JUMP TO THE TOP!
Perfect day for Lewis spoiled by Vettel prang with Bottas
LEWIS HAMILTON broke another Michael Schumacher record and then slammed rival Sebastian Vettel for taking out his team-mate.
With France staging a Grand Prix for the first time since 2008, the Brit claimed his 23rd different GP win (to Schumacher’s 22) with a dominant drive that also saw him reclaim the championship lead.
Hamilton controlled the race from start to finish, ignoring the fight behind him at the first bend, that saw Ferrari’s Vettel hit Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas, but incur only a five-second penalty.
Vettel battled back from 17th to fifth after having to change a wing, surrendering his lead in the title race to Hamilton, who is now 14 points clear.
But Hamilton was astonished at the lenient penalty when he watched a replay of Vettel’s crash with Bottas on the 210mph charge to the opening bend.
Hamilton shook his head and said: “Jeez, he took him right out. Oh, man, that’s crazy.
“For me, it is definitely disappointing because the team had a chance for a one-two.
“When someone destroys your race through their error, and gets a tap on the hand, are allowed to come back and finish ahead of the person they took out, it does not weigh up.
“Ultimately, Seb should not have been able to finish ahead of Valtteri (who came seventh) because he took him out of the race.”
It was a bad day for Vettel from the start. In a clash that was his own fault, he raced into second, but was badly positioned at the first corner, where Bottas had passed him and Vettel had nowhere to go but right into the Mercedes.
He said: “My start was too good and I ended up with nowhere to go. It is my mistake.”