Max Verstappen has achieved a very important victory in the 2022 French F1 GP. With relative comfort after an accident with Charles Leclerc at turn 11, the Dutch driver has had a clear path towards his twenty-seventh victory in Formula 1. Carlos Sainz has gelled a great comeback from the penultimate position to fifth and Fernando Alonso has secured a meritorious sixth position.
Leclerc seemed to have the rhythm today to get another victory for him, but Red Bull´s strategy and the possible “undercut” of Verstappen has put the Monegasque driver in trouble, who has tried to fin the limits of his car before making his stop. And he has had an accident that is a really serious blow to his tittle aspirations. From then on, Max Verstappen had his twenty-seventh victory in Formula 1 within reach and Lewis Hamilton, with a very good pace, was second. George Russell, after a nice battle with Sergio Perez at the end of the race, has sealed a double podium for Mercedes in a circuit that has seen the good work of the start brand when it comes to tire management.
Carlos Sainz was in that fight and surely he could have been until the end, but he was carrying a five-second penalty for an “unsafe release” and Ferrari preferred to make a second stop. In any case, the Madrid´s driver comeback (from the penultimate position at the start to the fifth one) has been sublime.
Further back, Fernando Alonso was the “best of the rest” with a hard-fought sixth position that was made possible thanks to a spectacular start and a great pace. Lando Norris was seventh, ahead of Esteban Ocon, Daniel Ricciardo and Lance Stroll who fought Sebastian Vettel until the last corner for the tenth place. Twelfth round of the 2022 season. In what could perhaps be Paul Ricard´s goodbye to Formula 1, Ferrari plated slipstreams in qualifying and Charles Leclerc took his seventh pole of the season, although the pace of Red Bull.
Fernando Alonso starts from seventh position and Carlos Sainz from the last row. The strategy and the choice between one or two stop, key.
The output has been very clean. Charles Leclerc started well and was able to perfectly defend first place against Max Verstappen who retained second position, while Lewis Hamilton snatched third from Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso, with a great braking inside the first curve, he was fifth, ahead of George Russell, Lando Norris and his teammate, Daniel Ricciardo.
This accident of Charles Leclerc it leaves him without many options to fight the F1 World Championship. There are 10 races left, so we will see if this situation could change.
Jorge Barbero
