French Grand Prix – Race: Verstappen wins, both Mercedes on the podium

It was in a festive and very hot atmosphere that the French Grand Prix 2022 was held at the Paul Ricard circuit. The pressure had been rising since the morning in the Var region, and the drivers felt that they were eagerly awaited by the fans. The approximately 80,000 spectators seated in the stands of the Castellet circuit were able to witness a magnificent show on the Varois layout throughout the 53 laps of the race.

A tightly contested first part of the race.

At the start, Leclerc maintained his first position while Hamilton managed to overtake Pérez for third place. At the back of the field, Sainz gained two positions in the first lap, while Kevin Magnussen, starting last, is already in twelfth place. Still in the pack, the race got off to a bad start for Esteban Ocon, who received a five-second penalty for colliding with Yuki Tsunoda at the North Chicane.

The Red Bulls have been pressing hard in this first part of the Grand Prix. Leclerc and Hamilton had no choice but to remain on the defensive against Verstappen and Pérez respectively. Hamilton, who kept Pérez behind him, allowed the two leaders to escape.

Kevin Magnussen makes the first pit stop on the ninth lap. The Danish driver, who started on hard tires, has chosen to stick with this type of compound. After ten laps, the battle between Leclerc and Verstappen is still fierce. Behind them, Hamilton has managed to shake off Pérez, who quickly found himself under threat from George Russell.

On the fourteenth lap, Sainz finally made it into the Top 10 and continued his climb. At the same time, the first blisters appeared on the right front tires of both leaders. At the end of the sixteenth lap, Max Verstappen attempted the undercut by switching to hard tires. He came out in seventh place behind Lando Norris. At Ferrari, it was decided to keep Leclerc on track.

The turn of the 18th lap

Disaster for Ferrari in the eighteenth lap. Leclerc goes off track in the highly technical double right of Beausset, causing the deployment of the safety car. It appears that the accelerator pedal failed on Ferrari number 16. The Monegasque driver expresses his anger with a loud scream of rage over the radio.

Most of the drivers took advantage to go to the pits. Almost all of them switched to hard tires except for Sainz, who swapped his white rubber for medium tires. Verstappen found himself in the lead at the restart, followed by Hamilton, Pérez, and Russell.

On the twenty-third lap, Guanyu Zhou is forced to come into the pits to change his front wing after a collision with Mick Schumacher. Carlos Sainz, on the other hand, receives a five-second penalty for an Unsafe Release in front of Alex Albon, which occurred when the safety car was on track.

The struggles of the Top 10 at mid-race.

At the halfway point, as Verstappen leads with nearly a four-second advantage over Hamilton, a train of four drivers has formed behind, including the seven-time world champion, Pérez, Russell, and Sainz, who is becoming increasingly aggressive. Further down the rankings, Gasly stands out with a mistake in the northern chicane. In the second half of the Top 10, a thrilling battle is taking place between the two Alpines and the two McLarens.

Sainz finally manages to overtake the Mercedes thanks to a magnificent move on the outside at the Signes turn. Finding himself several seconds behind Sergio Pérez’s Red Bull, the Madrid native manages to close the gap separating him from the Mexican driver after a few laps.

At the back of the pack, Magnussen’s Haas collides with Latifi’s Williams. The American team then decides to withdraw the Danish driver’s car from the race a few laps later.

An animated end of the race

Carlos Sainz delivers a magnificent race. On the 42nd lap, after a splendid battle with Pérez, the Ferrari manages to take the lead before returning to the pits to finish the Grand Prix on soft tires. Russell tries to imitate the red car but ends up bumping into the Red Bull. A minor contact with no consequences for the two drivers.

Complaining about the maneuver of the Mexican, Russell gets scolded on the radio by Toto Wolff, asking him to focus on his race. All eyes are on the battle for third place between Pérez and Russell in the final stages of the race, followed by Sainz who is trying to make a comeback after his second tire change.

A Virtual Safety Car slows down the end of the race slightly following Zhou’s Alfa Romeo stopping by the trackside. At the restart, Russell surprises Pérez and takes third place with three laps remaining.

Max Verstappen crosses the finish line as the winner ahead of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell’s Mercedes. Sergio Pérez and Carlos Sainz complete the Top 5. The two Alpines finish sixth and eighth, and the two McLarens finish seventh and ninth. This result allows the French team to surpass the British team in the constructor’s championship.