2018 French Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Formula One returned to France in 2018, and Lewis Hamilton marked the occasion with a controlled victory at the Circuit Paul Ricard. First-lap contact between Sebastian Vettel and Valtteri Bottas reshaped the contest, leaving Max Verstappen and Kimi Räikkönen to complete the podium.

Pole position
Driver	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Time	1:30.029
Fastest lap
Driver	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes
Time	1:34.225 on lap 41
Podium
First	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Second	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing
Third	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
22 June 2018	Practice 1	12:00 – 13:30
22 June 2018	Practice 2	16:00 – 17:30
23 June 2018	Practice 3	13:00 – 14:00
23 June 2018	Qualifying	16:00 – 17:00
24 June 2018	Race	16:10

All times are local (UTC+02:00). The race time is the scheduled start.

Championship background

The French Grand Prix returned for the first time since 2008, with the Circuit Paul Ricard hosting its first championship race since 1990. Vettel arrived one point ahead of Hamilton, and the unfamiliar venue opened the first leg of a demanding three-race sequence.

Race entries

The regular 20 drivers contested the weekend. Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon and Romain Grosjean all had a home Grand Prix to look forward to, while Brendon Hartley faced power-unit penalties.

Free Practice

Lewis Hamilton led FP1 in 1:32.231 ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo. Marcus Ericsson crashed heavily and his Sauber caught fire, leaving him unable to take part in FP2.

Hamilton also headed FP2 with a 1:32.539, followed by Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. Sergio Perez lost a wheel during the session, prompting a red flag and an investigation into the release of his Force India.

Rain heavily limited FP3. Bottas recorded the fastest lap, a 1:33.666, ahead of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, but the small amount of representative running restricted its value before qualifying.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2018 French Grand Prix FP1, 22 June 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:32.231	25
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.140s	29
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+0.296s	25
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.772s	23
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.941s	19
6	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+1.087s	22
7	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+1.100s	15
8	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+1.454s	23
9	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+1.488s	26
10	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.877s	23
11	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	+2.027s	25
12	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	+2.253s	14
13	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	+2.282s	21
14	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+2.361s	21
15	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	+2.433s	25
16	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+2.631s	20
17	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+2.650s	28
18	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+2.762s	24
19	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+2.790s	24
20	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	+2.874s	25

Free Practice 2 Classification

2018 French Grand Prix FP2, 22 June 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:32.539	27
2	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+0.704s	31
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.732s	24
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.887s	29
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1.150s	35
6	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+1.160s	30
7	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+1.617s	7
8	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+1.861s	24
9	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.918s	33
10	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+1.996s	35
11	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+2.528s	30
12	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	+2.547s	33
13	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+2.633s	28
14	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	+3.044s	33
15	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	+3.158s	31
16	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	+3.166s	25
17	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+3.397s	34
18	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	+3.431s	35
19	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+3.541s	13
—	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	No time	0

Marcus Ericsson did not run while Sauber repaired the damage from his FP1 accident; he is included without a classified position.

Free Practice 3 Classification

2018 French Grand Prix FP3, 23 June 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:33.666	3
2	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	+1.287s	3
3	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	+1.346s	5
4	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+2.699s	4
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+3.090s	5
6	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+3.881s	4
7	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+4.651s	5
8	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+4.784s	3
9	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+5.975s	4
10	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+6.072s	3
11	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	+6.421s	4
12	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+7.077s	3
13	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+16.045s	3
14	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+28.733s	4
15	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	+30.427s	5
16	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	No time	1
17	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	No time	3
18	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	No time	1
19	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	No time	2
20	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	No time	3

Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton took pole with a 1:30.029, with Valtteri Bottas completing a Mercedes front-row lockout. Sebastian Vettel was third, followed by Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Räikkönen.

Charles Leclerc reached Q3 for the first time and qualified eighth for Sauber. Romain Grosjean crashed in the final session, while Brendon Hartley‘s power-unit penalties sent him to the back.

Qualifying Classification

2018 French Grand Prix Qualifying, 23 June 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:31.271	1:30.645	1:30.029	19
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:31.776	1:31.227	1:30.147	17
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:31.820	1:30.751	1:30.400	22
4	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:31.531	1:30.818	1:30.705	20
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:31.910	1:31.538	1:30.895	20
6	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:31.567	1:30.772	1:31.057	22
7	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	1:32.394	1:32.016	1:32.126	23
8	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	1:32.538	1:32.055	1:32.635	22
9	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:32.169	1:31.510	1:32.930	24
10	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:32.083	1:31.472	No time	20
11	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	1:32.786	1:32.075	—	14
12	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	1:32.949	1:32.115	—	15
13	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:32.692	1:32.454	—	15
14	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	1:32.447	1:32.460	—	17
15	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:32.804	1:32.820	—	18
16	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:32.976	—	—	10
17	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	1:33.025	—	—	10
18	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:33.162	—	—	10
19	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	1:33.636	—	—	9
20	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:33.729	—	—	10

Brendon Hartley received a 35-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of power unit components.

What happened in the 2018 French Grand Prix?

