Verstappen extends his title lead
RESURGENT VERSTAPPEN PICKS OFF HAMILTON ON PENULTIMATE LAP
Max Verstappen won the French Grand Prix yesterday to extend his lead over Lewis Hamilton in the Formula One drivers’ title race.
The Red Bull driver hunted down and overtook the Mercedes world champion with over a lap to go at a gusty Le Castellet to claim his third win out of seven races this season.
“Towards the end I enjoyed it! At the beginning it was super difficult out there with the wind,” said Verstappen.
This was a massive statement by the Dutch driver and his resurgent Red Bull team who won their third successive race after Monaco and Baku.
It pushed Verstappen 12 points clear of Hamilton ahead of backto-back races on Red Bull turf in Austria.
Sergio Perez in the other Red Bull came in third with Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes finishing fourth.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner had said before the race “if we can beat them here we can beat them anywhere” of Mercedes, who were itching to get back onto a regular track after getting lost on the streets of Monaco and Baku.
But things got off to a bumpy
beginning for pole sitter Verstappen, who went off the track in a horror start coming out of turn one, gifting Hamilton the lead.
“I couldn’t keep the car under control,” complained Verstappen.
Approaching a third of the 53-lap race Hamilton had established a near three second gap back to Verstappen, with Bottas
and Perez in pursuit.
“We can’t keep this up until the end of the race that’s for sure” Verstappen told his pits over the team radio referring to tyres on lap 29.
And on lap 32 in he came again, resuming in fourth, 25 seconds behind Hamilton, but with better grip he was only seven seconds
behind in third by lap 40.
With nine laps to go Verstappen muscled past Bottas, the gap ahead to Hamilton just five seconds.
Hunting his prey down it made for an epic end and he picked off the Silver Arrows on the penultimate lap to trigger wild celebrations in the Red Bull garage. –