2021 French Grand Prix

The 2021 French Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Emirates Grand Prix de France 2021) was the seventh race of the 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship, held at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, France between June 18 and June 20 2021.
Max Verstappen took pole position and won the race for , despite running wide at the first lap allowing Lewis Hamilton into the lead, but retook the lead with two laps remaining on a two-stop strategy. Hamilton came in second while Sergio Pérez passed Valtteri Bottas for third as had to deal with tire wear issues.
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==Background==
The previous running of the French Grand Prix was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the race was reinstated into the 2021 calendarF1.com: Formula 1 announces provisional 23-race calendar for 2021. The race was then brought forward a week earlier from its scheduled date, following the cancelation of the Turkish Grand Prix that was supposed to replace the canceled Canadian Grand PrixF1.com: 2021 F1 calendar reshuffled, as Turkey drops off and extra Austria race added.
Heading into the race weekend, Max Verstappen retained his lead ahead of rival Lewis Hamilton by 4 points, both failing to score from the previous round in Baku. Sergio Perez' win with Mercedes' failure to score extended Red Bull's lead to 26 points.
A major topic discussed were the tire failures that caused Lance Stroll and Verstappen's retirements during the Baku round. Pirelli has launched an investigation and found that they were due to a "circumferential break on the inner sidewall which can be related to the running conditions of the tire". Mercedes also made modifications to the steering following Hamilton's mistake on pressing the "magic button" during the race restart to prevent a repeat.
Ahead of the race weekend, it was announced that Romain Grosjean would be participating in a test session for on June 29. The former driver, who was unable to race for the last two races of 2020 following a horrific crash at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, would also be conducting some demonstration laps with the team as well on the race weekendF1.com: Romain Grosjean to make fairy-tale return to F1 with special one-off Mercedes test. The rescheduling of the calendar meant that Grosjean would be unable to perform the demonstration laps as it clashes with an IndyCar weekend, but Mercedes have stated that the test would go ahead as planned on the dateMotorsport.com: Grosjean's F1 test to go ahead despite French GP date change. The test session was postponed yet again due to travel restrictions.
Ahead of the weekend it was also announced that Esteban Ocon had extended his contract with for another three years until 2024. Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas has again rubbished rumors that he would be replaced mid-season. meanwhile ran tributes on their cars to honor longtime shareholder Mansour Ojjeh, who passed away the morning of the previous round.
===Entry List===
The full entry list for the is outlined below:
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	McLaren F1 Team 	 	MCL35M 	 	M12 1.6 V6t 	
4 	Lando Norris 	McLaren F1 Team 	 	MCL35M 	 	M12 1.6 V6t 	
5 	Sebastian Vettel 	Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team 	 	AMR21 	 	M12 1.6 V6t 	
6 	Nicholas Latifi 	Williams Racing 	 	FW43B 	 	M12 1.6 V6t 	
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN 	 	C41 	 	065/6 1.6 V6t 	
9 	Nikita Mazepin 	Uralkali Haas F1 Team 	 	VF-21 	 	065/6 1.6 V6t 	
10 	Pierre Gasly 	Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 	 	AT02 	 	RA621H 1.6 V6t 	
11 	Sergio Pérez 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB16B 	 	RA621H 1.6 V6t 	
14 	Fernando Alonso 	Alpine F1 Team 	 	A521 	 	E-Tech 21 1.6 V6t 	
16 	Charles Leclerc 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	SF21 	 	065/6 1.6 V6t 	
18 	Lance Stroll 	Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team 	 	AMR21 	 	M12 1.6 V6t 	
22 	Yuki Tsunoda 	Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 	 	AT02 	 	RA621H 1.6 V6t 	
31 	Esteban Ocon 	Alpine F1 Team 	 	A521 	 	E-Tech 21 1.6 V6t 	
33 	Max Verstappen 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB16B 	 	RA621H 1.6 V6t 	
44 	Lewis Hamilton 	Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team 	 	F1 W12 	 	M12 1.6 V6t 	
47 	Mick Schumacher 	Uralkali Haas F1 Team 	 	VF-21 	 	065/6 1.6 V6t 	
55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	SF21 	 	065/6 1.6 V6t 	
63 	George Russell 	Williams Racing 	 	FW43B 	 	M12 1.6 V6t 	
77 	Valtteri Bottas 	Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team 	 	F1 W12 	 	M12 1.6 V6t 	
99 	Antonio Giovinazzi 	Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN 	 	C41 	 	065/6 1.6 V6t 	
Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only
45 	Roy Nissany 	Williams Racing 	 	FW43B 	 	M12 1.6 V6t 	
Source: - French Grand Prix Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source: - French Grand Prix Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source: - French Grand Prix Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source: - French Grand Prix Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source: - French Grand Prix Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source: - French Grand Prix Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source: - French Grand Prix Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source: - French Grand Prix Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.
