Lewis took the lead on the opening lap before losing it to a powerful undercut from Verstappen after the team triggered the pit stop sequence with Valtteri on lap 17 owing to a growing tyre vibration.
Verstappen pitted again for the Medium tyre on lap 32 but the Team was prevented from following a two-stop strategy by the prospect of ceding track position to Perez further behind.
Lewis and Valtteri held track position and managed their wearing tyres well but Verstappen caught Lewis on the penultimate lap. Perez also managed to pass Valtteri to round out the top three with the Finn on the oldest tyres of the four.
Lewis secured the 170th podium of his F1 career with his P2 finish.
Max Verstappen (131 points) leads the Drivers' Championship by 12 points from Lewis (119) and Sergio Perez in P3 (84), with Valtteri (59) moving up to P5. Red Bull (215 points) lead the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team (178 points) by 37 points in the Constructors' Championship.
Toto Wolff: Today went back and forwards, we were in the lead because Max made the mistake but our overall pace was good - maybe a little bit of a margin, even. We created a 3 second gap for the undercut, to protect it, but it wasn't enough and we came out of the pits a few tenths behind. In the first stint, Valtteri's tyre started to have a vibration early on and we were really worried. We knew that by pitting we were going to trigger the stops too early but we had no choice. The guys managed their hard tyres well after that but in the end it wasn't enough. We have lots to learn from today and we need to understand the great pace of the Red Bulls on their out laps. It's something we'll look at to help us improve but I think we had a solid racing car today and I'm glad it was an exciting race, we love entertainment too.
Andrew Shovlin: A frustrating day, we had a good opportunity to win and get both cars on the podium so the result is obviously very disappointing. Lewis had control of the race in the first stint and if anything we looked to be a bit better on degradation. We triggered the stops ourselves with Valtteri who was struggling with a growing vibration and that was clearly earlier than we wanted to come in but it was getting to a level where we didn't have an option.
Max obviously took the next lap to protect against Valtteri but with Lewis having just over three seconds of margin, we thought that he would have just enough protection from the undercut but that wasn't the case. The pitstops were good, the hard tyre was obviously quick but there's more that we need to go through to understand why we lost the place.
We could see the degradation was higher than expected but were wary of the two-stop strategy with Lewis as we'd need to pass Perez who had relatively fresh tyres; once Max made the move our best option was to see if we could just hang on but unfortunately the race was a couple of laps too long for us. With Valtteri we'll review whether we should have converted to a two stop but as with Lewis, we were afraid of the fact that Sergio's tyres were relatively fresh and unsure if we'd have the speed to pass on track.
We've not got long to prepare for the next race and there are some areas we know we can do a better job on; we've clearly got a decent race car, we need to find a bit of speed on single lap and we need to be perfect on our operations but we're happy that we'll be back on track in a week.
Christian Horner: "I'm so proud of the whole Team to bring home back to back race wins and a double podium which extends our lead in both championships. Max got a good start but lost the lead after an early excursion which we managed to survive and, after a stonking out lap following his first pit stop, he recovered track position. We didn't want to find ourselves in the same position as we did in Barcelona so we pulled the trigger and went for the two stop which thankfully paid off today. It's always a difficult thing to pit from the lead with 21 laps to go but we don't shy away from risks and went for it. On Checo's side, we split the strategy with a one stop which he made work coming home in third place so all round it was a fantastic Team performance. You can see how close it is between the two teams, there is very little between the cars so we've just got to keep pushing and looking for more performance. There's such a long way to go in this championship so you can't take anything for granted but now we'll take this momentum with us to Austria for the first of two home Grands Prix for the Team."
Andreas Seidl, Team Principal: "This was another strong Sunday afternoon for our team, thanks to two strong drivers, a strong car in race trim and perfect race execution from the entire team. Thanks to everyone here at the track, back home in the factory and our colleagues at Mercedes HPP, all of whom contributed to this result. Our battle in the Constructors' Championship is very tight and finishing P5, P6 gives us very important points as that fight progresses. Part one of the triple-header is complete and now we're looking forward to heading to Austria.
"Finally, we were racing this weekend in memory of Mansour Ojjeh, with a special livery on the car in his honour. It was a privilege to have Mansour's family with us this weekend. I'm sure he would have enjoyed today's performance."
Otmar Szafnauer, CEO & Team Principal: "Formula One is all about maximising what chances are available - and, after a qualifying session thwarted by ill fortune in Lance's case and by understeer in Sebastian's, both of them drove supremely disciplined races to deliver a double points finish at Paul Ricard today. Sebastian started steadily, overtook [Esteban] Ocon early on, and the Ferrari of [Carlos] Sainz in the closing stages, capably managed a long planned first stint on the Hard tyre, and optimised that strategy to end up ninth. Lance recovered brilliantly from a P19 grid slot, moved up to 16th immediately, then passed [Kimi] Räikkönen and [Antonio] Giovinazzi in short order. The wind was troubling him at times, as it was Sebastian also, but he coped with it superbly, continued to battle the conditions skilfully throughout the race, and finished just behind Sebastian in 10th place - a truly excellent drive that saw him finish nine places ahead of his starting position."
