Picture Credit: Twitter
Ferrari entered Le Castellet as firm favourites but exited the venue seeing their arch rivals Red Bull as victorious. What’s worst? Only one of their cars finished in points and that’s all thanks to Carlos Sainz Jr.
In what turned out to be a forgettable race for Leclerc and not such a bad one for Verstappen, which other moments stood out and made it to SportsTiger’s list of the top moments that defined the 2022 French GP?
1. Lewis Hamilton contests a memorable drive
You’re a fine driver if you score a podium upon your F1 debut. You’re an outstanding driver if you can keep up with that consistency even in your 300th race, where you collect yet another top-three finish.
And, you’re a certain Sir Lewis Hamilton, to be precise, when you do exactly the above.
The biggest talking point of the French Grand Prix of 2022, besides Verstappen’s important race win, was Hamilton’s brilliant podium.
This was his fourth on the trot and to have landed on second step of podium in his 300th race would certainly have been such a highlight for the seven time world champion.
In a season where not too many things have gone his way, where his car isn’t the fastest but is certainly, bouncing too much for his liking, the 37-year-old Hamilton is finding that lost groove.
With brilliant results starting Canada, proceeding into Silverstone, Spielberg and as seen recently, the Provence-based Grand Prix, Hamilton is no longer struggling.
He’s decided to make a match out of the overwhelming challenge that is the ongoing 2022 world championship fight.
And Lewis leading Mercedes’ charge, further exemplified by Russell’s third, is a fitting example of that.
2. Incredible result for “Old guard” Alonso
To many, he’s past his best and his comeback isn’t the sort of story that the strong man of the sport would’ve liked.
Then there are those to whom, he’s no more than just another legend in the long list of many in F1.
But those who’ve cared to go beyond the analogies and the bumper sticker expressions, Fernando Alonso is a driver as rare as they come.
The double world champion, who scored points upon his big ticket F1 comeback with Alpine (Bahrain, 2021), is now the holder of a record that is, quite simply, outstanding.
The Oviedo-born Alonso is the driver to have raced the most number of laps in F1 history.
When he finished the third lap of the just concluded French GP, the great legend of the sport overtook the Iceman Kimi Raikkonen who held the record.
Importantly, Fernando Alonso, who began the race from seventh on the grid, ended up sixth and in the process, outperformed Esteban Ocon again.
For someone considered “old” by an audience driven by few other things than social media, one that often stays in Netflix overdrive, Alonso is proving himself each passing race, and perhaps even teaching the kids how to drive.
Lest it is forgotten, this 40 year old, who’s just two podiums away from a century of F1 podiums, claimed a second in qualifying at Canada (not too long ago).
3. Strong result for Danny-Ric!
Ricciardo, interestingly speaking, began the 2022 French GP from ninth on the grid and claimed a P9 in the end.
While to many this may not seem the kind of outcome that would or should feature on any talking points list at the end of the Grand Prix, you’d have to study Ricciardo’s 2022 season.
It is only then that you can understand the significance of the French GP’s ninth place finish for F1’s Honeybadger.
For someone who was able to collect points in only three races prior to the Circuit Paul Ricard-bound contest, Ricciardo has ensured a horrible season.
So far, the only races, where the Perth-born scored points are Australia, Azerbaijan and Austria.
And now France. But that’s points in just four races out of twelve.
Given the enormity of poor form and pressure he’s been in, need one say anything else other than- Forza, Daniel?
4. How could you, Charles… how could you!
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(Picture Credit: Twitter)[/caption]
Leclerc claimed his seventh pole position of 2022 on Saturday when he put together a cracker of a lap at 1:30:872 in the fading moments of Q3.
This definitive qualifying performance meant that not only did Ferrari have the front row seat for Sunday’s mega action, rather importantly, the man most desperate to bounce back to the top of the driver’s standings stood a great chance at winning.
Charles Leclerc.
Yet, despite getting off to a clean start utterly unscathed despite Verstappen putting early pressure, Leclerc lost his chance come lap 17.
Perhaps a touch too pressured by the daunting challenge of keeping the Red Bull at bay or quite simply, overwhelmed by the task of maintaining the race lead, Leclerc spun on a tricky corner and went into the barriers.
Resultantly, Verstappen, Ferrari’s numero uno rival this year snatched the race lead and held onto a fine win in the end.
But the question still remains; what really happened at Le Castellet?
Surely, this time around Ferrari or their dubious strategy (such as the one at Monaco) wasn’t to be blamed.
Leclerc has no one but himself to blame. A race win would’ve earned him 25 more points. Instead, he endured what turned out to be his third race retirement this season.
What happens ahead given Hungaroring is that the next stop will not only define the context of this year’s championship but will play a pivotal role in Leclerc’s journey in 2022. Will the Ferrari driver be able to bounce back?