. | Stephen Ocon | – | – | 9 | – | 56 |
9. | Valtteri Bottas | – | – | 7 | – | 46 |
10. | Fernando Alonso | – | – | 8 | – | 37 |
11. | Kevin Magnussen | – | – | 5 | – | 22 |
12. | Daniel Ricciardo | – | – | 5 | – | 19 |
13. | Pierre Gasly | – | – | 3 | – | 16 |
14. | Sebastian Vettel | – | – | 4 | – | 15 |
15. | Mick Schumacher | – | – | 2 | – | 12 |
16. | Cunoda Juki | – | – | 3 | – | 11 |
17. | Csou Kuan-jü | – | – | 2 | – | 5 |
18. | Lance Stroll | – | – | 4 | – | 4 |
19. | Alexander Albon | – | – | 2 | – | 3 |
CONSTRUCTORS | ||
1. | Red Bull-Honda | 396 |
2. | Ferrari | 314 |
3. | Mercedes | 270 |
4. | Alpine-Renault | 93 |
5. | McLaren-Mercedes | 89 |
6. | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 51 |
7. | Haas-Ferrari | 34 |
8. | AlphaTauri-Honda | 27 |
9. | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 19 |
10. | Williams-Mercedes | 3 |