2018 French Grand Prix

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2018 French Grand Prix
Race 8 of 21 in the 2018 Formula One World Championship
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Le Castellet circuit map Formula One 2018 without corner names English 29 06 2021.svg
Layout of the Circuit Paul Ricard in 2018
Race details [1]
Date24 June 2018
Official name Formula 1 Pirelli Grand Prix de France 2018
Location Circuit Paul Ricard
Le Castellet, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
Course Permanent racing circuit
Course length 5.842 km (3.630 miles)
Distance 53 laps, 309.690 km (192.432 miles)
Weather Partially cloudy, warm and dry
Pole position
Driver Mercedes
Time 1:30.029
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of Finland.svg Valtteri Bottas Mercedes
Time 1:34.225 on lap 41
Podium
First Mercedes
Second Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer
Third Ferrari
Lap leaders
  • 2018 French Grand Prix

The 2018 French Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Pirelli Grand Prix de France 2018) [1] was a Formula One motor race that took place on 24 June 2018 at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, France. [1] The race was the eighth round of the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship and marked the first time that the French Grand Prix has been run since 2008. It was the 87th running of the French Grand Prix, [2] and the 59th time the event had been included as a round of the Formula One World Championship since the inception of the series in 1950. [3]

Contents

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel entered the race with a one-point lead over Lewis Hamilton in the World Drivers' Championship. In the World Constructors' Championship, Mercedes led Ferrari by seventeen points. Hamilton took the lead in the Driver's Championship by winning the race, with Vettel finishing fifth.

Background

The race returned to the calendar for the first time since 2008, with Circuit Paul Ricard chosen as the venue. The circuit last hosted the French Grand Prix in 1990 before the event moved to the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in 1991. [4] The race used the 5.842 km (3.630 mi) layout of the Circuit Paul Ricard for the first time. The layout includes a chicane on the Mistral straight as opposed to the 5.809 km (3.610 mi) circuit that was used nine times between 1971 and 1985. [note 1]

The race was run in June, filling a vacancy left by the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The race in Azerbaijan was moved to an April date to avoid clashing with celebrations for the centenary of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. [5]

Drag reduction system

The circuit featured two drag reduction system (DRS) zones. The first was located along the main straight, while the second was on the Mistral Straight on the approach to the chicane. [6]

Tyres

Tyre supplier Pirelli provided teams with the soft, supersoft and ultrasoft compounds of tyres. They reverted to their narrow tread compound following feedback from the teams in the wake of mid-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Free practice

Lewis Hamilton set the fastest lap in the first free practice session, which was cut short by an accident involving Sauber driver Marcus Ericsson. Ericsson lost control of his Sauber C37 on the approach to Turn 11 and spun into the barrier on the outside of the corner. The car hit the tyre wall at an angle and subsequently caught fire. Ericsson was unharmed, but with two minutes remaining the session was abandoned and the damage to his car so extensive that he was unable to take part in the second free practice session. Several drivers experienced spins during the session, most notably at Turn 6 where an intermittent and gusty local wind caught the drivers unaware as they accelerated away from the apex of the corner. Unlike Ericsson, all of the drivers avoided contact with the wall courtesy of the circuit's unique, abrasive tarmac run-off areas designed to slow down cars that left the circuit.

Hamilton was fastest again in the second free practice session despite having his flying lap interrupted by another red flag. Sergio Pérez lost a wheel as he turned onto the Mistral Straight, prompting race officials to mount an investigation as to whether Force India had released Pérez from the pit lane with his car in an unsafe condition. The session was restarted once Pérez's car was cleared away. [7]

Qualifying

Pos.No.DriverConstructorQualifying timesFinal
grid
Q1Q2Q3
144 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:31.2711:30.6451:30.0291
277 Flag of Finland.svg Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:31.7761:31.2271:30.1472
35 Flag of Germany.svg Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:31.8201:30.7511:30.4003
433 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 1:31.5311:30.8181:30.7054
53 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 1:31.9101:31.5381:30.8955
67 Flag of Finland.svg Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:31.5671:30.7721:31.0576
755 Flag of Spain.svg Carlos Sainz Jr. Renault 1:32.3941:32.0161:32.1267
816 Flag of Monaco.svg Charles Leclerc Sauber-Ferrari 1:32.5381:32.0551:32.6358
920 Flag of Denmark.svg Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 1:32.1691:31.5101:32.9309
108 Flag of France.svg Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari 1:32.0831:31.472No time10
1131 Flag of France.svg Esteban Ocon Force India-Mercedes 1:32.7861:32.07511
1227 Flag of Germany.svg Nico Hülkenberg Renault 1:32.9491:32.11512
1311 Flag of Mexico.svg Sergio Pérez Force India-Mercedes 1:32.6921:32.45413
1410 Flag of France.svg Pierre Gasly Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 1:32.4471:32.46014
159 Flag of Sweden.svg Marcus Ericsson Sauber-Ferrari 1:32.8041:32.82015
1614 Flag of Spain.svg Fernando Alonso McLaren-Renault 1:32.97616
1728 Flag of New Zealand.svg Brendon Hartley Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 1:33.02520 1
182 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren-Renault 1:33.16217
1935 Flag of Russia.svg Sergey Sirotkin Williams-Mercedes 1:33.63618
2018 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Lance Stroll Williams-Mercedes 1:33.72919
107% time: 1:37.659
Source: [8]
Notes

