Lewis claims his 65th career victory at the return of the French Grand Prix - his third of the 2018 season and 44th with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport.
After an accident in the opening lap, Valtteri fought his way through the field to finish today's race in P7 and set the fastest lap of the race.
Today's result marks the 300th race on the podium for Mercedes-Benz power. Lewis (145 points) reclaims the lead in the Drivers' Championship from Sebastian Vettel (131 points) with Valtteri in P4 (92 points). Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport (237 points) lead the Constructors' Championship by 23 points from Ferrari (214 points).
Toto Wolff: This was a perfect way for Lewis to start the triple header and to bounce back from the disappointment of Canada. Whenever he has a tough weekend, he has this fantastic ability to bounce straight back, and we saw that again here in Paul Ricard. He pretty much controlled the whole race and didn't put a wheel wrong at any point. For Valtteri, it was a much tougher day: Sebastian clearly misjudged his braking for Turn One and made a mistake, which cost both him and Valtteri dearly. When the car stopped, we saw that the floor area around the tyre was pretty badly damaged and flapping about - and Valtteri described the car balance as "shocking". Taking that into account, it was a battling performance from him, too. Overall, though, we leave seeing the positive side of our performance this weekend. The car was quick and with our upgrades, it felt like we made a step forward; thank you to everybody in the team who worked so hard to bring them to the track this weekend. But we can't afford to make any assumptions about what this means for the next races - it's still a three-way fight and we will need to be at our very best if we wish to repeat this performance.
James Allison: It is hard to be unhappy on a day when you have won the race in fine style, both reclaiming the lead in the drivers' championship and extending our advantage in the constructors'. Lewis drove a splendid race and had everything under control throughout; it was a faultless performance. But it is hard not to feel very sorry for Valtteri, who also had a terrific weekend and saw his race compromised at Turn One through no fault of his own. On the bright side, though, the car performance was good all weekend and we can travel to Austria with the optimism that we can keep up the good work in the next races.
Maurizio Arrivabene: "It was a shame about the accident at the start, which meant we couldn't show what we could really do. But on a track that is not best suited to the SF71H, it proved to be very competitive in tenms of its race pace. That was evident from the great fight back up the order, featuring overtaking moves from Kimi and Sebastian. The team gave its all, making the right strategy calls to give the drivers every chance to get the best result possible in the circumstances. With such a tight calendar, we are already looking ahead to the Austrian GP, which gets underway in a few days and we have to focus on making up the lost ground."
Christian Horner: "In the end an entertaining grand prix and we are happy to come away from our first run at Paul Ricard with a good haul of points for the team and a podium. Max had a good strong drive to complete a very good weekend finishing in second place and achieving back to back to podiums following on from a third place in Canada. From the start he managed to avoid the collision between Sebastian and Valtteri at Turn 1 and then settle into second place with a good clean race from there. It was a shame for Daniel whose car was stricken around the mid-point in the race when the top two elements of his front flap became disbanded, possibly through hitting some debris. A very frustrating race for him as he also looked good for a podium place. In summary, the French Grand Prix represents a solid start to the triple-header and we go directly to our home race in Austria where we hope we can be as competitive there and take the fight to the leaders at the Red Bull Ring."
Sahara Force India suffered a disappointing French Grand Prix with Esteban Ocon the innocent victim of an opening lap crash. Sergio Perez's car experienced a loss of water pressure forcing his retirement from the race.
Otmar Szafnauer: "It's not really been our weekend and seeing both cars retire from the race concludes a disappointing French Grand Prix. Esteban's race was very short and he was simply the innocent victim of other drivers' mistakes. The hit from Grosjean on the pit straight was totally unnecessary and unexpected, and caused significant damage to the floor of the car. Then being hit by Gasly caused even more damage and put Esteban out on the spot. Sergio escaped most of the opening lap carnage and was fighting for points until there was a rapid water pressure drop, which ended his race. We are still investigating the root cause of this issue."
Sergey Sirotkin finished 15th and Lance Stroll 17th in the French Grand Prix. Both drivers started the race on the ultrasoft Pirelli tyre, with Lance starting 18th and Sergey 19th.
Lance and Sergey enjoyed clean starts and made the most of an incident-packed opening lap to gain several positions. The safety car was then deployed, which prompted both cars to pit for the soft tyre.
Later in the race, Sergey came under investigation for driving unnecessarily slowly behind the safety car, and was subsequently awarded a five-second time penalty. Lance came under pressure late in the race and flat spotted his tyres whilst defending from the cars behind. On the penultimate lap, Lance suffered a front-left puncture which forced him to retire.
Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: With the car pace, on both low and high fuel, it was always going to be extremely difficult, so we looked at what tactics could play out for us. We were reasonably confident that we would get a prime tyre to do the full race distance which on Sergey's car, it did, so when we discussed it this morning, we thought we would stop on a first lap safety car. We did that in the hope that faster cars would pit and come out behind us and then it was a case of seeing if we could hold them up or not. We purposely put Sergey in a DRS train behind Lance in order that we could try and protect from Ericsson and Hartley coming through at the end. Unfortunately, at one-point Sergey lost the DRS and they both came through. We managed however with that strategy to stay out in front of Alonso which is a very small bonus in what's been an extremely difficult weekend. Lance was unfortunate with his puncture after enjoying a great start. Both drivers did a solid job for the team in attempting what they could to try and improve our finishing position. This is not what we want however, and we need to continue to work as a team to improve things.
Renault Sport Formula Team claimed six points from the first French Grand Prix in ten years, after Carlos Sainz took eighth place and Nico Hulkenberg ninth in a thrilling and frenetic Pirelli Grand Prix de France at Paul Ricard.
After a strong start to P3 on track, Carlos was on course to secure an impressive sixth place at the team's home race, but ultimately finished in eighth after a technical issue in the closing laps. Today's result - the team's third double-points finish in a row - means the grip on fourth place in the Constructors' Championship strengthens to 62 points, surpassing last season's total points haul before the halfway mark of the year.
Carlos started from P7 on scrubbed Pirelli Ultrasoft tyres, pitting on lap 26 for a new set of Soft tyres. Nico started from P12 on new Soft tyres, boxing on lap 37 for a new set of Ultrasoft tyres.
Cyril Abiteboul, Team Principal: "I will remember this weekend for a long time. Outside of the sporting results it's been an amazing weekend and in particular seeing the crowd just before the race was really something special. As the French team of the Championship we were fully mobilised to turn this first edition into a success, so it was a huge reward for all involved including all the fans invited by Renault. Moving onto the racing, today we had a decent finish with a bit of frustration. It was pretty much a perfect weekend from Carlos so I feel sorry for him and losing some well-deserved places due to the MGU-K failure. Nico did struggle more this weekend and was not able to deliver his customary strong finish, however we come away with a number of points on a track we knew would be challenging. We are still consolidating that fourth position and are now five points ahead of our entire 2017 points tally after only eight races. We are getting stronger and we must employ all the support we feel from French Grand Prix this weekend to keep pushing."
Toyoharu Tanabe (Honda F1 Technical Director): "This was a complicated weekend and it was extremely disappointing for us and also for all the French fans, that Pierre's race was over just a few moments after the start. Brendon, who started from the back of the grid because of the penalties incurred, moved up the order as others fell out and he also passed a few cars. A race to forget, but at least we can try and do better, starting this coming Friday in Austria."
Kevin Magnussen delivered another points-paying performance for Haas F1 Team by finishing sixth in the French Grand Prix Sunday at Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet. The effort equaled Magnussen's second-best finish of the season, earned earlier this year at Circuit de Barcelona - Catalunya. It was a best-of-the-rest result, with only the heavy-hitters of Formula One ahead of him, as Mercedes, Red Bull and Scuderia Ferrari comprised the top-five. Magnussen's teammate, Romain Grosjean, finished just outside the points in 11th.
Both drivers survived a chaotic start to the 53-lap race around the 5.842-kilometer (3.63-mile), 15-turn track that saw incidents through turns one and two and again in corners three and four. Magnussen, who started ninth, rose to fifth, and Grosjean, who started 10th, climbed to eighth.
Grosjean, however, did not escape those opening-lap skirmishes unscathed. Race stewards served him with a five-second penalty for contact with the Force India of Esteban Ocon just past the start/finish line as the field barreled in to turn one. This penalty was served on Grosjean's only pit stop on lap 34, where he swapped the Pirelli P Zero Purple ultrasoft tires he started the race with for a new set of Yellow softs. This dropped Grosjean to 16th, but he rallied in the final 19 laps to pick up 11th.
Magnussen, meanwhile, scrapped to stay in the top-five, but after the race restarted on lap six, Kimi Raikkonen maneuvered his Scuderia Ferrari by on lap eight to drop him to sixth. Magnussen held this spot until lap 17 where Raikkonen's teammate, Sebastian Vettel, made his way past to put Magnussen in seventh.
During this same time, Grosjean lost eighth to Vettel on lap 14 and was soon under threat from the Renault of Nico Hulkenberg, who got past Grosjean in turn eight on lap 16. Now in 10th, Grosjean began to see Valterri Bottas' Mercedes getting bigger in his mirrors. Bottas passed Grosjean for position on lap 19, jettisoning him from the top-10.
Leaders began making their scheduled pit stops on lap 25, and when Carlos Sainz Jr., brought his Renault in for service on lap 26, Magnussen moved to sixth while Grosjean returned to 10th.
Magnussen made his scheduled pit stop on lap 28, swapping his ultrasofts for softs that would carry him to the finish. This dropped Magnussen to 13th while Grosjean rose to ninth. Between the pit stops of others and Magnussen's tenacity on the track, which included decisive passes of Toro Rosso's Brendon Hartley on lap 31 and McLaren's Stoffel Vandoorne on lap 37, Magnussen was eighth with 16 laps to go.