==Practice Overview==
The full practice results for the are outlined below:
No. 	Driver 	Team 	FP1 	FP1 	FP2 	FP2 	FP3 	FP3
No. 	Driver 	Team 	Time 	Pos 	Time 	Pos 	Time 	Pos
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	1:34.644 	6 	1:34.079 	14 	1:32.759 	10
4 	Lando Norris 	 	1:34.707 	9 	1:33.822 	10 	1:32.336 	6
5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	1:35.289 	15 	1:34.447 	15 	1:33.200 	14
6 	Nicholas Latifi 	 	1:35.612 	17 	1:35.331 	18 	1:33.584 	18
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	1:35.135 	13 	1:33.786 	9 	1:33.328 	15
9 	Nikita Mazepin 	 	1:36.651 	18 	1:35.551 	20 	1:34.642 	20
10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	1:34.699 	8 	1:33.696 	7 	1:32.707 	9
11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	1:34.193 	4 	1:33.921 	12 	1:32.238 	4
14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	1:34.693 	7 	1:33.340 	4 	1:32.624 	7
16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	1:34.950 	11 	1:33.550 	5 	1:32.820 	11
18 	Lance Stroll 	 	1:35.275 	14 	1:34.632 	16 	1:33.051 	13
22 	Yuki Tsunoda 	 	1:34.847 	10 	1:33.955 	13 	1:33.424 	17
31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	1:34.329 	5 	1:33.685 	6 	1:32.681 	8
33 	Max Verstappen 	 	1:33.880 	3 	1:32.872 	1 	1:31.300 	1
44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	1:33.783 	2 	1:33.125 	3 	1:32.266 	5
45 	Roy Nissany 	Williams Racing 	1:37.881 	20 	 	 	 	
47 	Mick Schumacher 	 	1:37.329 	19 	1:35.512 	19 	1:34.143 	19
55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	 	1:35.342 	16 	1:33.698 	8 	1:32.195 	3
63 	George Russell 	 	 	 	1:35.266 	17 	1:33.364 	16
77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	1:33.448 	1 	1:32.880 	2 	1:32.047 	2
99 	Antonio Giovinazzi 	 	1:35.116 	12 	1:33.831 	11 	1:33.017 	12
Source: %20-%20P1%20Classification.pdf - FP1 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P2%20Classification.pdf - FP2 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P3%20Classification.pdf - FP3 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source: %20-%20P1%20Classification.pdf - FP1 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P2%20Classification.pdf - FP2 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P3%20Classification.pdf - FP3 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source: %20-%20P1%20Classification.pdf - FP1 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P2%20Classification.pdf - FP2 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P3%20Classification.pdf - FP3 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source: %20-%20P1%20Classification.pdf - FP1 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P2%20Classification.pdf - FP2 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P3%20Classification.pdf - FP3 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source: %20-%20P1%20Classification.pdf - FP1 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P2%20Classification.pdf - FP2 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P3%20Classification.pdf - FP3 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source: %20-%20P1%20Classification.pdf - FP1 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P2%20Classification.pdf - FP2 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P3%20Classification.pdf - FP3 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source: %20-%20P1%20Classification.pdf - FP1 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P2%20Classification.pdf - FP2 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P3%20Classification.pdf - FP3 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source: %20-%20P1%20Classification.pdf - FP1 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P2%20Classification.pdf - FP2 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P3%20Classification.pdf - FP3 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source: %20-%20P1%20Classification.pdf - FP1 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P2%20Classification.pdf - FP2 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P3%20Classification.pdf - FP3 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.
