Max Verstappen heads straight for a second F1 crown, with ten grands prix still on the calendar. Yet the Dutch driver arrived at Paul Ricard empowered by a seventh win of the season, leaving the track with confidence high after a dominant French Grand Prix performance.
Charles Leclerc arrived at the French circuit in a difficult state after his Austria triumph and sitting 38 points behind the championship leader. He endured a painful retirement that widened the gap to 63 points. If his Ferrari accelerator fault is confirmed as the cause after a crash into the barriers, the issue at Maranello looks serious and prompts urgent questions for the team.
After breaking away from his rival, Verstappen asserted control and stood atop the podium, flanked by two Mercedes drivers. Lewis Hamilton secured his fourth consecutive podium and George Russell joined him, while Carlos Sainz recovered from a disastrous Saturday to finish fifth. Sainz had started 19th after taking a fourth power unit, and Fernando Alonso battled his way forward, only to miss the podium due to a late strategic setback.
Impressive start for Alonso
Leclerc launched cleanly and briefly led ahead of Verstappen, earning pole position for the seventh time this season and maintaining a small buffer over the Red Bull. Hamilton surged into third ahead of Perez, while Alonso climbed up to fifth in a fiercely contested opening phase. Lando Norris lost two places at the start, a blow in the McLaren versus Alpine fight for fourth in the constructors’ standings. Ocon picked up a five-second penalty for triggering an incident with Tsunoda, while Russell overtook Alonso in the midpack chase for pace behind the Mercedes team.
Sainz’s comeback
Leclerc could not close the gap on Verstappen as the front runners stretched a lead within the first three laps. Hamilton was already more than four seconds behind, waiting for the DRS zone to unleash the attack on the Ferrari. Sainz executed a precise comeback operation from Madrid, climbing into the points within thirteen laps after shedding two Aston Martins. With a different tire strategy, Sainz opted to start on the hard compound and waited for the majority’s medium tires to degrade before making his move.
Blow to the World Cup
Verstappen attempted an early undercut in phase V.17, but Leclerc pressed on, extending the gap. A renewed accelerator issue on the F1-75 caused a crash that reshaped the race. Leclerc lost the rear axle at the fast 11th corner on Paul Ricard and hit the barriers, prompting a chorus of frustration around the Ferrari pit wall as a safety car offered a window for rivals to regroup.
With Verstappen ahead of Hamilton and Perez, Sainz passed Alonso to join the top five, and Russell targeted further gains. Sainz’s pit stop drew scrutiny from officials with a five-second penalty applied after the incident was deemed unsafe by the stewards.
Charles was released.
Carlos confronted his engineer over a misunderstanding about a stop-and-go rule and declared his belief that he was faster than the chatter around him. He crossed the line chasing Russell, passing him on the outside in a bold maneuver that placed him fourth. Fifteen places gained from the start showed the resolve of the Spaniard as his tyres began to fade and Ferrari elected to pit him again. He rejoined the track ahead of Pérez, but the late charge stalled before another assault on the top three could materialize. Fernando Alonso, in a McLaren that felt alive on the alpine circuit, claimed sixth with a strong closing pace.
Max Verstappen crossed the finish line ten seconds clear of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, sealing a flawless day for Mercedes and a hard-fought duel for the final podium spot with Pérez in the closing laps at Paul Ricard. This performance underscored Verstappen’s readiness to build momentum as the season approaches its decisive phase. [citation: race report attribution]