Warning: scandir(/var/www/vhosts/f1boxbox.com/httpdocs/uploads/circuits/ricard/): Failed to open directory: No such file or directory in /var/www/vhosts/f1boxbox.com/httpdocs/functions.php on line 489
Warning: scandir(): (errno 2): No such file or directory in /var/www/vhosts/f1boxbox.com/httpdocs/functions.php on line 489
Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, false given in /var/www/vhosts/f1boxbox.com/httpdocs/functions.php on line 489
The French Grand Prix 2018 was the 8th round of the 2018 F1 season, and took place at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, France, on June 24th.
Lewis Hamilton won the race from the pole, followed by Max Verstappen, and Kimi Räikkönen completing the podium.
Final results
Race evolution
Pit Stops
There were a total of 20 pit stops during the race.
The most popular pit stop windows were:
- Laps 1-1: 5 stops
- Laps 33-35: 4 stops
- Laps 37-40: 5 stops
The fastest pit stop was Kimi Räikkönen's, stopping the clock at 24.289 seconds during his pit stop on lap 34, while the slowest one was was Sebastian Vettel's, who stopped the clock at 32.612 seconds, 8.323 seconds slower than Räikkönen, during his pit stop on lap 1.
These times include the time the driver spent going through the pit lane, as well as the actual time he stopped for the mechanics to work on his car.
Strategy
We saw a variety of options in terms of pit stop strategies during this race, however most drivers chose a 1 stop. Only Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel and Valtteri Bottas decided to try something different with a 2 stops strategy.
The race winner, Lewis Hamilton, was on a 1 stop strategy.
1 stop
-
2Lance Stroll
-
3Sergey Sirotkin
-
2Max Verstappen
-
1Carlos Sainz
-
1Daniel Ricciardo
-
3Kevin Magnussen
-
2Charles Leclerc
-
-Lewis Hamilton
-
3Kimi Räikkönen
-
1Romain Grosjean
-
2Marcus Ericsson
-
3Nico Hülkenberg
-
6Brendon Hartley
-
5Stoffel Vandoorne
2 stops
-
-Fernando Alonso
-
2Sebastian Vettel
-
5Valtteri Bottas
Excluding those drivers who could not finish the race, those on a 1 stop strategy gained 1.85 positions on average, while those on a 2 stops strategy lost an average of 3.5 positions.
This difference in possitions gained, together with a deeper nalaysis of each strategy, reinforces the conclusion that a 1 stop strategy was the best option.
It is important to note that this might not always be the case for other races held at the Circuit Paul Ricard, as the conditions might change from year to year, in terms of wheel degradation, accidents, safety cars, etc.
Incidents
There were some incidents during the race, with 5 drivers who didn't manage to cross the finish line.
These included, Fernando Alonso, who had a wheel problem on lap 50, Lance Stroll, who had a puncture that could not be repaired on lap 48, Sergio Pérez, who suffered an engine malfunction on lap 27, and Esteban Ocon, and Pierre Gasly, both retired dure to damage caused by a collision with other cars.
Wheel
-
Fernando AlonsoLap 50
Puncture
-
Lance StrollLap 48
Engine
-
Sergio PérezLap 27
Collision
-
Esteban OconLap 0
-
Pierre GaslyLap 0
Qualifying
Lewis Hamilton dominated all the qualifying sessions and took the pole by 0.118 seconds, with a final lap time of 1:30.029. Valtteri Bottas was right behind him, helping Mercedes score a one-two and monopolize the first line of the grid.
Track evolution
As the qualifying session went on, with the track rubbering in, and the drivers testing the limits of the grip of their cars, the times per lap dropped, and 13 out of the 15 drivers that took place in Q2 were able to improve their times.
The Q3 is the time were all the remaining drivers put all their cards on the table, even those with a superior car who might have been managing their times in Q1 and Q2 push their cars to the limit in Q3. It therefore comes as no surprise that 5 out of the 9 drivers that took place in Q3 were able to improve their times.