==Qualifying==
===Q1===
Tsunoda spun and crashed into the wall in Turn 1, stopping the session just minutes after it started. The session ended early with Schumacher, who had managed to qualify into Q2 for the first time in his career, spun and collided with the barriers at Turn 6. Tsunoda thus joined Latifi, Raikkonen, Mazepin and Stroll out of Q1, with Stroll failing to set a lap time due to Schumacher's crash, having his earlier run deleted for track limits violations.
===Q2===
Bottas ended the session fastest. Out in Q2 were Ocon, Vettel, Giovinazzi, Russell and Schumacher, who set no time due to his accident earlier.
===Q3===
Verstappen took his fifth career pole, with Hamilton and Bottas splitting him and Red Bull team-mate Perez.
===Qualifying Results===
The full qualifying results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Q1 	Q1 	 	Q2 	Q2 	 	Q3 	Q3 	Grid
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Pos. 	Time 	 	Pos. 	Time 	 	Pos. 	Time 	Grid
1 	33 	Max Verstappen 	 	 	1 	1:31.001 	 	4 	1:31.080 	 	1 	1:29.990 	1
2 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	 	2 	1:31.237 	 	2 	1:30.788 	 	2 	1:30.248 	2
3 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	 	4 	1:31.669 	 	1 	1:30.735 	 	3 	1:30.376 	3
4 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	 	3 	1:31.560 	 	3 	1:30.971 	 	4 	1:30.445 	4
5 	55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	 	 	7 	1:32.079 	 	5 	1:31.146 	 	5 	1:30.840 	5
6 	10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	 	6 	1:31.898 	 	6 	1:31.353 	 	6 	1:30.868 	6
7 	16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	 	12 	1:32.209 	 	9 	1:31.567 	 	7 	1:30.987 	7
8 	4 	Lando Norris 	 	 	5 	1:31.733 	 	7 	1:31.542 	 	8 	1:31.252 	8
9 	14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	 	10 	1:32.158 	 	8 	1:31.549 	 	9 	1:31.340 	9
10 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	 	11 	1:32.181 	 	10 	1:31.615 	 	10 	1:31.382 	10
11 	31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	 	9 	1:32.139 	 	11 	1:31.736 	 	 	 	11
12 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	 	8 	1:32.132 	 	12 	1:31.767 	 	 	 	12
13 	99 	Antonio Giovinazzi 	 	 	13 	1:32.722 	 	13 	1:31.813 	 	 	 	13
14 	63 	George Russell 	 	 	15 	1:33.060 	 	14 	1:32.065 	 	 	 	14
15 	47 	Mick Schumacher 	 	 	14 	1:32.942 	 	NC 	—* 	 	 	 	15
16 	6 	Nicholas Latifi 	 	 	16 	1:33.062 	 	 	 	 	 	 	16
17 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	 	17 	1:33.354 	 	 	 	 	 	 	17
18 	9 	Nikita Mazepin 	 	 	18 	1:33.554 	 	 	 	 	 	 	18
107% time: 1:37.371 	107% time: 1:37.371 	107% time: 1:37.371 	107% time: 1:37.371 	107% time: 1:37.371 	107% time: 1:37.371 	107% time: 1:37.371 	107% time: 1:37.371 	107% time: 1:37.371 	107% time: 1:37.371 	107% time: 1:37.371 	107% time: 1:37.371 	107% time: 1:37.371 	107% time: 1:37.371
NC 	18 	Lance Stroll 	 	 	NC 	2:12.584 	 	 	 	 	 	 	19†
NC 	22 	Yuki Tsunoda 	 	 	NC 	— 	 	 	 	 	 	 	PL‡
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*Bold indicates the fastest driver's time in each session.
