Race Review: France

Who would have thought a lower than expected track temperature could cause such problems for the teams' strategies? Add in some 'baguette' curbs and we have the 2021 French GP.

Held at Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet in the South of France, Formula 1 returned to the track after Covid meant no 2019 race was held. The drivers completed 53 laps of the 5.842km (3.63 miles) track, with 15 turns and 2 DRS zones. The French GP is one of the oldest races in the world and thought to be the first 'Grand Prix' to have been held, back in 1906. The French GP has been held at 7 different tracks in its history, including Le Mans and Rouen, with Circuit Paul Ricard hosting 17 races, including this weekend.

Free practice was fairly uneventful, with Bottas topping FP1 and Verstappen FP2 and FP3, however, Q1 saw two red flags. The first came from Tsunoda who spun at Turn 2 and the second was as a result of Schumacher, who ended the session however made it into Q2 for the first time but affecting Stroll who was yet to set a fast lap, putting him to P19 on the grid. Qualifying finished as follows: P1 Verstappen, P2 Hamilton, P3 Bottas, P4 Perez, P5 Sainz, P6 Gasly, P7 Leclerc, P8 Norris, P9 Alonso, P10 Ricciardo, P11 Ocon, P12 Vettel, P13 Giovinazzi, P14 Russell, P15 Schumacher, P16 Latifi, P17 Raikkonen, P18 Mazepin, P19 Stroll and P20 Tsunoda. Tsunoda would actually start from the end of the pit lane, as per parc ferme rules, as his crash resulted in a floor and suspension change.

Lights out saw Verstappen go wide and lose P1 to Hamilton, with Bottas and Perez holding onto P3 and P4 respectively; Norris was passed by both Ricciardo and Alonso, dropping him to P10. Vettel took Ocon for P11 in lap 2 with Ricciardo catching back up to Alonso before both he and teammate Norris overtook the Spaniard. Ricciardo continued his overtaking, going around Leclerc who was then called in for a pit stop. Ricciardo followed suit the following lap, smashing the undercut and passing both Gasly and Sainz. Going for the undercut was the top tactic of the day. Verstappen came in before Hamilton, and then put in a blistering lap, and managed to come out in front of Hamilton after the Brit pitted. At this point, Perez was P1 (having not boxed yet), Verstappen P2, Hamilton P3 and Bottas P4. Perez eventually pitted in Lap 24 with Norris. After making his way back up the grid, the two McLarens swapped under team orders, as Norris' tyres were a lot newer.

The team radios waves were full of drivers complaints about tyre degradation with Hamilton, Bottas and Verstappen making a lot of noise. At Lap 32, Verstappen made the risky but crucial move to pit again. Leclerc also opted to pit again which put him down into P16, which he was struggling to move out of. At Lap 44, Verstappen took Bottas on the inside of Les Signes; Bottas was less than impressed, particularly when Sainz successfully made the move on him a few laps later. With only Hamilton ahead, he chased the Mercedes around the track, closing the gap each lap before finally managing to overtake on Lap 52 having used DRS down the Minstral Straight and cutting around easily at Turn 8. He crossed the line taking the vital win for both him and Red Bull.

The final results were as follows: P1 Verstappen, P2 Hamilton, P3 Perez, P4 Bottas, P5 Norris, P6 Ricciardo, P7 Gasly, P8 Alonso, P9 Vettel, P10 Stroll, P11 Sainz, P12 Russell, P13 Tsunoda, P14 Ocon, P15 Giovinazzi, P16 Leclerc, P17 Raikkonen, P18 Latifi, P19 Schumacher and P20 Mazepin.

Driver Of The Day: Ricciardo

After a disappointing start to the season, Ricciardo put in a brilliant performance to finish P6, having started P10. He made some fab overtakes, a brilliant undercut, making very few mistakes and gaining some well-earned points for both himself and McLaren. It was a great result for the Aussie.

Biggest Crash: Tsunoda

With his 3rd qualifying crash in 7 races, the Japanese driver was unable to set a time so was pushed to the back of the grid. During Q1, the car spun out at Turn 2, crashing into the barriers and doing some damage. When asked about it, he said 'I tried to brake as much as possible to avoid contact with the barrier, but it was like skating on ice as I was going backwards,'. Despite the crash being fairly low speed, the car needed a new floor which was unable to be replaced with a like for like part, which meant a penalty of starting at the end of the pit lane. You can watch the crash here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ4pDJ77LUI

The one amusing thing to come out of the crash is all the jokes about how the rear wing of the car was shaking. To quote Crofty, the rear wing on the car could only be described as 'twerking'.