Lewis Hamilton held the lead, but Sebastian Vettel ran into Valtteri Bottas at the first corner. Both cars needed repairs, and Vettel received a five-second penalty. A separate collision between Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon eliminated two of the home drivers and brought out the safety car.

Hamilton controlled the restart with Max Verstappen behind him. Carlos Sainz had made an excellent start, but the faster cars gradually came through as the race settled and the early order began to unwind.

Vettel recovered rapidly through the midfield, although the time lost at the start and his penalty kept him out of podium contention. Bottas also worked forward after his puncture and damage, but faced a more difficult recovery.

Kimi Räikkönen used his later stop to attack in the closing stages and passed Daniel Ricciardo for third. Hamilton remained comfortably clear, with Verstappen securing second.

Lance Stroll suffered a late tyre failure, bringing a virtual safety car shortly before the finish. Vettel took fifth behind Ricciardo, followed by Kevin Magnussen and Bottas. Sainz finished eighth after losing performance late on, with Nico Hülkenberg ninth and Leclerc tenth.

Hamilton regained the championship lead by 14 points. France’s return had produced a strong Mercedes victory, but the opening-lap collision ensured that the title rivals experienced very different afternoons.

2018 French Grand Prix race results

The 2018 French Grand Prix was held on 24 June 2018, with a scheduled start of 16:10 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	53	1:30:11.385	25
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	53	+7.090s	18
3	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	53	+25.888s	15
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	53	+34.736s	12
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	53	+61.935s	10
6	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	53	+79.364s	8
7	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	53	+80.632s	6
8	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	53	+87.184s	4
9	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	53	+91.989s	2
10	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	53	+93.873s	1
11	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	52	+1 lap	0
12	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	52	+1 lap	0
13	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	52	+1 lap	0
14	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	52	+1 lap	0
15	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	52	+1 lap	0
16	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	50	Suspension	0
17	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	48	Puncture	0
Ret	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	27	Engine	0
Ret	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	0	Collision	0
Ret	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	0	Collision	0

Sergey Sirotkin had 5 seconds added to his race time for driving unnecessarily slowly behind the safety car.

Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll retired from the race, but were classified as they completed more than 90% of the race distance.

2018 French Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	41	17:25:05	1:34.225	223.201
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	47	17:33:26	1:34.275	223.083
3	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	48	17:35:20	1:34.398	222.792
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	42	17:26:22	1:34.485	222.587
5	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	49	17:36:32	1:34.509	222.531
6	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	48	17:37:25	1:35.133	221.071
7	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	37	17:17:42	1:35.382	220.494
8	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	50	17:39:24	1:35.425	220.395
9	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	46	17:32:57	1:35.638	219.904
10	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	47	17:35:00	1:35.695	219.773
11	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	46	17:33:12	1:35.873	219.365
12	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	45	17:31:38	1:35.977	219.127
13	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	37	17:19:09	1:36.494	217.953
14	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	48	17:36:52	1:36.675	217.545
15	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	40	17:24:03	1:36.839	217.176
16	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	35	17:15:38	1:38.300	213.949
17	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	25	16:58:52	1:38.319	213.907
18	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	35	17:15:37	1:38.319	213.907

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear in this table. Time of Day is local time; average speeds are in km/h. No championship point was awarded for fastest lap in 2018.

2018 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings for drivers and teams after the 2018 French Grand Prix.

2018 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Mercedes	145
2	Sebastian Vettel	GER	Ferrari	131
3	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	Red Bull Racing	96
4	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Mercedes	92
5	Kimi Räikkönen	FIN	Ferrari	83
6	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing	68
7	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Renault	34
8	Fernando Alonso	ESP	McLaren	32
9	Carlos Sainz	ESP	Renault	28
10	Kevin Magnussen	DEN	Haas	27
11	Pierre Gasly	FRA	Toro Rosso	18
12	Sergio Perez	MEX	Force India	17
13	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Force India	11
14	Charles Leclerc	MON	Sauber	11
15	Stoffel Vandoorne	BEL	McLaren	8
16	Lance Stroll	CAN	Williams	4
17	Marcus Ericsson	SWE	Sauber	2
18	Brendon Hartley	NZL	Toro Rosso	1
19	Romain Grosjean	FRA	Haas	0
20	Sergey Sirotkin	RUS	Williams	0

2018 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	237
2	Ferrari	214
3	Red Bull Racing	164
4	Renault	62
5	McLaren	40
6	Force India	28
7	Haas	27
8	Toro Rosso	19
9	Sauber	13
10	Williams	4

2018 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2018 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	25 March
2	2018 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	8 April
3	2018 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	15 April
4	2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix	Baku City Circuit, Baku	29 April
5	2018 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	13 May
6	2018 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	27 May
7	2018 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	10 June
8	2018 French Grand Prix	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet	24 June
9	2018 Austrian Grand Prix	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	1 July
10	2018 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	8 July
11	2018 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	22 July
12	2018 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	29 July
13	2018 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	26 August
14	2018 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza	2 September
15	2018 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	16 September
16	2018 Russian Grand Prix	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	30 September
17	2018 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	7 October
18	2018 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	21 October
19	2018 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	28 October
20	2018 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	11 November
21	2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	25 November