** Schumacher did not set a lap time in Q2, following car damage after a collision at the end of Q1.
* † Stroll's initial lap time was deleted for track limits violations. He then failed to improve his lap time due to Schumacher's accident at the end of the session.
*‡ Tsunoda did not set a lap time after crashing his car before setting a lap time. He started the race from the pit lane after making a gearbox change.
===Grid===
The starting grid of the feature race of the is outined below:
Show Grid
** Note - Stroll and Tsunoda failed to set a time within the Q1 107% requirement - race at stewards' discretion. Tsunoda penalised five grid places for an unscheduled gearbox change and required to start from the pit lane, as car modified whilst under Parc Ferme conditions.
==Race==
===Report===
===Results===
The full results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor	Laps 	Time/Retired	Grid 	Points
1 	33 	Max Verstappen 	 	53 	1:27:25.770 	1 	25
2 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	53 	+2.904 	2 	18
3 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	53 	+8.811 	4 	15
4 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	53 	+14.618 	3 	12
5 	4 	Lando Norris 	 	53 	+1:04.032 	8 	10
6 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	53 	+1:15.857 	10 	8
7 	10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	53 	+1:16.596 	6 	6
8 	14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	53 	+1:17.695 	9 	4
9 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	53 	+1:19.666 	12 	2
10 	18 	Lance Stroll 	 	53 	+1:31.946 	19 	1
11 	55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	 	53 	+1:39.337 	5 	
12 	63 	George Russell 	 	52 	+1 lap 	14 	
13 	22 	Yuki Tsunoda 	 	52 	+1 lap 	PL 	
14 	31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	52 	+1 lap 	11 	
15 	99 	Antonio Giovinazzi	 	52 	+1 lap 	13 	
16 	16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	52 	+1 lap 	7 	
17 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	52 	+1 lap 	17 	
18 	6 	Nicholas Latifi 	 	52 	+1 lap 	16 	
19 	47 	Mick Schumacher 	 	52 	+1 lap 	15 	
20 	9 	Nikita Mazepin 	 	52 	+1 lap 	18 	
Source:	Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source:
==Milestones== 
*Fifth career pole position, 13th career win and first hat trick for Max Verstappen.
*250th pole for a car running on Pirelli tires.
==Standings==
Verstappen extended his lead ahead of Hamilton to 12 points, with both title rivals having tied with the same amount of wins they had so far in the season. While Red Bull extended the constructors' championship lead from Mercedes by 11 points from the double podium, both Ferraris failed to score, hence McLaren retook third in the constructors' standings, while Bottas got back ahead of Leclerc.
Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts 	+/-
1 	Max Verstappen 	131 	
2 	Lewis Hamilton 	119 	
3 	Sergio Pérez 	84 	
4 	Lando Norris 	76 	
5 	Valtteri Bottas 	59 	1
6 	Charles Leclerc 	52 	1
7 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	42 	
8 	Pierre Gasly 	37 	
9 	Daniel Ricciardo 	34 	1
10 	Sebastian Vettel 	30 	1
11 	Fernando Alonso 	17 	
12 	Esteban Ocon 	12 	
13 	Lance Stroll 	10 	
14 	Yuki Tsunoda 	8 	
15 	Kimi Räikkönen 	1 	
16 	Antonio Giovinazzi 	1 	
Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship
Pos. 	Team 	Pts 	+/-
1 	 	215 	
2 	 	178 	
3 	 	110 	1
4 	 	94 	1
5 	 	45 	
6 	 	40 	
7 	 	29 	
8 	 	2 	
Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.
== References==
Images and Videos:
*
References:
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:2021 Formula One Season
Category:2021 Grands Prix