2019 French Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Lewis Hamilton delivered a dominant performance at the 2019 French Grand Prix, leading every lap at Circuit Paul Ricard. Valtteri Bottas completed another Mercedes one-two, while a frantic final-lap midfield battle ensured the finishing order still needed attention after the flag.

Pole position
Driver	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Time	1:28.319
Fastest lap
Driver	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari
Time	1:32.740 on lap 53
Podium
First	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Second	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes
Third	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
21 June 2019	Practice 1	11:00 – 12:30
21 June 2019	Practice 2	15:00 – 16:30
22 June 2019	Practice 3	12:00 – 13:00
22 June 2019	Qualifying	15:00 – 16:00
23 June 2019	Race	15:10

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

Championship background

Hamilton held a 29-point advantage over Bottas following Canada. Ferrari had been closer in Montreal, but the long corners and technical demands of Circuit Paul Ricard posed a different challenge. Mercedes arrived with seven wins from seven races.

Race entries

All 20 regular race drivers were entered. Nicholas Latifi took part in FP1 for Williams in place of George Russell, with Russell returning for the remaining sessions.

Free Practice

Lewis Hamilton led FP1 with a 1:32.738, just ahead of Valtteri Bottas. Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel followed as the leading teams began work in hot conditions.

Bottas took over in FP2 with a 1:30.937, ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc. Hamilton was investigated after rejoining near Max Verstappen following an off-track moment, but no penalty followed.

Bottas also led FP3, setting a 1:30.159 and beating Hamilton by 0.041 seconds. Leclerc remained the closest Ferrari challenger in third.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2019 French Grand Prix FP1, 21 June 2019

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:32.738	21
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.069s	20
3	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.373s	21
4	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.880s	20
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1.052s	22
6	10	Pierre Gasly	Red Bull Racing	+1.353s	20
7	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	+1.372s	23
8	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	+1.523s	26
9	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	+1.802s	18
10	23	Alexander Albon	Toro Rosso	+2.066s	25
11	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	+2.071s	21
12	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+2.072s	25
13	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	+2.325s	22
14	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	+2.588s	24
15	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+2.672s	19
16	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	+2.784s	22
17	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	+3.364s	22
18	40	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	+4.409s	25
19	88	Robert Kubica	Williams	+4.434s	27
20	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+4.882s	9

Free Practice 2 Classification

2019 French Grand Prix FP2, 21 June 2019

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:30.937	34
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.424s	25
3	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.649s	31
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.728s	32
5	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	+0.945s	31
6	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+1.112s	29
7	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	+1.495s	27
8	10	Pierre Gasly	Red Bull Racing	+1.511s	29
9	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.740s	34
10	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.852s	30
11	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	+2.036s	34
12	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	+2.083s	34
13	23	Alexander Albon	Toro Rosso	+2.086s	35
14	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+2.144s	32
15	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	+2.317s	37
16	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	+2.363s	30
17	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.654s	27
18	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	+2.947s	32
19	63	George Russell	Williams	+3.677s	33
20	88	Robert Kubica	Williams	+4.258s	32

Free Practice 3 Classification

2019 French Grand Prix FP3, 22 June 2019

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:30.159	18
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.041s	15
3	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.446s	15
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.474s	13
5	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+1.379s	11
6	10	Pierre Gasly	Red Bull Racing	+1.440s	14
7	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	+1.495s	14
8	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	+1.643s	12
9	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	+1.728s	14
10	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.784s	16
11	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+1.864s	15
12	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	+2.012s	15
13	23	Alexander Albon	Toro Rosso	+2.019s	16
14	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.226s	15
15	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+2.241s	13
16	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	+2.332s	15
17	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	+2.381s	22
18	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	+2.519s	14
19	88	Robert Kubica	Williams	+3.743s	21
20	63	George Russell	Williams	+9.828s	4

Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton secured pole with a 1:28.319, comfortably ahead of Valtteri Bottas. Charles Leclerc qualified third and Max Verstappen fourth, while Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz gave McLaren an encouraging fifth and sixth.

