French GP 2022 - Race: Another win for Verstappen, heartbreak for Leclerc
France gave us another Max Verstappen win and a double Mercedes podium, with Lewis Hamilton in P2 and George Russell in P3, plus yet another Charles Leclerc heartbreak.
Race Start: Charles Leclerc was able to fend off Max Verstappen, keeping the lead of the race. Lewis Hamilton manage to get past Sergio Perez for P3, leaving the Mexican behind.
Lap 12: No changes in the top 4, with Leclerc leading the race, Verstappen in DRS range but not quick enough to get to striking distance, and Hamilton in P3, pulling away from Perez in P4.
Lap 13: Having started from P20, due to an engine penalty, Carlos Sainz entered the top 10.
Lap 17: Red Bull decided to bring in Max Verstappen in the pits, for his first, and only, tyre change.
Lap 18: Charles Leclerc hit the wall at T11 after making a mistake, but wasn't able to restart, as it seems he had another throttle issue, just like in Austria. A Safety Car was deployed.
Lap 22: (Restart): With most of the frontrunners pitting, order after the restart: VER, HAM, PER, RUS, SAI
Lap 24: Sainz received a 5-sec penalty, after an unsafe release during his SC pit stop.
Lap 30: Sainz managed to get past Russell for P4.
Lap 42: In a 6-lap long battle between Perez and Sainz, the Spaniard finally got through for P3, before going into the pits to serve his penalty.
Lap 42: Perez (P3) and Russell (P4) made contact, with both drivers complaining about the other driver's driving style.
Lap 49: VSC deployed, as Guanyu Zhou pulled over, stopping his Alfa Romeo on track.
Lap 50: Smart move from Russell, as he got past Perez at the restart.
Post Race: Carlos Sainz got the fans' vote for DOTD.
Max Verstappen cruised to an easy victory, after his main opponent's DNF, followed by Lewis Hamilton in P2 and George Russell in P3.
Sergio Perez didn't manage to keep George Russell behind him, and finished at P4, ahead of Carlos Sainz in P5, who had to serve a 5-sec penalty, and was therefore out of podium contention.
It's a double sandwich-stack between Alpine and McLaren, with Fernando Alonso in P6, Lando Norris in P7, Esteban Ocon in P8 and Daniel Ricciardo in P9. Lance Stroll completed the top 10, after a last-lap battle with his teammate, Sebastian Vettel.
Full Race Classification:
