Battle for Bronze: Who’s on top after the French Grand Prix?

Everyone was bracing for another boring French Grand Prix but it turned out to be a complete spectacle of a race, with the winner being decided on only the final lap. A fan-filled Circuit Paul Ricard took witness to Max Verstappen extending his and Red Bull’s lead in the 2021 Formula One Championship battle with Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes. The Dutchman stole victory from the seven-time World Champions grasp on lap 52 due to a better strategy employed by the Austrian team. However, the midfield battle was once again one we can’t ignore.

Ferrari took the lead off of McLaren in Baku a fortnight ago thanks to Charles Leclerc’s and Carlos Sainz’s fourth and eighth-place finishes. Aston Martin, once again, improved on the week prior, this time with Sebastian Vettel standing atop the podium in Azerbaijan with a second-place finish, claiming points for the British team after Lance Stroll suffered a tyre failure that ended his race. AlphaTauri’s rookie Yuki Tsunoda scored points for the first time since the season-opener, which allowed the Italian team to leapfrog Aston Martin. Alpine’s street circuit struggles were emphasised as Esteban Ocon retired early, but Fernando Alonso still scored points for the French team. 

As our weekend in France has now ended, which team is leading the way?

McLaren

Losing their third place to Ferrari in Baku was the one result that Zac Brown and the British team wouldn’t have wanted but after a strong showing on Sunday, they’re back in the familiar position they’ve been in this season. Lando Norris struggled at the start of the race, losing places to Daniel Ricciardo and Alonso, but a superb strategy for the Young Brit and his Aussie teammate resulted in both claiming strong points finishes. Norris finished in P5 with Ricciardo following closely behind in P6, this being the Australian’s best result since Spain. McLaren now hold a 16-point lead over their Italian rivals.

Ferrari

It’s safe to say that Ferrari struggled at the Circuit Paul Ricard, as the team scored no points and lost their lead to McLaren, by a big margin. The Scuderia now have a 16-point deficit on McLaren and it’s all down to both drivers missing out on points on Sunday. It seemed hopeful for the Prancing Horse on Saturday as Sainz and Leclerc qualified in P5 and P7 respectively but that hope soon turned to fear once the lights went out in Southern France. The duo both dropped down the grid and finished with Sainz in P11 and Leclerc in P16.

AlphaTauri

Pierre Gasly is once again the catalyst in an AlphaTauri team looking to beat Aston Martin and Alpine this season. The Frenchman secured another top-10 finish in his home race on Sunday and has helped extend their lead over their British rivals by three points. A seventh-place finish for Gasly was his sixth in a row, after only missing out on points in the season-opener in Bahrain. It was, however, another tough weekend for the rookie Tsunoda as he was only able to best a 13th place finish in the race. On the other hand, he did manage to climb seven places after retiring in qualifying on Saturday and starting from the pit lane on Sunday, but it won’t take away from the fact it was another points-less weekend.

Aston Martin

A poor qualifying showing from Aston Martin, probably worried the fans and team heading into the French Grand Prix on Sunday but an excellent strategy for both Vettel and Stroll soon ended these thoughts. Both drivers finished in the top 10 come the chequered flag, with Vettel finishing ninth and Stroll tenth. It’s not quite the podium performance we saw from Vettel in Baku, but it’s points for the British team that they won’t turn down. Stroll gained nine places in the race after starting from last on the grid (Tsunoda started from the pit lane), due to not setting a valid time on Saturday.

Alpine

Ocon, once again, struggled to get the Alpine car to do much but sadly it was in his home race this week unlike Baku a fortnight ago. The Frenchman made Q2 and started from 11th on the grid on Sunday but was unable to hold onto any gained positions and eventually dropped down to and finished in 14th. Alonso was the sole points scored for the French team for the second Grand Prix running as he finished in P8 and claimed four points.

Which team in the midfield had the strongest weekend? And who had the worst? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!