Sebastian Vettel could manage only seventh after a difficult final session, leaving Ferrari‘s drivers on different rows. Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly and Antonio Giovinazzi completed the top ten.

Qualifying Classification

2019 French Grand Prix Qualifying, 22 June 2019

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:30.609	1:29.520	1:28.319	20
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:30.550	1:29.437	1:28.605	19
3	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:30.647	1:29.699	1:28.965	19
4	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:31.327	1:30.099	1:29.409	19
5	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:30.989	1:30.019	1:29.418	21
6	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	1:31.073	1:30.319	1:29.522	21
7	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:31.075	1:29.506	1:29.799	19
8	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	1:30.954	1:30.369	1:29.918	20
9	10	Pierre Gasly	Red Bull Racing	1:31.152	1:30.421	1:30.184	19
10	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	1:31.180	1:30.408	1:33.420	17
11	23	Alexander Albon	Toro Rosso	1:31.445	1:30.461	—	14
12	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	1:30.972	1:30.533	—	14
13	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	1:30.865	1:30.544	—	15
14	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	1:30.964	1:30.738	—	15
15	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:31.166	1:31.440	—	17
16	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	1:31.564	—	—	6
17	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:31.626	—	—	9
18	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	1:31.726	—	—	9
19	63	George Russell	Williams	1:32.789	—	—	8
20	88	Robert Kubica	Williams	1:33.205	—	—	8

Daniil Kvyat and George Russell were required to start from back of grid for exceeding their quotas of power unit components.

What happened in the 2019 French Grand Prix?

Lewis Hamilton made a clean start and immediately took control. Valtteri Bottas held second, while Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen retained third and fourth. Carlos Sainz moved ahead of Lando Norris and briefly challenged the cars in front before the leading group pulled away.

Sebastian Vettel passed both McLarens to reach fifth, but could not make sufficient progress against Verstappen. Ferrari extended his opening stint in search of an opportunity, yet the leading order remained unchanged through the main pit-stop cycle.

Hamilton steadily increased his advantage over Bottas. Even concerns about tyre feel and a seat issue did not disrupt his pace, and he reached the finish more than 18 seconds clear. Leclerc closed on Bottas late in the race but could not take second.

With fifth secure, Vettel stopped for fresh soft tyres and set fastest lap on the final tour. Sainz finished sixth, giving McLaren a strong result, but Norris’s afternoon became increasingly difficult as a hydraulic problem affected his car.

Norris tried to defend against Daniel Ricciardo on the final lap, but their battle opened the door to Kimi Räikkönen and Nico Hülkenberg. Ricciardo ran off the track during the sequence and received two separate five-second penalties after the finish.

Those penalties moved Ricciardo from seventh on the road to 11th in the official result. Räikkönen took seventh, Hülkenberg eighth, Norris ninth and Gasly tenth. Romain Grosjean was the race’s only retirement.

Hamilton’s sixth victory in eight races stretched his championship lead to 36 points. Mercedes remained unbeaten, while McLaren‘s qualifying speed and double-points finish offered a more encouraging outlook for the team behind the leading three constructors.

2019 French Grand Prix race results

The 2019 French Grand Prix was held on 23 June 2019, with a scheduled start of 15:10 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	53	1:24:31.198	25
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	53	+18.056s	18
3	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	53	+18.985s	15
4	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	53	+34.905s	12
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	53	+62.796s	11
6	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	53	+95.462s	8
7	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	52	+1 lap	6
8	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	52	+1 lap	4
9	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	52	+1 lap	2
10	10	Pierre Gasly	Red Bull Racing	52	+1 lap	1
11	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	52	+1 lap	0
12	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	52	+1 lap	0
13	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	52	+1 lap	0
14	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	52	+1 lap	0
15	23	Alexander Albon	Toro Rosso	52	+1 lap	0
16	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	52	+1 lap	0
17	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	52	+1 lap	0
18	88	Robert Kubica	Williams	51	+2 laps	0
19	63	George Russell	Williams	51	+2 laps	0
Ret	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	44	Retired	0

Sebastian Vettel earned the additional point for fastest lap.