Sainz was ahead of Magnussen and in the waning laps, the Renault driver reported a loss of power. Magnussen was able to seize on this, passing Sainz on lap 50 and then holding off Bottas, which included a half-lap dash to the finish after the race returned to green following a virtual safety car period for Lance Stroll's crash in turn 10.
The eight points secured by Magnussen gave Haas F1 Team sole possession of seventh in the constructors' standings, as the American squad came into the French Grand Prix tied with Toro Rosso for seventh. With 27 points, Haas F1 Team is now just one point behind sixth-place Force India with an eight-point margin over Toro Rosso eight rounds into the 21-race schedule.
Guenther Steiner: "To finish sixth, we're very happy about it. We were a little bit lucky that Carlos (Sainz) had an issue there at the end, and a little bit unlucky with Romain because he got a penalty. Now, I hope we can keep this going as we finally have the car where it should be."
Stoffel Vandoorne was the sole McLaren finisher in today's French Grand Prix, coming home in 12th position. Team-mate Fernando Alonso had also been running just outside the points before he made a late-race stop for Option tyres in order to have a crack at setting the fastest lap on fresh rubber.
His attempt was first stymied by a Virtual Safety Car period, then suspension damage, which caused him to retire the car when almost in sight of the finish line. He was classified 16th at the chequer.
Despite the no-score, both drivers were heartened by the step in race pace after yesterday's frustrating qualifying performance. The team will now regroup ahead of next weekend's Austrian Grand Prix.
Eric Boullier: "It's difficult to look for positives after such a disappointing weekend, but it's encouraging that our pace was better in today's race than in qualifying yesterday. We need to look at how we can translate that to Saturday afternoons, as that will give us more of a fighting chance to compete on a Sunday.
"Still, both Stoffel and Fernando drove their hearts out today, they were faultless and relentless, always delivering to the maximum potential of the car. It's just frustrating when that effort goes unrewarded with points, but we know we still need to develop the car to make it a more consistent proposition on Sundays.
"Finally, I want to pay tribute to the fantastic crowd we witnessed here today. It's great to see the French Grand Prix back on the F1 calendar, and I felt extremely proud when I saw so many enthusiastic spectators enjoying the spectacle throughout the weekend. Let's hope the 2019 event builds on this year's successes."
It was a good French Grand Prix weekend for the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team, with Charles Leclerc finishing in P10 (1 point), and Marcus Ericsson in P13. In an eventful start to the race, Marcus Ericsson skilfully evaded an incident on track, gaining several positions during the opening lap. Charles Leclerc also progressed well, showing consistent and strong pace over the course of race. Both drivers did an excellent job in fighting with their rivals and defending their positions today. With another point to add to its tally, the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team now heads to Spielberg to take part in the second of the three back-to-back races - the Austrian Grand Prix. For the third time in a row, the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team performed the fastest pit stop of all teams.
The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 team currently holds 9th place in the Constructors' Championship. In the Drivers' Championship, Charles Leclerc is in P14 (11 points), while Marcus Ericsson is in P17 (2 points).
Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal: "It has been a positive weekend for us. We had good pace in qualifying, and increased our pace step by step. Today, both of our drivers fought in the midfield during the race, and we are making good progress as a team. It is important for us to keep pushing and stay in the fight with our direct competition in the races ahead. We feel confident for the next Grand Prix in Austria."
Lewis Hamilton won a race for Mercedes that was heavily influenced by the first lap, when two of his rivals clashed and a safety car came out for five laps. A number of drivers made a pit stop under the safety car due to car damage, notably Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel and Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas, who both switched onto the soft tyre on lap two before making a second stop in the closing stages of the race. Both finished in the points, having dropped to the back, after capitalising on this improvised strategy to move up the leaderboard as others stopped.
The strategy for Mercedes and Red Bull was to start on supersoft: Hamilton (along with runner-up Max Verstappen) then switched onto soft for the final stint. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen adopted an alternative one-stop strategy that resulted in a strong podium finish.
Hamilton claimed a special tricolour 'gorilla' trophy for his victory, designed by celebrated French sculptor Richard Orlinski to celebrate Pirelli's title sponsorship of the French Grand Prix.
Mario Isola: "An uncertain weather forecast added to the strategic game today, with the risk of rain meaning that teams wanted to avoid the risk of getting caught out on the wrong type of tyre. As it was, the rain didn't actually materialise, but it was another potential factor to bear in mind. As expected this was a one-stop race for most drivers, but there was a wide variety of one stoppers, including some very long stints on the soft tyres. We also saw Sebastian Vettel and Valtteri Bottas complete the race strongly with two very different two-stoppers, with Ferrari and Mercedes having split their strategies across each of their cars, reacting to the race circumstances. This confirmed our expectation that all three compounds were valid choices as part of an overall race strategy today, delivering a strong performance throughout".
