The key quote
“Absolutely, it’s not the way I wanted to win. I was pushing to the end to try and get past. I forced him into an error, he went wide, I had the run on that corner and we nearly collided. It’s unfortunate, but this is motor racing… I took the corner normally. When you come back on track, you’re not supposed to go straight back on racing line, you’re supposed to come back safely.”
“Physically I’m destroyed from trying to hold on to Seb. The Ferraris were so quick this weekend, so I’m grateful I was able to be there within the race.” – Lewis Hamilton quote source F1.com
The error on lap 48 of 70 at the turn 3-4 chicane was the moment Hamilton forced an error on Vettel where this would be the game changer race end. Seb was penalised 5 seconds relegating him to second place as Leclerc came in 3rd, then a long way back was Bottas (also fastest lapper).
Lance Stroll and Daniel Kvyat were the most improved on the day especially Racing Point Stroll starting 19th to finish 9th. The Renault of Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg finished a good 6th and 7th even though a lap down on the leading pack. With Sainz in 11th the Renault factory were feeling happier they are achieving better results race by race.
The irony of the race was Seb Vettel arriving into Parc Ferme, then going straight to Ferrari hospitality after arguing his penalty for the last three remaining laps over the radio to his engineer. He missed the post-race interviews, finally arrived at the podium not before moving his second place board from his Scuderia Ferrari placing it in front of Lewis Hamilton’s AMG Petronas Mercedes. ‘Toys thrown from the pram’ doesn’t get you many votes for Driver of the Day Seb.
What’s next
Formula 1 hops back over the pond to France and the iconic Circuit Paul Ricard near Marseille on June 21-23. The race returned to the calendar last year, and was the scene of Lewis Hamilton’s third triumph of the season. But who’ll be le roi at Le Castellet this year? Expect a fierce battle – with at least one very determined protagonist… quote source F1.com
The Results
| POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | LAPS | TIME/RETIRED | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | MERCEDES | 70 | 1:29:07.084 | 25 |
| 2 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | FERRARI | 70 | +3.658s | 18 |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | FERRARI | 70 | +4.696s | 15 |
| 4 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | MERCEDES | 70 | +51.043s | 13 |
| 5 | 33 | Max Verstappen | RED BULL RACING HONDA | 70 | +57.655s | 10 |
| 6 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RENAULT | 69 | +1 lap | 8 |
| 7 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | RENAULT | 69 | +1 lap | 6 |
| 8 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | RED BULL RACING HONDA | 69 | +1 lap | 4 |
| 9 | 18 | Lance Stroll | RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES | 69 | +1 lap | 2 |
| 10 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA | 69 | +1 lap | 1 |
| 11 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | MCLAREN RENAULT | 69 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 12 | 11 | Sergio Perez | RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES | 69 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 13 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | ALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI | 69 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 14 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | HAAS FERRARI | 69 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 15 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | ALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI | 69 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 16 | 63 | George Russell | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 68 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 17 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | HAAS FERRARI | 68 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 18 | 88 | Robert Kubica | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 67 | +3 laps | 0 |
| NC | 23 | Alexander Albon | SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA | 59 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 4 | Lando Norris | MCLAREN RENAULT | 8 | DNF | 0 |
* Provisional results
