Formula One returned to the French Grand Prix for the first in in nearly 10 years. This time, the drivers were at the Circuit Paul Ricard, instead of Magny Cours like before. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton took a lights to flag victory and took the driver’s championship lead as well.
Behind him, Max Verstappen finally got over his poor start to the season and took 2nd ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. Daniel Ricciardo finished fourth for Red Bull with Sebastian Vettel in fifth. Completing the top 10 are Kevin Magnussen, Valtteri Bottas, Carlos Sainz, Nico Hulkenberg and Charles LeClerc.
The race start was fairly chaotic with bodywork being sent into orbit. Vettel had a decent start until he reached the first corner and tagged Bottas. This threw both their races out of sync with whatever their original plans were.
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Meanwhile, it was a terrible day in the office of the home heroes as Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon collided and both were out. McLaren’s day soured as Alonso and Vandoorne remained vulnerable to their opponents. The day went from bad to worse for them as Alonso dropped to the back of the pack with no grip and no brakes.
Force India’s day was just as bad when Sergio Perez pulled into the pits with no power. The stewards also seemed to have it in for Romain Grosjean as he was investigated multiple times. There was a threat of rain in the air, but Mother Nature opted to stay away for the entire duration.
In the end, the closing stages were a bit of a buzzkill. Lance Stroll’s tire gave up and blew up and he had to pull over. Given the amount of debris in the track, the 52-lap race ended with the Virtual Safety Car with Lewis Hamilton winning.
Here is how social media reacted to the race.
What's tour opinion on first lap contact? Was #vettel penalty fair, too harsh, not harsh enough? Shouldn't #verstappen have been penalised too for cutting the chicane? #frenchgp #skysportsf1. #askcrofty
— Tia_Alliot_Laffite (@MonteverdiOnyx) June 24, 2018
Whoops @lance_stroll #FrenchGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/KOAoYzejhE
— Adam Gatto (@adamgatto) June 24, 2018
Max Verstappen gets his first back-to-back podium finishes since Malaysia/Japan in 2017! #FrenchGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/QIuP2TLlh4
— MaxStats (@MaxStats_33) June 24, 2018
Good stuff @KevinMagnussen with that 6th place!#FrenchGP #Formula1 #F1
— Simone Caricasulo #TeamTrees 🌳 (@SimoneCarica) June 24, 2018
Hey @C4F1 Why is the race on so late and not at 6:30 like quali yesterday? I'm not staying up until midnight to watch cos we all know it'll be boring! #f1 #FrenchGP
— Alison (@norallie) June 24, 2018
Leclerc says that he was catching Magnussen and lost the car in T2 which allowed Hulkenberg through #FrenchGP #F1
— F1 Madness 🏁 (@F1_Madness) June 24, 2018
#FrenchGP jesus when will F1 just start becoming time trails 😴
— Scott Silver (@K2silverSs) June 24, 2018
The only happy Honda this weekend #JPNSEN #FrenchGP
— ☃️🎄🅹 (@_JNews_) June 24, 2018
Just wondering if it was Verstappen instead of Vettel that hit Bottas.. What would the penalty be there? Any suggestions? #F1 #FrenchGP
— Stathis Kokko (@KokkoRacing74) June 24, 2018
Leclerc:"I'm happy but i'm always hard on myself and I'm a little disappointed with myself" #FrenchGP #F1
— F1 Madness 🏁 (@F1_Madness) June 24, 2018
Embarrassment of riches this Sunday! #FrenchGP #FifaWorldCup2018 #nascar going real racing and of course #KOHLERGP
— Christopher Logan (@1984Topher) June 24, 2018
https://twitter.com/ElodieP_35/status/1010926013310697472
What a day for England!! Three lions smash Panama in the #WorldCup, Lewis Hamilton wins the #FrenchGP, then England secure a 5-0 over the Aussies in the cricket!! #eng #bbccricket #f1
— [SHAGGY!] (@SHAGGYxLFDY) June 24, 2018
65th win!! 👏👏 Bestest @LewisHamilton 🏆 #TeamLH #FrenchGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/IGTA8cnFie
— Sindi 🌹 (@sinditasellari) June 24, 2018
Congratulations @LewisHamilton 🏆 #FrenchGP #TeamLH pic.twitter.com/2gm9NoTJfi
— Deza #TeamLH (@Deza_LH44) June 24, 2018
Seriously, I'll never ever like Verstappen or Hamilton. #FrenchGP
— Julia 👑 (@LadyVettel) June 24, 2018
Mum watches #worldcuprussia2018 while dad watches #F1 #FrenchGP …
— AJW (王 美 琪) 🦕 (@thelisa_w) June 24, 2018
#Eng Dominating World Sport Today….
⚽️ 6-1 #ENGPAN
🏏 5-0 Whitewash #ENGvAUS
🏎 Lewis wins #FrenchGP
🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴 pic.twitter.com/xQinEnOS6r— CoxeyLoxey (@CoxeyLoxey) June 24, 2018
https://twitter.com/Key_575/status/1010925670032175104
Good day fro English sport. dominating win in the #WorldCup Hamilton wins the #FrenchGP and whitewash the ausies, #Eng #ENGPAN #ENGvAUS #F1 #england #ItsComingHome
— Benonwine (@benonwine) June 24, 2018
https://twitter.com/lucasthorlin/status/1010927082220580865
Kimi Räikkönen on the #FrenchGP podium 😎🏆#Kimi7 #F1 pic.twitter.com/WUkCxtbNtS
— Kimi Räikkönen Fans (@iceman7news) June 24, 2018
Sainz got lucky with that virtual safety car #FrenchGP
— Daetwan Williams (@TheRealDaetwan) June 24, 2018
https://twitter.com/mrfishyfingers/status/1010926734932365312
Well done Max!! Awesome drive mate…Congratulations 😍
Need more podiums like these…#GivesYouWings
#FrenchGP— Anson Britto (@AnsonBritto) June 24, 2018
WINNER 🏆 #FrenchGP
Well done @LewisHamilton 🙌🏼
So proud of you 😘#LewisHamilton #TeamLH #TeamLHMalaysia #MakingHistory pic.twitter.com/tB6Y2bIBiZ— CikBiru (@CikBiru) June 24, 2018
Ahhhh #BTCC Where a first lap collision is jolly good fun and par for the course, as opposed to #F1 where it's the end if the world and punishable by burning! #FrenchGP 👍
— Kitty (@KateStudge) June 24, 2018
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And this, @f1, is why we've changed our plans to attend the #FrenchGP next year.. …. #FrenchGP #f1 https://t.co/JQIBv9QKah
— Jackie (@JackieF1nut) June 24, 2018
bwahaha Max "next time you see Seb you should ask him to change his style…" Lewis trying hard to not laugh out loud and then smiles and Kimi just a straigt face the WHOLE time 😀 #frenchgp #iceman #formel1 pic.twitter.com/KoUQKLfrD9
— Lachgas (@Lachgas) June 24, 2018
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