Alpine F1 Team scored four points from the French Grand Prix with Fernando Alonso finishing in eighth place at Circuit Paul Ricard. Team-mate Esteban Ocon finished outside the points in fourteenth.
The 53-lap race proved challenging for the majority of the field with tyre graining and degradation a key factor in the race result.
Fernando made a bright start from ninth on the grid as he leapt up to seventh place midway through lap one before settling into his first stint while in eighth place. His Medium tyres started to show signs of wear and he pitted on lap 18 for Hards. His pace was strong, and he was able to climb his way back into the points. For the final five laps, Fernando was locked in battle with Daniel Ricciardo and Pierre Gasly for sixth, but the Spaniard had to settle for a well-earned eighth place.
Esteban also made a solid getaway off the line on Hard tyres, putting pressure on both McLarens ahead. He wasn't able to maintain his pace on his first stint and after pitting on lap 28 for Mediums, the Frenchman was outside the points. From there he was unable to make any further ground and he finished in fourteenth.
Marcin Budkowski, Executive Director: "It was a race dominated by tyre management and graining and it was a very different story for both of our cars. We tried a reverse strategy with Esteban, and he had heavy graining on his first stint. By the time he pitted, his race was already compromised. Fernando had a good start and he was in the top ten fight for the whole race. He had some front graining too, but, managed that well on the Hards on his second stint and he was able put some pressure on Gasly and Ricciardo in the close battle for sixth place. It's good to be racing again with our rivals on-track after two difficult races, even if we feel we could have got more points out of this weekend. We're looking forward to more exciting battles as soon as next weekend."
The race in France proved to be very difficult for Scuderia Ferrari. For the first time this season, neither driver made it into the points, with both the SF21s affected badly by tyre degradation.
Struggling after a few laps. After the start, Carlos' and Charles' race pace seemed reasonable, but after a dozen or so laps, the tyres on the SF21 began to suffer with degradation, particularly on the front left. The same happened on the second stint which both drivers tackled on the Hard tyre, with it working for a few laps before the race pace gradually slowed. It meant that Carlos and Charles were easy prey for those behind. Even splitting the strategies did not work, with Charles making a second stop to take on another set of Mediums, while Carlos ran to the chequered flag without a further pit stop.
A tough lesson. The immediate priority for the team is to analyse all the data from this weekend to prepare as well as possible for the double-header at the Spielberg circuit, that starts with the Styrian Grand Prix on 27 June, followed by the Austrian one on 4 July.
Mattia Binotto: A very difficult Sunday, which sees us go home empty-handed. Tyre performance severely affected our race today.
It's hard to accept, but we will learn from it, determined to move forward. Living through the experience of a race like this, can make you a stronger team.
Guillaume Dezoteux (Head of Vehicle Performance): "It's been a successful but difficult race today. We managed to bring home a seventh place with Pierre, which is a nice reward for the weekend. After the morning rain, the track had a big reset and the tyres grained quite badly, not only on our cars but on most of the field. In the race, we had to do a lot of tyre management to stay on the one stop strategy and Pierre did a fantastic job at attacking and defending throughout. With regards to Yuki, it was obviously quite complicated starting from the pitlane, but he showed a good pace on the opening laps. However, after the stop, in free air, he couldn't make as much ground as we would have hoped. We will analyse everything and see what the key learnings are for him going forward. Today we increased our gap to Aston Martin by 3 points, which is really positive. The fight in the midfield is very tight but we are up for the challenge and our competitors can count on us to make their lives difficult until the final race in Abu Dhabi."
Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN's streak of consecutive points finishes came to an end at the French Grand Prix, with Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Raikkonen crossing the line in P15 and P17 respectively after a challenging race for the team.
Coming into Sunday on the back of the positive results in Monaco and Baku, and a qualifying session yesterday in which Antonio missed out on Q3 for less than 0.2s, the team expected to be in the battle for the top ten: a good start by both drivers seemed to presage an afternoon scrapping for the points, but the reality of the race turned out to be different. In the end, in a race that evolved in a strategic chess game at the front but that ended with no retirements - for only the tenth time in Formula One history - the team couldn't make an inroad into the points-paying positions.
A step backward after two forwards then - but the opportunity for redemption is not far away: we're back racing in a few days already, as the team heads to Austria for a Spielberg double-header.
Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal: "After two good races in the points and a promising qualifying yesterday, today was a rather difficult afternoon for the team. We made some progress at the start, but unfortunately our choice to go for a reverse strategy didn't pay off. We started on hards but got caught in a lot of traffic and that cost us quite some time. In the second part of the race, we weren't able to maximise the potential of the medium tyres as we had to deal with all the blue flags, so we couldn't really make up any ground. We will learn from this, of course, and come back stronger for the double-header in Austria."
