Hamilton and Mercedes on display at the French GP

nothing stops Lewis Hamilton et Mercedes. After starting from pole, the five-time world champion raced alone in the lead, staying out of reach of his teammate Valtteri Bottas during the 53 laps of the event. The Briton signs his 6th victory of the season, his 4th in a row, and the 79th of his career.

The Finn, who is now 36 points behind his teammate, secured the 6th double of the season for the star-studded team, even if he was threatened in the final laps by Charles Leclerc who saves a podium for Ferrari. His teammate Sebastian Vettel reached the finish line in 5th place behind Max Verstappen (Red Bull) after starting 7th. The German took the bonus point for the fastest lap in the race for 2 hundredths ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Sebastian Vettel is nevertheless 77 points behind the championship leader. Ferrari is now 141 points behind Mercedes.

The race was fortunately a little livelier in the middle of the peloton. Carlos Sainz Jr. (McLaren) finished 6th after taking the advantage at the start over his teammate Lando Norris. The Briton was nevertheless plagued by mechanical problems (hydraulic?) causing him to fall to 10th place on the last lap.

Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) finished 7th after attempting to overtake Lando Norris during the final loop. The Australian was nevertheless beaten by Kimi Räikkönen (Alfa Romeo) in his maneuver, but regained the advantage by biting on the limits of the track. The Renault driver is under investigation by the commissioners. His teammate Nico Hulkenberg ranked 9th behind the 2007 champion.

Late drama in the battle for points, with P7 the prize on the final lap

Norris v Ricciardo v Raikkonen v Hulkenberg #F1 #FrenchGP pic.twitter.com/u9PCJYJbk0

— Formula 1 (@F1) 23th June 2019

Pierre Gasly (Red Bull) failed to reach the points after a difficult race with a first stint on soft compounds. His compatriot Romain Grosjean (Haas) was the only one to retire, officially due to a mechanical problem, after a race where he had nothing to hope for.

Discover the analysis of the French GP carried out by our special correspondents in AUTO issue 2222hebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version and from Wednesday on newsstands.