Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished in P2, P3 positions respectively at the French GP
Lewis Hamilton drove superbly in his 300th F1 race to finish second at the French GP while teammate George Russell came home in third. Hamilton penned a heartfelt message to George Russell after the pair both secured spots on the French GP podium. The seven-time champion finished second for the first time this season, while the 23-year-old notched his first third-place finish since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last month.
Hamilton took to social media to laud his teammate’s performance as well as his own. “Left it all out there today and P2 is a great result! First time up there with @GeorgeRussell63 as well,” the Mercedes star said. “It’s so rewarding to see how far we’ve come since the beginning of the season. Still have work to do, but definitely going to enjoy this one”, the Brit tweeted.
Hamilton was comfortably faster than Perez for the remainder of the race after overtaking him at the start and had to fight with Russell and Sainz for a podium place.
Russell secured the podium finish by producing a nifty move on Perez following the end of the virtual safety car. Russell appeared to be backing off just as the period was ending, but the 24-year-old then accelerated quickly and appeared to catch the Mexican napping as he was able to overtake him on the inside.
Red Bull dominates the drivers’ championship standings despite Sergio Perez not finishing on the podium in France. Max Verstappen leads the standings with 233 points. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc registered a DNF in France but still occupies second place with 170 points. Perez lies in the third spot with 163 – ahead of Carlos Sainz, George Russell, and Lewis Hamilton.
In the constructors’ championship, Red Bull lead the table with 396 points, Ferrari are significantly behind in second place with 314 points. Mercedes are further behind – they occupy third place, having earned 270 points.
Follow our dedicated Formula One page for instant Formula One news and updates