SS454
20th June 2021, 19:44
Paul Ricard has finally produced an exciting race. This years French GP was excellent to watch, especially for those that enjoy the strategic element. I suppose this type of racing can be expected when the cars are competitive, something that has been missing for most of a decade. Many forget that prior to Mercedes' dominating 7 years in a row, it was Red Bull Racing that was for the most part dominant during their 4 consecutive championships.
Red Bull Racing absolutely won as a team. Their strategy was key to victory and it was a brave call to put Max on medium tires with 20 laps to go considering how bad the tire deg was. But the team had to strike first to avoid being caught out once again. Their pit stops were top class once again, and we all know what Max can do. Verstappen's outlap to undercut Lewis was brilliant. Sergio Perez once again showed a masterclass tire preservation drive that earned him a podium.
Mercedes appear to have been pressured into some mistakes once again. Despite Lewis' post race comments, it appears they had the faster car, but the team did not get the strategies right. Though most of that can only be seen in hindsight. Hamilton had a 3 second gap when Max made his first stop, who would have thought Verstappen could find that much pace from the undercut? Bottas screaming for the 2 stop seems like an obvious call once he got passed, but I think the team made the right call to protect Hamilton for the win. Call Bottas a pawn, but this is exactly why teams have two drivers and it's a decision any team should make. Then not pitting Bottas to go for fastest lap, they made the reasonable argument that Perez could get a penalty and thus inherit 3rd place. A lot of tough decisions, where none of them worked out in their favor.
McLaren had a fantastic race. They seemed to lack outright pace in qualifying, but in the race they made all the right moves and absolutely maximized what they could get out of the race. Great to see Ricciardo show what he is capable of, and Lando keeps putting in the results. A great day that puts McLaren back into 3rd in the constructors championship.
AlphaTauri had a good race car. Gasly was able to carry his qual performance into the race which hasn't always been the case this season, just the McLaren's were a bit too strong. Yuki started dead last and quickly made his way up the field, but the point positions were just too far out of reach.
Alpine I expected to have a better day. Alonso had one of his best weekends since his return, but the car didn't really appear that strong overall. Ocon did not seem to get to grips with the balance of his car at any point and could not challenge for points.
Aston Martin did as good as they could have hoped. Vettel in the points once again, perhaps had a car good enough for 7th, but had a slow pitstop that didn't help his day. Stroll had a wonderful drive from the back of the pack. We didn't get to see how many passes he made on track, but his first stint on hard tires was one of the best. Well deserved points.
Ferrari could not have had much worse of a day. Unfortunately their tire wear problems seem to be a characteristic with the car, and on a day with very high tire degradation, it just makes things worse. Furthermore, their engine appears to be very inefficient. Ferrari does not carry the straight line performance into the race, probably because they are saving fuel more than their competitors. Sainz can say he legitimately outperformed Leclerc, but he didn't even get points to show for it. A rough day for the Scuderia.
Williams should be happy with 12 place from George Russell. Considering their car is basically a back marker, Russell had one of the best drives of the race. This also might show how good the Mercedes engine is, as all teams with Mercedes power appeared to have very good race pace. This might be something to keep an eye in.
Alfa Romeo did not have a particularly good day. They still beat Latifi and the Haas cars, but at this point that is expected. I feel their lack of performance could also be down to the Ferrari power unit being inefficient.
Haas at the back. During the weekend it started to look like Mazepin was going to get the best of Schumacher, but Mick was able to show his consistency strengths and managed to finish ahead again. Mazepin once again nearly caused a collision with his teammate, which at this point could just be a matter of time if he doesn't improve his race craft.
Driver of the Day: Max Verstappen. His outlap to undercut Hamilton and his calm, collected attack on medium tires were things that very few drivers are capable of doing and it earned him the win.
Red Bull Racing absolutely won as a team. Their strategy was key to victory and it was a brave call to put Max on medium tires with 20 laps to go considering how bad the tire deg was. But the team had to strike first to avoid being caught out once again. Their pit stops were top class once again, and we all know what Max can do. Verstappen's outlap to undercut Lewis was brilliant. Sergio Perez once again showed a masterclass tire preservation drive that earned him a podium.
Mercedes appear to have been pressured into some mistakes once again. Despite Lewis' post race comments, it appears they had the faster car, but the team did not get the strategies right. Though most of that can only be seen in hindsight. Hamilton had a 3 second gap when Max made his first stop, who would have thought Verstappen could find that much pace from the undercut? Bottas screaming for the 2 stop seems like an obvious call once he got passed, but I think the team made the right call to protect Hamilton for the win. Call Bottas a pawn, but this is exactly why teams have two drivers and it's a decision any team should make. Then not pitting Bottas to go for fastest lap, they made the reasonable argument that Perez could get a penalty and thus inherit 3rd place. A lot of tough decisions, where none of them worked out in their favor.
McLaren had a fantastic race. They seemed to lack outright pace in qualifying, but in the race they made all the right moves and absolutely maximized what they could get out of the race. Great to see Ricciardo show what he is capable of, and Lando keeps putting in the results. A great day that puts McLaren back into 3rd in the constructors championship.
AlphaTauri had a good race car. Gasly was able to carry his qual performance into the race which hasn't always been the case this season, just the McLaren's were a bit too strong. Yuki started dead last and quickly made his way up the field, but the point positions were just too far out of reach.
Alpine I expected to have a better day. Alonso had one of his best weekends since his return, but the car didn't really appear that strong overall. Ocon did not seem to get to grips with the balance of his car at any point and could not challenge for points.
Aston Martin did as good as they could have hoped. Vettel in the points once again, perhaps had a car good enough for 7th, but had a slow pitstop that didn't help his day. Stroll had a wonderful drive from the back of the pack. We didn't get to see how many passes he made on track, but his first stint on hard tires was one of the best. Well deserved points.
Ferrari could not have had much worse of a day. Unfortunately their tire wear problems seem to be a characteristic with the car, and on a day with very high tire degradation, it just makes things worse. Furthermore, their engine appears to be very inefficient. Ferrari does not carry the straight line performance into the race, probably because they are saving fuel more than their competitors. Sainz can say he legitimately outperformed Leclerc, but he didn't even get points to show for it. A rough day for the Scuderia.
Williams should be happy with 12 place from George Russell. Considering their car is basically a back marker, Russell had one of the best drives of the race. This also might show how good the Mercedes engine is, as all teams with Mercedes power appeared to have very good race pace. This might be something to keep an eye in.
Alfa Romeo did not have a particularly good day. They still beat Latifi and the Haas cars, but at this point that is expected. I feel their lack of performance could also be down to the Ferrari power unit being inefficient.
Haas at the back. During the weekend it started to look like Mazepin was going to get the best of Schumacher, but Mick was able to show his consistency strengths and managed to finish ahead again. Mazepin once again nearly caused a collision with his teammate, which at this point could just be a matter of time if he doesn't improve his race craft.
Driver of the Day: Max Verstappen. His outlap to undercut Hamilton and his calm, collected attack on medium tires were things that very few drivers are capable of doing and it earned him the win.