Race

Race report

At the start Sebastian Vettel ran into the back of Valtteri Bottas, with both sustaining damage and having to pit for repairs, also there was a separate collision between Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon leaving both cars stranded out on the track, this brought out a brief safety car period lasting till the end of lap 5. Vettel would later receive a penalty for his collision with Bottas which meant he would only manage to finish 5th. Lance Stroll suffered a tyre puncture near the end of the race causing a virtual safety car, which ended with only half a lap left of the race. Lewis Hamilton comfortably won ahead of Max Verstappen, while Kimi Räikkönen completed the podium. [9]

Race classification

Pos.No.DriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
144 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 531:30:11.385125
233 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 53+7.090418
37 Flag of Finland.svg Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 53+25.888615
43 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 53+34.736512
55 Flag of Germany.svg Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 53+1:01.935310
620 Flag of Denmark.svg Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 53+1:19.36498
777 Flag of Finland.svg Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 53+1:20.63226
855 Flag of Spain.svg Carlos Sainz Jr. Renault 53+1:27.18474
927 Flag of Germany.svg Nico Hülkenberg Renault 53+1:31.989122
1016 Flag of Monaco.svg Charles Leclerc Sauber-Ferrari 53+1:33.87381
118 Flag of France.svg Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari 52+1 lap10
122 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren-Renault 52+1 lap17
139 Flag of Sweden.svg Marcus Ericsson Sauber-Ferrari 52+1 lap15
1428 Flag of New Zealand.svg Brendon Hartley Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 52+1 lap20
1535 Flag of Russia.svg Sergey Sirotkin Williams-Mercedes 52+1 lap 1 18
16 2 14 Flag of Spain.svg Fernando Alonso McLaren-Renault 50Suspension16
17 2 18 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Lance Stroll Williams-Mercedes 48Puncture19
Ret11 Flag of Mexico.svg Sergio Pérez Force India-Mercedes 27Engine13
Ret31 Flag of France.svg Esteban Ocon Force India-Mercedes 0Collision11
Ret10 Flag of France.svg Pierre Gasly Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 0Collision14
Source: [10]
Notes

Championship standings after the race

See also

Notes

  1. The French Grand Prix used the short 3.812 km (2.369 mi) configuration of the Circuit Paul Ricard between 1986 and 1990.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Formula 1 Pirelli Grand Prix de France 2018". formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Limited. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  2. Richards, Giles (21 June 2018). "Return to Paul Ricard the first step to recapturing glory of French racing". The Guardian . Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  3. "Grands Prix France". StatsF1. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  4. Benson, Andrew (5 December 2016). "French Grand Prix returns for 2018 after 10-year absence". BBC Sport . Archived from the original on 1 September 2017.
  5. "Ариф Рагимов: В 2018-м россиянам будет проще посетить гонки в Баку и Сочи" [Arif Ragimov: In 2018 it will be easier for Russians to visit races in Baku and Sochi.]. autosport.com.ru (in Russian). Manuscript. 30 November 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  6. Noble, Jonathon (20 June 2018). "Paul Ricard circuit to feature two DRS zones for F1 French GP". autosport.com. Motorsport Network . Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  7. "Lewis Hamilton tops French GP practice as Sergio Perez loses wheel". BBC Sport. 22 June 2018.
  8. "Formula 1 Pirelli Grand Prix de France 2018 – Qualifying". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Limited. 23 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  9. Benson, Andrew (24 June 2018). "Hamilton wins as Vettel penalised". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 February 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. "Formula 1 Pirelli Grand Prix de France 2018 – Race Result". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Limited. 24 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  11. 1 2 "France 2018 – Championship". StatsF1. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
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