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Formula 1
French GP
F1 French GP Live Commentary and Updates - Race day
All of the F1 action from the French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard
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Ferrari heads into the race at the Le Castellet circuit on the back of two victories: Carlos Sainz took his maiden win at Silverstone, while Charles Leclerc claimed the spoils last time out in Austria.
Max Verstappen still leads the title battle, but now 38 points clear of Leclerc as the Monegasque displaced Sergio Perez from second in the standings.
Leclerc starts the French GP from pole with Verstappen alongside him on the front row.
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Sainz is told to go to for plan D - what was plan B or C? - and he says he wants to pit for fresh tyres to attack Perez late on in the race. But he's told to stay out. Strategy is confusing.
Magnussen has retired from the race following the clash with Latifi.
"We are thinking plan A, let us know," Sainz is told over team radio. "You need to decide now," is his reply. If he doesn't pit now, he'll need to go to the finish on these medium tyres as he won't be able to gain back the time on fresh rubber with 13 laps left.
The Turn 2 incident between Latifi and Magnussen is being investigated by the stewards.
Latifi has a spin after contact with Magnussen. Latifi was trying to overtake the Haas. Magnussen drops to P15 with Latifi in P16.
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"Everyone must be struggling with the left front," Verstappen says over team radio. Race leader and pundit, he can do it all.
Gasly finally gets by Magnussen for P13 as Bottas pits. Gasly is now 4.1s behind Vettel, who holds P12 for Aston Martin.
Verstappen looks to be clear of the battles behind him, as his lead ticks over the seven-second margin at the end of lap 36. Hamilton, in second, has rebuilt his advantage over Perez to 2.2s.
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Stroll in P10 is sounding stressed on the radio. He replies to his team: "Yes, Yes leave me alone."
Ocon is all over the back of Ricciardo as the fight for P8 intensifies. Ocon has a brief look before ducking back into line.
Sainz, matching the pace of Verstappen as the fastest drivers on track, is carrying a big tyre blister on the front-right. He'll need to do a monster job to get these tyres to the finish with 18 laps to go.
The recovering Gasly has now found himself right in the thick of a battle for P14 with Magnussen, while Latifi watches on behind in the Williams.
Hamilton goes wide at Turn 2, catching a snap of oversteer on exit, and rejoins over the kerbs but loses a handful of time to bring Perez to 1.1s behind him.
Sainz gets by Russell after stalking the Mercedes for a few laps, the Ferrari driver getting better traction out of the chicane to power by around the outside at Turn 10 to gain fourth place.
Gasly has dropped to P15 after running across the chicane. The AlphaTauri driver had been hunting down Albon for P11. He has 23 laps to recover the lost ground.
Verstappen's pace is scarily consistent, as he sets another new fastest lap exactly 0.001s faster than his previous. His lead is almost up to 4s now.
The two McLarens of Norris (P7) and Ricciardo (P8) are trying to close in on Alonso's Alpine in the battle for P6. This could be a tasty scrap in a few laps.
Stopwatch
Saying that, Verstappen puts in a new fastest lap of the race of 1m37.696s to add a couple of tenths to his lead.
At the front, Verstappen pushes his lead up to 3.3s on Hamilton. He's not charging away but is most likely keeping an eye on Hamilton's pace to keep life in his tyres for the second half of the race.
Despite the incoming penalty, Sainz isn't giving up on this race, and has caught up with the Hamilton-Perez-Russell train.
Zhou has been handed a five-second penalty for his clash with Schumacher.
Home hero Gasly is closing in on Albon in the battle for P11. The gap is 0.3s. Stroll is 1.7s up the road in the final points paying position.
Just as was the case before the safety car, Russell is catching Perez, while both are catching Hamilton in second place.
Schumacher has had a spin following contact from Zhou at Turn 8. The Haas driver got going again while Zhou lost part of his front wing.
Penalty
Sainz, keeping the Ferrari hopes alive in this race, is up to fifth now but he's been give a five-second penalty for an unsafe release during a pitstop under the safety car. He had a slow stop and then blocked Latifi in the pitlane.
Verstappen has zipped into a 1.6s lead on Hamilton with Perez still third and still not in DRS range.
Leclerc has made it back to the garage, helmet still firmly on and head down. That'll be a tough one to take.
Sainz, who dropped behind Ricciardo after the pit stops, has now got back ahead of the Australian into P6.
Green flag
Here we go again! Verstappen makes the ideal getaway to keep the lead from Hamilton and Perez. Red Bull have been given a huge open goal in this race.
So Leclerc's exit has seen Ricciardo move to seventh and the Australian is back ahead of Sainz, who pitted under the safety car. Ocon holds ninth ahead of Stroll. Everyone has pitted at least once.
Leclerc appeared to complain about being stuck on throttle, which was an problem he had in Austria, but it isn't clear if it was during the spin or when he was in the barrier and trying to back out.
The safety car is coming in this lap, the race will resume on lap 21, Verstappen leads from Hamilton, Perez and Russell.
TV replays show Leclerc losing the rear of his car at Turn 11 which sends him into a spin and he nosed into the wall.
Crash
Leclerc is out of this race, he's out of the car which is being wheeled behind the barriers.
Flurry of action in the pits now, almost everyone has come in under this safety car.
Pit stop
With the safety car called out the pitstop has burst into action, as both Mercedes drivers pit and so does Red Bull's Perez.
Safety car
Leclerc has crashed out from the lead! He's in the wall at Turn 11! Safety Car!
Verstappen gets by Norris on his out-lap to climb up to sixth, while Ferrari don't respond to pit Leclerc straight away. Is his plan B a one-stopper?
Sainz slides by Ricciardo's McLaren for P9 at the chicane. Strong drive so far from the Ferrari driver on the hard tyres.
Pit stop
At the end of lap 16, Verstappen bites the bullet and pits for hard tyres, coming out in seventh place behind Norris.
By: autosport.com
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