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French GP
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2021 Formula 1 French GP
Jun 17, 2021 to Jun 20, 2021
| Circuit Paul Ricard, FR
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Formula 1 French GP
F1 French GP Live Commentary and Updates - Race day
Live updates from Formula 1's French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard
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Summary
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- Chequered flag - Verstappen wins the French GP after an inspired two stop strategy. Hamilton second and Perez third.
- Verstappen reels in and passes Hamilton on the penultimate lap to grab the lead.
- Red Bull blink and bring leader Verstappen in for a second stop. Lap 33/53 - Hamilton leads Bottas.
- Verstappen jumps Hamilton courtesy of a slick undercut from the Red Bull driver after the first round of pit stops.
- Hamilton grabs the lead on Lap 1 after Verstappen runs wide at Turn 1.
- Formula 1's French GP will get underway at 1500 local time (1400 BST)
- Verstappen starts on pole from Hamilton, Bottas and Perez on row 2
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Leaderboard
- Verstappen, Red Bull
- Hamilton, Mercedes
- Perez, Red Bull
- Bottas, Mercedes
- Norris, McLaren
- Ricciardo, McLaren
- Gasly, AlphaTauri
- Alonso, Alpine
- Vettel, Aston Martin
- Stroll, Aston Martin
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Live Text
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Checkered flag
10:49:38 am
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And we'll leave it there! We'll see you next week for the Styrian GP at the Red Bull Ring - take care!
Breaking news
10:47:01 am
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Here's the report from a surprisingly interesting French Grand Prix: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/french-gp-verstappen-passes-hamilton-to-win-after-start-error/6590000/
Quote
10:43:51 am
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Perez: "The first five to 10 laps, the car was pretty much undriveable with the wind. But as the wind was getting calmer and the track was getting better, I could pick up my rhythm."
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10:42:12 am
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Hamilton: "Congrats to Max, they just had the better power on the straights all weekend. I just had no tyres left at the end so lost the position - but it was a good race."
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10:40:57 am
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Verstappen: "In the beginning, it was super difficult out there with the wind. We did well to keep the car stable. When we made the call to do the two-stopper, it paid off - but we were made to work hard for it."
10:37:26 am
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"This one's on us," James Vowles says on the radio, willing to accept blame for the strategy.
10:36:26 am
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George Russell's 12th place brings Williams back ahead of Haas in the constructors' standings.
10:33:38 am
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Norris and Ricciardo get a big haul of points for McLaren, claiming fifth and sixth, ahead of Gasly and Alonso, as Vettel and Stroll complete the top 10.
10:32:55 am
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Hamilton has to settle for second - as Perez and Bottas complete the top four, as an incident between the two has been noted.
Checkered flag
10:32:12 am
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And that's job done for Max Verstappen, who wins the French Grand Prix!
10:31:33 am
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Verstappen's now released and able to scamper down the road. "Simply lovely," says race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase.
10:30:28 am
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Verstappen, stalking Hamilton through the first sector, grabs DRS and dives down the inside at the Mistral chicane to lead!
10:28:04 am
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With three laps to go a Ricciardo-Gasly-Alonso train is forming so the action is building up everywhere. Further back, Russell gets ahead of Tsunoda to take 12th place.
10:28:06 am
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It's 1.6s with three laps to go. Hamilton vs. Verstappen - who can do it?
10:26:43 am
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Perez now claims P3 from Bottas, steaming around the Mercedes at Signes. Bottas is still pressing, however, and doesn't escape to the pits just yet.
10:24:56 am
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Stroll is up into the points having got by Sainz for P10. A double points haul for Aston Martin is on the cards.
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10:25:41 am
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Pete Bonnington gets the "leave me to it," as Hamilton throws everything at trying to keep Verstappen at bay. The gap is now 2.5s.
10:24:38 am
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Hamilton's now starting to lose time to Verstappen, having had an off on the previous lap. Bottas, meanwhile, is trying to defend from Perez.
10:23:35 am
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Instead of worrying about Vettel, Alonso is right on the rear wing of Gasly in the fight for seventh place and is within DRS range.
10:23:09 am
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The Finnish driver doesn't pit, however, so perhaps they feel they can hold Perez off.
10:22:15 am
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Bottas is being primed for a pitstop, which I'm sure will go down well. He's, quoth the late, great Murray Walker, ab-so-lutely FURIOUS.
10:21:21 am
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Hamilton is matching Verstappen for pace at the moment, somehow having managed to find some more life in those tyres.
Quote
10:20:29 am
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"Why the f**k did nobody listen to me when I said it was a two-stopper?", Bottas says, somewhat unhappily.
10:19:26 am
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Vettel is up to ninth place having overtaken Sainz, but he now has around eight seconds to find to catch Alonso ahead of him with seven laps to go.
10:19:08 am
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Hamilton managed to go faster on that lap compared to Verstappen, so earns himself a stay of execution for a bit longer.
10:18:04 am
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Bottas seemingly defends into the Mistral chicane, but goes a bit deep and allows the Red Bull to join him side-by-side into Signes. Verstappen is now free to chase Hamilton.
10:16:42 am
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Verstappen's right on Bottas' tail now - he's going to have to defend hard.
10:15:31 am
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The Aston Martin strategy is coming alive, as expected, as Stroll moves up to P11 ahead of Tsunoda to slot in directly behind team-mate Vettel. Both drivers are around one second per lap faster than those ahead.
10:13:34 am
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"The tyres aren't feeling great," Hamilton reports. Bottas is also struggling - reporting that he has no fronts.
10:12:19 am
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The overtaking forecast says seven laps for Hamilton vs Verstappen - so Bottas is going to have to provide a rearguard masterclass to keep his team-mate safe.
10:10:25 am
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Leclerc becomes the second driver to go for the two-stop strategy (after Verstappen) and drops down to P16 as a result.
10:10:47 am
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Mercedes having to conduct a quick radio switch, as Hamilton can't hear engineer Pete Bonnington. Verstappen's also having radio issues.
10:08:52 am
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A lap later Alonso finds overtaking Sainz much easier than Gasly did, as he charges by under braking at Turn 1 for P8. This race isn't going to plan for either Ferrari drivers, it must be said.
10:08:48 am
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Hamilton's picked up the pace, just 0.8s slower that lap with the re-tyred Verstappen.
10:07:29 am
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Vettel finally pits from fifth, elevating Norris and Ricciardo into fifth and sixth. The Aston comes out in P11.
10:06:10 am
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Gasly had been struggling to find a way past Sainz after a handful of half-moves, but he gets ahead at Turn 8 to take P8 on lap 36. But that time lost has allowed both Norris and Ricciardo to escape up the road.
10:03:42 am
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Stroll comes back out in P14 on fresh mediums, so he'll be one to watch over the final stint of this race.
Stopwatch
10:04:04 am
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Verstappen is now able to cruise past Perez, who gets out the way at Le Beausset, and moves up to P3. "The race is on," he's told, as he logs a 1m36.404s.
Pit stop
10:02:04 am
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Stroll, who is overtaken with ease by Norris, finally pits for the first time in this race on lap 35. That just leaves his team-mate Vettel yet to visit the pitlane in this race.
10:02:29 am
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Norris clears Stroll for sixth, and the Aston Martin driver drops into the pits thereafter for his one and presumably only stop.
Pagination
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By: Jake Boxall-Legge
Published: Jun 20, 2021, 2:48 PM
Lap:
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