French Grand Prix – Race: Verstappen snatches victory from Hamilton

Max Verstappen won the 2021 French Grand Prix this Sunday! The Dutch driver imposed his law in Le Castellet, thanks to a winning strategy of 2 pit stops and a last-minute pass on the 52nd lap.

Victory for the Red Bull driver ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Pérez.

At the World Championship, Max Verstappen increases his lead and remains in first place.

Two years after the last race, the big Formula 1 party in France was marked by the wind! The mistral swept the cars over the 53 laps of the race. The rain did not fall but the track was new at the time of the formation lap. Showers washed the track on Sunday morning, especially during the F3 support race. 25.3 degrees in the air, 37.5 degrees on the track, at the start at 3 p.m. on this Sunday, June 20, for a Grand Prix in front of 15,000 people. Record audience for a sporting event in France since 1 and a half years and the beginning of the health crisis!

Verstappen gives up the lead

The poleman messed up at the start! Max Verstappen lost the benefit of his first place by missing his braking at the 1st corner, in the turns of La Verrerie! A too late braking, loss of rear downforce: the Dutchman relinquished the lead to Lewis Hamilton. The Red Bull driver #33 came back on track in 2nd place, just ahead of Valtteri Bottas.

The big move at the start was to the credit of Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian managed to secure 9th place right from the first turn on the outside, against his own teammate Lando Norris. Probably annoyed, the British driver tried to regain his position. Scare on the 2nd lap with a missed first braking, but the escapes allowed him to keep his 10th place.

No crash in the first lap anyway. The big loser was Mick Schumacher, dropping from 15th place… to 20th place. Missed braking at the 3rd turn, the Hotel corner.

The first nice overtaking move was to be credited to Sebastian Vettel, who came to snatch the provisional 11th place from Esteban Ocon, on the outside, at the North chicane, the one in the middle of the Mistral straight.

At the front, Hamilton and Verstappen were both complaining about the lack of grip, due to the new track surface, cleaned by the rain in the previous hours. The balance? A “disaster” for example according to Pierre Gasly, still 6th on the 8th lap. His teammate at AlphaTauri was at the same time in 16th place, Yuki Tsunoda had started from the pits on medium tires, after his crash in Q1 this Saturday afternoon. Last on the grid (19th), Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll had climbed up to 14th place, with an overtake on Kimi Räikkönen’s Alfa Romeo on the 10th lap.

No change between 3rd and 7th place since the start: Bottas and Pérez a little ahead, then a group of outsiders, led by Sainz, ahead of Gasly and Leclerc. Alonso, Ricciardo and Norris completed the provisional top 10.

Verstappen undercuts Hamilton!

It was necessary to look precisely at the middle of the table to see overtaking. Struggling with his medium tires, Fernando Alonso gave up 8th place and then 9th place to the two McLarens, with Ricciardo ahead of Norris. Courageous overtaking by the two drivers: Ricciardo passed at the braking point of the Nord Chicane, Norris just before the double left of the Beausset (10th-11th turn). “Plan B” requested the Alpine driver to his race engineer over the radio. Alonso stayed on the same set of tires for a few more laps.

The 15th lap was the one for the first pit stop, Charles Leclerc with his Ferrari. Hard tires (gray band) for the Monegasque, who restarted in 19th place, between the two Haas, Nikita Mazepin in front of Mick Schumacher. The other drivers stayed on track a little longer. Hard tires also for Ricciardo on the 17th lap. Bottas pitted on the 18th lap, followed a few seconds later by Sainz and Gasly. Total reshuffle, the Spaniard and the Frenchman came out behind Leclerc and Ricciardo.

Red Bull also felt the pit stop wind: Verstappen pitted on the 19th lap. But the Dutchman did not lose his position against Bottas. It was now up to Hamilton to make his stop immediately on the 20th lap. Tire change in 2.2 seconds for Mercedes… and surprise, Verstappen passed Hamilton!

The end result was that the Dutch driver was leading the two Mercedes in his wake. But Hamilton was gradually losing ground on Verstappen, with Bottas even closing in on him. The lead was temporarily taken over by Pérez, who was pulling off his signature move: extending his first stint as much as possible. Until precisely the 25th lap!

The new leader was therefore poleman Verstappen. Behind him Hamilton-Bottas, Pérez a little further back. By the 26th lap, the two Aston Martins were in 5th and 6th place. But Vettel and Stroll had not yet entered the pits, like Alpine’s Ocon, who waited until the 28th lap to do so.

Behind the battle for the lead, the battle for the midfield remained interesting. The Norris-Gasly fight was raging. In front of his home crowd, Pierre Gasly was trying to keep his place, 9th (on the 30th lap). Even squeezing the British driver at the exit of Beausset. Tough but fair? Norris took to the radio to complain about the Frenchman’s behavior. The McLaren driver then quickly passed Sainz’s Ferrari… and the other Woking orange car, Ricciardo’s. Norris was now 7th, with the 2 Aston Martins still ahead.

Verstappen’s winning bet

But the attention focused back on Verstappen. The Red Bull driver in the pit to switch to mediums… on the 33rd lap! A surprising choice by the Dutchman, with still 21 laps to go. The two Mercedes had a clear path: less than 3 seconds gap between Hamilton and Bottas. Verstappen was gradually catching up, his teammate Perez was not resisting and let him pass on the 35th lap. A battle that was causing trouble… the Red Bull leader’s radio, victim of a problem!

Meanwhile, Lando Norris had climbed to 5th place, after Vettel and Stroll’s tire change at Aston Martin. The British driver was ahead of Ricciardo, Gasly, Alonso, Sainz… and Vettel to complete the top 10. Tsunoda was still considering points in 11th provisional position. Leclerc had returned to the pit, with an anonymous 16th place on track 10 laps from the end.

Hamilton gave in!

Alone on their galaxy, the top 4 drivers battled for victory. First act of the final: Bottas vs Verstappen! The Finn cracked on the 44th lap, with a small error in braking at the Nord chicane. The Dutchman passed on the acceleration before Signes, much to Bottas’ chagrin, who vented his anger over the radio. Despite it all, a repeat occurred on the 49th lap, with Pérez taking the 3rd place, again before Signes!

The ultimate battle was underway: Hamilton vs Verstappen for the win! The latter was catching up to the former but it was the Mercedes driver who was controlling the gap… until the 52nd lap. The Red Bull #33 opened his DRS. Less than a second apart and on his first attempt, the Dutchman overtook Hamilton under braking on the Mistral straight, just before the North chicane.

Superb end-of-race maneuver for Verstappen, who came to pick up his first victory in France, and the 13th of his F1 career!

The party is in full swing for Red Bull’s pilot, who scored 26 points, also securing the fastest lap. The Austrian team is making a strong impression ahead of the two upcoming races… at the Red Bull Ring!

In the race standings, the gap is huge between the top 4 and the rest. McLaren is making a good deal, with 18 points scored. Pierre Gasly achieves his best ranking in a French Grand Prix, ahead of Fernando Alonso, who salvages the situation for Alpine. The two Aston Martin drivers complete the top 10, with Sebastian Vettel ahead of Lance Stroll.

Disappointment for Esteban Ocon, 14th, as for Charles Leclerc, 16th. No points for Ferrari with the 11th place of Carlos Sainz!

In the end, all the drivers saw the finish of this 2021 French Grand Prix, zero retirements.

The complete ranking of the French Grand Prix 2021:

After the French Grand Prix, the general driver standings give a strong advantage to Max Verstappen, who now has a 12-point lead over Lewis Hamilton.

Discover the new drivers’ overall ranking and the overall constructors’ ranking.