Five talking points from a fateful French GP

Leclerc’s clanger at Paul Ricard

He’d managed things so beautifully up until then too. From his seventh pole position of the season, Leclerc kept his nose in front on the dash to Turn One, then focused on driving perfectly to soak up the inevitable pressure that would come from Verstappen’s Red Bull. It wasn’t easy. Always quick in a straight line, the blue car looked set to take the lead at any moment during the first ten laps. But Leclerc was faultless and slowly started to edge away.

Red Bull blinked first, bringing Verstappen in for what would turn out to be his only stop on lap 16. In contrast, Leclerc appeared comfortable on his medium Pirellis and looked set to push on for longer. How long and whether he would have kept the lead are questions that can only be answered speculatively. On lap 18 at the Beausset right-hander, he lost the rear of his Ferrari, which spun and nosed into the barrier. The cry of despair over the radio and the bout of heavy breathing was all we needed to know of Leclerc’s state of mind. He’s always so hard on himself and never shirks from responsibility when he makes mistakes. But he’s never made a bigger one.

As he said himself, a small slip at Imola had cost him seven points earlier in the season. This one cost him a great deal more. From a 46-point lead after the first three races, Leclerc is now 63 down on Verstappen with ten races remaining. It’s a stretch to believe Red Bull and Max will let that advantage slip from here.

Hamilton storms his 300^th

In contrast, there were smiles all round from Lewis Hamilton, who marked his 300^th grand prix start with a superb performance and his first runner-up finish of the season. From fourth on the grid, he beat Sergio Perez to Turn One, then like Leclerc soaked up early Red Bull pressure before stretching away. Third place became second thanks to Leclerc’s clanger, but without a working drinks bottle on a sweltering day, Hamilton kept his cool. He was never really a threat to Verstappen, who stroked to his seventh win of the season without really breaking a (figurative) sweat, but it was good to see the seven-time champion back in the vicinity of where he belongs.

Sainz frustrated by Ferrari and misfortune

Carlos Sainz Jr will be nagged by the memory of the 2022 French Grand Prix for ever. It was clear he could have been in contention to win this race, but everything went against him. Engine usage penalties left him mired at the back of the grid, so in truth a victory was out before he’d begun. But a podium finish was more than realistic, given his obvious pace.

Starting on Pirelli’s hard tyre, Sainz picked his way through the midfield and was up to ninth by lap 17. Then Leclerc crashed, the safety car came out while the Ferrari was recovered, and Carlos joined the dash to pit. Then his team released him into the path of Alex Albon’s Williams, the Thai locking his brakes to avoid the red car – and Sainz was given a five-second penalty, through no fault of his own. Another setback.

Still, he got his head down and worked his way past the McLarens and Alpines, up into the top six and then on to the tail of George Russell. Naturally, it took a bit of time to pass the Mercedes, but he did so with a nice move at Signes, then zeroed in on Perez, who was lacking a bit of his recent spark at Paul Ricard. Their battle was the best of the race – but what on earth was happening on the Ferrari pitwall? Just as Carlos got the better of the Red Bull to take third place, his engineer called him into the pits. “Not now, not now,” snapped the Spaniard in understandable frustration. By this time there were 11 laps left. He’d been on his mediums since lap 18 and getting to the end was questionable. But wasn’t it a question worth asking? Instead, in he came for fresh yellow-walled tyres, took his five-second penalty, fought his way back up from ninth – and finished fifth. Exasperating.

Russell catches Perez napping

The other great battle of the race again involved Perez, this time with George Russell. The young Englishman made a lunge into the back chicane that could have ruined both of their races, then raged when Checo didn’t move over to give him the spot. In truth, Russell had no right to expect such a gift. The gap wasn’t really on – and where exactly did he expect Perez to go? F1’s insistence of creating ‘rules for racing’ is the root cause of such thinking, and it needs to be reviewed.

Russell inevitably came back at Perez and they continued to joust until a Virtual Safety Car was called to remove the stricken Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu. Then as the race turned back to green, Russell caught Perez napping and darted around him just before the final corner. Checo really should know better this far into his career – and he was clearly furious to have been caught out. He chased the Mercedes hard over the final laps, Russell making a small slip that nearly cost him – but George kept ahead to earn himself a hard-earned podium and deliver Mercedes a decent 2-3 result. Good work, despite the minor mid-race tantrum.

Alonso proves best of the rest

At Paul Ricard, Fernando Alonso reminded us for the umpteenth time that he’s a better choice for Alpine than any young driver out there, as the 40-year-old gave his all to mix it at the sharper end of the field. His car doesn’t quite allow him to fight with the Red Bulls, Ferraris and Mercedes, but at Alpine’s home race he was a clear best of the rest, seeing off Lando Norris’s McLaren and team-mate Esteban Ocon for sixth place. Daniel Ricciardo drove a little more like his old self on his way to ninth, while Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel enjoyed a lively duel at the end of the race for the final point. The Canadian just kept it, but Vettel was a little feisty in his efforts to nick it, given who he was racing against. Perhaps he really is up for another year in F1 after all.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.