French GP: Hamilton cruised to victory in a boring race!

During the past 25 years, I've watched Formula 1 action in various places. However, last Saturday was the first time for me, that I watched qualifying at a water park! But as I only need my cell phone and headphones, I have Formula 1 always with me, no matter where I go! :D

Mercedes were the clear favorites, coming to France for round 8. So it was no surprise, that they were setting the pace in qualifying. Mercedes' and Ferrari's tyre strategy in Q2 was well predicted, too. The soft compound had degraded extremely fast in Friday's free practice sessions, which meant, that there was no use for the softest rubber in the race. More surprising was the fact, that also some midfield teams opted for the medium compound in the second session. Both Renault and McLaren sent their drivers out on the yellow-walled Pirellis. Their pace was unpredictably competitive, and all four drivers made it among the top ten. Red Bull had a two-pronged strategy, as Verstappen set his fastest lap time on the medium compound, whilst teammate Gasly was struggling to make it among the top ten on the red-marked soft Pirellis. This time Giovinazzi managed to out-qualify the Iceman, as the Italian made it into the final segment, whilst Kimi was knocked out of Q3. This misfortune, however, proved a lucky setback after all, as Kimi was allowed to choose his tyres for the race, whilst Giovinazzi was forced to start to the race on the fast-degrading softs.

It was absolutely no news at all, that Mercedes locked down the front row, with championship-leading Hamilton having the upper hand on his Finnish teammate. More of news was the fact, that Sebastian made it only 7th on the grid! Teammate Leclerc qualified 3rd, which was well done from the Monegasque. Verstappen was 4th, which was a very familiar grid slot for the flying Dutchman. The most positive surprise of the qualifying were McLaren, as Norris qualified 5th and Sainz 6th. Unbelievable but true, both McLarens were faster than Sebastian in his Ferrari!

Red Bull's Gasly and Alfa Romeo's Giovinazzi were the only drivers to start to the race on the softs. All other top ten drivers were on the more durable medium Pirellis. Kimi, on the other hand, started to the race on the white-marked hard compound, which proved an excellent choice. There were no surprises at the start. Both Mercedes aces had a splendid start, and Hamilton held on to his lead. During the few opening laps, Sebastian seemed stuck behind the McLarens. Sainz had been able to overtake his teammate at the start, so Sebastian's first mission was to get past Norris. Sebastian attacked the young Briton on lap 5, making it past Norris. Two laps later he attacked Sainz, making another successful overtaking move. Sebastian was now fifth in the race, and his pace seemed competitive.

Verstappen was the first top driver to pit on lap 21. He switched to the hard compound and re-joined the track in P5. At this point Hamilton had already a 6-second gap to his teammate. Leclerc pitted a lap after Verstappen, for a similar tyre choice. Charles dropped down to P4, as teammate Sebastian hadn't pitted yet. Both Mercedes drivers pitted as well. After the pit stops Bottas was already 10 seconds down on his dominant teammate. The Finn seemed utterly toothless against his superior teammate. Sebastian pitted after a lock-up on lap 25, also for a fresh set of hard tyres. He re-joined the track in P5, so there were no changes in terms of the top five due to the pit stop roulette. Kimi, who had started to the race on the hard Pirellis, pitted not until on lap 32, for a used set of medium Pirellis. The pit stop dropped the Iceman down to P12.

The gaps between the top five drivers were safe, so there were no battles for positions, which made the race very boring, to be honest. Race leader Hamilton had a 12-second gap to Bottas, and Leclerc was six seconds down on the Finn. Verstappen was fourth and Sebastian fifth. Both McLarens were unable to match Ferrari's pace. On the other hand, Sebastian didn't have enough pace to challenge Verstappen for P4. This made the Red Team switch to "plan F", which meant going for the fastest lap time. Sebastian could easily afford an extra pit stop without losing any positions. The fastest lap time would be firmly on Sebastian's grasp on the fresh set of soft Pirellis!

On the closing laps Norris' orange McLaren was hit with a hydraulic issue, which made the car almost impossible to drive. It was such a shame, as the Spaniard was driving a fantastic race in P7. To Norris' misfortune, Kimi and Hulkenberg, who had a tight battle with each other, both managed to pass the struggling McLaren pilot. Renault's Ricciardo was right at the tail of these two. On the penultimate lap Ricciardo decided to make an audacious move, trying to overtake the duo. The Australian made his move, first on Hulkenberg and then on Kimi, but leaving the track on all four wheels, however.

Hamilton took his sixth win of the season in a superior way. Towards the end of the race, Ferrari's Leclerc had been able to sneak extremely close to Bottas, who was struggling with his pace. However, the Finn maintained his second place. Verstappen finished fourth and Sebastian fifth. Sainz was "the best of the rest", which made McLaren team members extremely happy. Ricciardo crossed the finish line in P7, but the Australian was handed not one but two 5-second time penalties for leaving the track and gaining an advantage! So Ricciardo was dropped down to P11, which promoted Kimi 7th and Hulkenberg 8th. In spite of his technical issues Norris managed to bring his McLaren to the chequered flag in P9. Red Bull's Gasly scored the last point, which was a modest result for the Red Bull driver, comparing to Max's P4 in the sister car. The joy of the day for me was, that Sebastian managed to grab the extra point for the fastest lap time.

All races this season have been won by a Mercedes driver! How boring is that! Hamilton has already a 39-point gap to his teammate in the drivers' standings. The situation is becoming more and more ticklish for Valtteri, who is also fighting for his next year's contract. The battle continues already this week in Austria!