When Sprint winner and championship leader Max Verstappen pitted on Lap 12, Leclerc took the lead. Leclerc pitted much later, on Lap 27, and retook the lead on Lap 37 with a pass. With Sainz vying for second place, the Dutchman pitted again on Lap 37.
On Lap 51, Charles Leclerc pitted for the second time and retook the lead on Lap 53. With Sainz right on Verstappen’s tail, the Spaniard slowed abruptly, the fire at the back of his Ferrari signalling the end of his race. This propelled Hamilton, who had fought his way from P8 to P4, to the final podium spot.
George Russell was a distant fourth after starting fourth, with the Mercedes driver losing time in his first pit stop and a five-second penalty for colliding with Red Bull‘s Sergio Perez early on. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon finished fifth after starting sixth, with Perez retiring shortly after the Russell collision.
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Mick Schumacher was voted the fans’ Driver of the Day after passing both McLaren’s Lando Norris (P7 after serving a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits) and Haas teammate Kevin Magnussen (P8). In P9, Daniel Ricciardo completed a double points finish for McLaren, with both drivers enjoying renewed pace with their medium-hard-hard strategy.
Fernando Alonso rounded out the top ten for Alpine after having to pit three times due to a potentially unsafe release that caused him to come in twice during the Virtual Safety Car caused by Sainz’s retirement.
Ferrari is on a roll, but Red Bull still leads both championships. The 2022 French Grand Prix will be held on July 22-24 at Circuit Paul Ricard.