Overtake Of The Day: Ricciardo

His undercut of Gasly and Sainz was a beautiful one. The team had hoped to just get Gasly when boxing the Aussie on Lap 17 but a 2.3 second stop saw the McLaren undercut both the AlphaTauri and Sainz on Lap 18 as he flew down the straight as the other two cars boxed, passing the pit exit before they could get back on track. Great driving from him and excellent strategy from the team.

Biggest Heartbreak: Ocon

With it being his home race driving for a team that was also from the same country, plus a contract extension to 2023, Ocon was set up for a great weekend. He finished P5 in FP1, P6 in FP2, P8 in FP3 and qualified P11, and fans were excited for what he was going to do on the Sunday of the race weekend. However, he finished P14, not having a fab race, finishing behind Russell's Williams and Tsunoda who had started in the pit lane. When asked about the race, he commented that Alpine 'went backwards in the race' as a result of tyre degradation. It was not the race he or the team wanted.

Best Radio Comment:

There were a few radio issues this race for Verstappen and then Hamilton's engineer. There was also a lot of panic and anger from Verstappen, Hamilton and Bottas over the radio regarding tyres and track positions. This week the best radio comment goes to a more serious one. Bottas continually asked to box again, and that one-stop strategy was not going to work. After being passed by Perez, Bottas radioed in:

'why the **** does no one listen to me when I say that it's going to be a two-stopper'.

Even the commentators agreed that it was a fair comment to make…. After the race, the Finn commented "If I did a two-stop, for sure I would have been on the podium and fighting for the win of the race." Everyone felt for Bottas in this race, he could have been on the podium or even got an extra point for fastest lap had his team let him box again. With all the rumours swirling about Russell replacing him next season, he really needed those points. It will certainly be a lesson learned for Mercedes.

Takeaways

Yet again, strategy was key here. Had Verstappen not made that 2nd stop and had Bottas made a 2nd stop, the podium would have been very different. Red Bull did to Mercedes this week what Mercedes did to them back in Spain; risking the pit lane time for new tyres to make up the gap. This was vital for Red Bull to keep their place at the top of the Constructor's Championship and Max Verstappen at the top of the Driver's Championship.

Just like Ocon, Ferrari did not thrive this weekend. From qualifying P5 and P7 and then finishing P11 and P16, it was just not the performance anyone was expecting from a team who is fighting for P3 in the Constructor's Championship. Their strategy of pitting Leclerc twice just didn't pay off well, plus Ricciardo managing to undercut Sainz just set them down the wrong path.

What a great weekend for Williams, particularly George Russell who finished P12 on merit. The British driver has been fielding rumours of a move to Mercedes next season, replacing Bottas. He proved today why those rumours are a thing. He started the race in P14, however dropped down to P18 at the start but managed to fight his way up, overtaking the likes of Ocon and Tsunoda to finish P12. He said it was the best race he has had with the team, in a postrace interview, putting the team back above Haas in the Constructor's Championship. Maybe the team principal change is making a difference? We'll have to wait and see how Williams do in the doubleheader over the next two weekends

McLaren also smashed it. They were the best of the rest this race, beating out the Ferraris and AlphaTauri's which Norris had mentioned would be difficult to do in a pre-race interview. It was great to see Ricciardo back up nearer the top of the grid after a brilliant race, proving his talent. The Aussie said post-race that the car has 'start[ed] to feel more like home'. Hopefully, we will see their success carry on for the rest of the season. One lovely thing to note is the team's tribute to Mansour Ojjeh, who sadly passed away on the morning of the Baku GP. He was one of the team's key figures and loved by everyone in the sport. Instead of using their usual McLaren branding, the car ran with his name on the side instead, with the team wearing caps to match. It was a beautiful tribute that was loved by his family, who were in attendance at the race. You can see the cars with Mansour on them here:

Up next, we have the doubleheader in Austria at the Red Bull Ring, it will be very exciting to see if Red Bull can carry on this winning streak!