Daniel Ricciardo finished 7th, but received two 5-second time penalties, the first for gaining an advantage by leaving the track limits and the second for failing to rejoin the track safely.

2019 French Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	53	16:38:59	1:32.740	226.775
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	53	16:37:56	1:32.764	226.717
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	43	16:22:14	1:33.586	224.725
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	40	16:17:39	1:33.828	224.146
5	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	38	16:14:37	1:34.162	223.351
6	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	52	16:37:55	1:34.561	222.408
7	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	45	16:26:47	1:34.754	221.955
8	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	47	16:29:52	1:34.873	221.677
9	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	44	16:25:21	1:34.924	221.558
10	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	46	16:28:21	1:34.950	221.497
11	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	42	16:22:06	1:35.014	221.348
12	23	Alexander Albon	Toro Rosso	51	16:36:59	1:35.029	221.313
13	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	50	16:35:41	1:35.115	221.113
14	10	Pierre Gasly	Red Bull Racing	42	16:22:04	1:35.150	221.032
15	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	47	16:29:50	1:35.197	220.922
16	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	43	16:23:59	1:35.225	220.857
17	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	42	16:22:35	1:35.691	219.782
18	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	50	16:35:40	1:35.692	219.780
19	63	George Russell	Williams	51	16:38:38	1:35.830	219.463
20	88	Robert Kubica	Williams	50	16:36:52	1:36.608	217.696

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear in this table. Time of Day is local time; average speeds are in km/h.

2019 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings for drivers and teams after the 2019 French Grand Prix.

2019 Post-Race F1 Drivers’ Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Mercedes	187
2	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Mercedes	151
3	Sebastian Vettel	GER	Ferrari	111
4	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing	100
5	Charles Leclerc	MON	Ferrari	87
6	Pierre Gasly	FRA	Red Bull Racing	37
7	Carlos Sainz	ESP	McLaren	26
8	Kimi Räikkönen	FIN	Alfa Romeo Racing	19
9	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	Renault	16
10	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Renault	16
11	Kevin Magnussen	DEN	Haas	14
12	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren	14
13	Sergio Perez	MEX	Racing Point	13
14	Daniil Kvyat	RUS	Toro Rosso	10
15	Alexander Albon	THA	Toro Rosso	7
16	Lance Stroll	CAN	Racing Point	6
17	Romain Grosjean	FRA	Haas	2
18	Antonio Giovinazzi	ITA	Alfa Romeo Racing	0
19	George Russell	GBR	Williams	0
20	Robert Kubica	POL	Williams	0

2019 Post-Race F1 Constructors’ Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	338
2	Ferrari	198
3	Red Bull Racing	137
4	McLaren	40
5	Renault	32
6	Racing Point	19
7	Alfa Romeo Racing	19
8	Toro Rosso	17
9	Haas	16
10	Williams	0

2019 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2019 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit , Melbourne	17 March
2	2019 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	31 March
3	2019 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	14 April
4	2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix	Baku City Circuit, Baku	28 April
5	2019 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	12 May
6	2019 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco , Monte Carlo	26 May
7	2019 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles Villeneuve , Montréal	9 June
8	2019 French Grand Prix	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet	23 June
9	2019 Austrian Grand Prix	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	30 June
10	2019 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit , Silverstone	14 July
11	2019 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	28 July
12	2019 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring , Mogyoród	4 August
13	2019 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	1 September
14	2019 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza , Monza	8 September
15	2019 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	22 September
16	2019 Russian Grand Prix	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	29 September
17	2019 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	13 October
18	2019 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	27 October
19	2019 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	3 November
20	2019 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace , São Paulo	17 November
21	2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	1 December