AUTHOR: ABI MCINTOSH
https://www.formula1.com/en/racing/2022/France.html
The French Grand Prix was held over the weekend, at the Circuit Paul Ricard – and boy was it jam-packed! Right away, it held a milestone for 7-time world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton, who celebrated his 300th Grand Prix on Sunday. No driver has ever won a Grand Prix after exceeding 300, but Hamilton shows no signs of slowing down (a good thing in motorsports, evidently). The weather at this particular race is generally good, however, this weekend saw a spike in temperatures and drivers were left battling the heat while also battling the rest of the grid. Tire strategy became very important – with the track already quite warm, tires would degrade quicker – as the increasing temperatures toughened the already difficult race.
The circuit was built in 1969, with a track length of 5.842km and a race length of 309.690km. Having only 53 laps allows for a fairly short race, but the drivers feel the effects of the heat, making it seem much longer. Its varying corner speeds make it one of the most used test circuits in the world, and one of the most interesting races on the calendar.
The first practice session saw Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc leading, with a lap time of 1 minute 33.930 seconds. Redbull’s Max Verstappen came in at a close second, followed by Carlos Sainz. Several drivers were seen running wide, with Sergio Perez almost spinning off the barrier at turn four. Carlos Sainz led the second session, with a time of 1 minute 82.527 seconds, followed by teammate Charles Leclerc. Max Verstappen once again followed Leclerc, coming in at a close third. Mercedes teammates George Russel and Lewis Hamilton finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Haas driver Mick Schumacher spun off at turn eleven, narrowly avoiding contact with the barriers, and many drivers were again seen running wide on the track. Verstappen finally took the lead in session three, finishing the weekend’s final practice with a time of 1 minute 32.272 seconds. Ferrari teammates Sainz and Leclerc succeeded Verstappen, followed by Hamilton and Perez. Turn eleven once again saw some action, with Leclerc spinning out at the corner.
Qualifying started with Sainz and Kevin Magnussen starting from the back of the grid due to power unit penalties, with Magnussen not setting a time. Verstappen quickly set the top speed of the day, coming in at 339km/h. Leclerc set the first lap time, and the track was fairly tame for twenty minutes. Towards the end of Q1, Schumacher and Vettel narrowly avoided elimination – however, Schumacher was later given a penalty for exceeding track limits and was bumped back down under the elimination line, alongside Nicholas Latifi, Zhou Guanyu, Lance Stroll and Pierre Gasly. Q2 had Sainz set the fastest lap time before Alex Albon, Sebastian Vettel, Valtteri Bottas, Esteban Ocon and Daniel Ricciardo were eliminated and their places set. All cars in Q3 drove with soft tires to combat the extreme heat, but a bit of warm weather didn’t stop Leclerc from picking up his 7th pole position of the season. Driver 16 got his sixteenth pole, at a time of 1m30.872s. It was also the 6th time Leclerc was on pole this season, followed by Verstappen in 2nd.
The French Grand Prix kicked off at 11:04 pm EST on Sunday night, with Leclerc leading the race. Most drivers started with medium tires, with only three gambling on hards. Immediately after the green flag, Hamilton overtook Sergio Perez on Turn 1, moving up into fourth. Yuki Tsunoda spun off the track at Turn 8, having made contact with Esteban Ocon, who was later given a five-second penalty. On lap 3, Magnussen had already gained eight places after starting from the back of the grid, putting him in 12th place.
The race was fairly tame for a few laps, with some overtakes here and there and Verstappen and Leclerc still battling for 1st place. But it all went downhill on lap 17 when Leclerc went head-on into the tire barrier at Turn 11. Verstappen, having seen the crash, asked after Leclerc’s health before taking the lead. Following the incident, a very angry Leclerc screamed into the radio before exiting the car, having previously said there might be a throttle pedal issue. While his tires were worn, they were holding up well until this point, so an unfortunate finish to a previously good weekend for Leclerc.
https://www.planetf1.com/news/charles-leclerc-crashes-france-2022/
“Mistake, mistake, I’ve been saying – I’ve been performing at the highest level of my career but if I keep making these mistakes… We were the strongest car today. If we lose the championship by 32 points I know where they are coming from. It’s unacceptable.” – Charles Leclerc accepting responsibility for his DNF.
Post-race interviews cleared the air on what caused the crash, with Leclerc taking full responsibility for the disappointing end to his French Grand Prix weekend. The pitlane saw some action because of the safety car under the yellow flag, and there was some chatter over the radios over unsafe releases.
After Leclerc’s DNF and the release of the green flag, Verstappen set a new fastest lap time on lap 22, while Tsunoda retired after his conflict with Ocon. Only one lap later, more contact occurred, with contact between Zhou and Schumacher leading the former into the pits. He was given a five-second penalty for causing a collision, with Sainz also receiving a penalty for unsafe release in the pitlane, where he was released right in front of a Williams.
Lap 38 saw a collision between Latifi and Magnussen, leading to the Dane’s fourth DNF of the season. Haas was not having a good end to the weekend, with Schumacher coming in last, above the DNFs. At the front of the grid, however, the race was picking up. Sainz and Perez were fighting head-to-head for 2nd place, with Sainz finally taking the lead on lap 42. This victory was short-lived, however, because the Spaniard was ordered to pit almost directly afterwards. Zhou, unfortunately, had his sixth DNF of the season, on Turn 5 of lap 50. This led to a quick overtake of Perez from Russell, who swooped in just as the yellow flag was lifted. Verstappen still leading, with two Mercedes right on his tail. Sainz managed to get back to fifth place but didn’t have the time to get past Perez again. Standings stayed the same for the final lap, with no sudden overtakes or DNFs.
Max Verstappen crossed the finish line, winning his seventh Grand Prix of the season! Hamilton came in second, and Russell in third, making a double podium for Mercedes – the first of the season. Perez came in fourth, Sainz behind him in fifth, with Alonso in sixth. Norris, Ocon, Ricciardo, and Stroll claimed the last point positions, although Stroll narrowly avoided his teammate Vettel on the final lap. Sainz was voted driver of the day by fans, for his move from nineteenth to sixth.
https://www.redbull.com/int-en/france-f1-grand-prix-2022-race-report
“I think we had really good pace from the start, but following around here with the heat, I could only go for a move once. We tried to stay calm, stay close. You never know how the race is going to go, but the car was quick today. I hope Charles is okay. I was just looking after the tires until the end.” – Max Verstappen on the French Grand Prix
This Grand Prix left destruction in its wake, with five DNFs overall, and a fair few incidents. A disappointing race for some, but an example of spectacular driving from Max Verstappen and good strategy from Redbull.
Externals sources used: https://www.formula1.com/