Hi fellow Steemians!
What a race we witnessed. It was the first France GP in 10 years and it was worth the wait. We saw action straight from the start that created excitements, but also heartbreaks. Let's go through the race.
Heartbreak for France
We have three French drivers in F1 this season and all of them would have been excited to participate in their first home grand prix in 10 years. Unfortunately all of them were involved in some sort of incidents and two (Gasly and Ocon) actually crashed into each other, ending both of their races. Grosjean received a 5 second penalty and didn't have a good race, finishing outside the points. On top of that, Carlos Sainz in his Renault suffered from an engine issue late in the race which meant he lost two positions. There were many French fans in the stands supporting their home constructor Renault and it was very unfortunate for them.
Vettel vs Bottas crash
The early crash between the two drivers achieved two things.
- Hamilton's victory was pretty much decided at that point
- The race became a little bit more interesting, as they pretty much began the race at the back and had to pass many cars ahead.
I won't blame either of the drivers (Vettel apparently apologised to Bottas after the race) and while it was entertaining to see them pass slower cars, I would have much liked to see them battle at the front of the pack.
Williams...
I'll be honest. I've never been a fan of Williams but this season has been simply horrible for them. Both of their drivers are the slowest in the grid, their car seems to be lacking pace and luck isn't simply on their side either. Sirotkin was penalised for driving too slowly during yellow flag and Stroll suffered from a puncture late in the race which meant he couldn't finish the race. It's not a great season for a Williams fan.
LeClerc showing more potential
I've been very impressed with LeClerc in recent races. I thought he may have been over-hyped at the start of the season, but he's really showing his potential recently and once again, he finished in the points. Ferrari doesn't seem like such a big hurdle to climb if he continues to perform like this.
Disappointment for McLaren
What happened to these guys? They showed so much promise in the start of the season, but this weekend saw them no where near the points for both Alonso and Vandoorne. Such a shame and if this continues, I can't see Alonso continuing his F1 career, which would be a very sad thing to see.
Once a leader, always a leader
I want to congratulate Hamilton on a well managed and fantastic win which sees him move to the top of the drivers standing. However, I do have one gripe. It seems that once you're leading a race, more often than not, you finish in that position too. I would love to see more fierce fights at the front of the pack, not in the middle or the back. Hopefully the new regulations from next season may change this.
Conclusion
This was a much more exciting race compared to Monaco and Canadian GPs. It was still quite lackluster after the first incidents. Luckily, we don't have to wait long for the next race, as the Austrian GP is on this weekend! Fantastic.
Image sources:
F1 Twitter 1
F1 Twitter 2
Autoweek