Uralkali Haas F1 Team drivers Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin classified 19th and 20th respectively at the French Grand Prix, Round 7 of the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, held at Circuit Paul Ricard.
Schumacher took the start from 15th place, having made Q2 for the first time in his career during Saturday's qualifying session, and did so on Pirelli's P Zero Yellow medium tires. On a frenetic first lap Schumacher stayed out of trouble, holding 19th position, before being passed by teammate Mazepin. Schumacher came in on lap 16 of 53, exchanging his mediums for a set of White hard tires, and maturely managed that compound through to the checkered flag, holding 19th spot. It preserved Schumacher's 100 per cent finish record in Formula 1.
Mazepin started from 18th position on the hard compound and remained glued to the rear of the train through the first stint, successfully overhauling the sister VF-21 of Schumacher into turn 3 on lap 4. Mazepin prolonged his rubber for a 32-lap spell before boxing for a fresh set of mediums, effectively running the opposite strategy to his teammate. In a race where all 20 starters made it to the checkered flag Mazepin classified in 20th position.
Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen prevailed in an entertaining tussle with Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton to claim victory, while Sergio Perez rounded off the podium.
Uralkali Haas F1 Team will return to action at the Styrian Grand Prix, to be held at Spielberg, from June 25 to 27.
Guenther Steiner: "I think today was just one of those days - all 20 cars finished, so we were 19th and 20th. We're making progress, you can see the gap between our drivers is getting closer, which is not always a perfect scenario for us to manage. That's just what happens when they're in those positions. We just need to get our car better in general - we know that. It was a good learning curve and we got back with two cars intact. Unfortunately, today there was no lifeline thrown to us to have a better result. Now we get ready for Austria."
George Russell finished 12th and Nicholas Latifi 18th in the French Grand Prix. George started 14th and Nicholas 16th, both starting on the medium Pirelli tyre. Both drivers ran a one-stop race, switching to the hard compound with George pitting on lap 17 and Nicholas on lap 18.
Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance: Although there was no rain during the race, the rain that fell this morning did enough to reset and cool the track, and therefore made predicting the tyre performance a little more difficult. Completing a one-stop race was definitely preferred but required some careful management to do so at a decent pace. Both George and Nicholas managed this well and both were able to put in quick laps towards the end of the race.
Nicholas struggled a little during the middle of his second stint with the tyres falling just out of their window for a while. Unfortunately, this cost him a lot of track position. George meanwhile was just able to thread the needle and keep the tyres going throughout the stint, finishing a well-deserved P12 following an excellent overtake on Tsunoda. To achieve this position with no retirements and after a difficult opening lap, is an excellent result for the team and testament to a lot of hard work behind the scenes, both at the track and back in Grove.
We now head to Austria in a buoyant mood and ready to tackle the short but exciting Red Bull Ring. We know that there is still a lot to do to improve the overall competitiveness of FW43B, but the car is getting better and days like today confirm that we can race hard in difficult conditions.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the French Grand Prix thanks to an unusual two-stop strategy, going from P Zero Yellow medium to P Zero White hard to medium again. Verstappen was the only frontrunner to stop twice today, taking the lead again just a lap before the chequered flag.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton claimed the lead after the first corner but when Verstappen made his second stop, he elected to stay out on a one-stop medium-hard strategy: the tactics used by the majority of the field. The only other two-stopper was Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, classified 16th.
The majority of the drivers, including of course the entire top 10 on the grid, chose to start on the medium tyre. Both Aston Martin drivers as well as both Alfa Romeo drivers, plus Alpine's Esteban Ocon and Haas driver Nikita Mazepin were the only drivers to start on the hard tyre, with nobody using the soft during the race.
With the top eight finishers all having started on the medium tyre, Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel was the highest placed driver to run an alternative starting strategy. He ran a 37-lap stint opening stint on the hard tyre, before switching to the medium and eventually finishing ninth ahead of his team mate, on the same run plan.
Temperatures were considerably cooler than they had been over the previous couple of days, with rain on Sunday morning that dried out in time for the race but washed the surface clean of residual rubber. While ambient temperatures remained around 27 degrees centigrade, track temperature was down to about 37 degrees: nearly 15 degrees cooler than free practice and qualifying.
Mario Isola: "This race turned into an intense and exciting strategic battle, with a number of unknown factors such as cooler track temperatures, rain this morning that reset the track, and wind that continued to catch a few drivers out, all playing a part. These aspects contributed as well to increased front-left graining, which was key today. As a result, although a one-stopper was expected, there was also possibility of a two-stopper, which Red Bull and Max Verstappen went for decisively. The margins were very finely balanced, as everyone could see, between a two-stopper and a one-stopper, and it took a lot of commitment to make either strategy work. Congratulations to Max Verstappen and Red Bull for a strategic masterclass today, which kept everyone guessing right up to the final lap."
