Lewis Hamilton wins French Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel hopes hit by penalty

ByBen Snowball

Updated 24/06/2018 at 16:31 GMT

Lewis Hamilton dominated the French Grand Prix to take victory and leapfrog Sebastian Vettel in the drivers’ standings, with his Ferrari rival finishing fifth after a first lap collision and five-second penalty.

The four-time world champion entered the race weekend with a one-point deficit, but took a comfortable win for Mercedes ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikonnen.

Vettel’s hopes of victory vanished in the first corner after he was penalised for hitting Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

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Hamilton now leads the World Championship by 14 points ahead of next weekend’s race in Austria. The Briton has 145 and Vettel 131.

"Great work guys! I'm so happy for England as well," he said over the team radio, referring to England's 6-1 World Cup demolition of Panama. "It's a beautiful Sunday, everyone."

Podium, French Grand Prix

Image credit: Getty Images

Daniel Ricciardo was sandwiched between the Ferraris in fourth, with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and Bottas finishing sixth and seventh respectively.

Renault duo Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg took eighth and ninth, with Sauber’s Charles Leclerc capping a fine weekend by finishing 10th.

A late crash for Williams’ Lance Stroll ended any hopes of dramatic finish as the race concluded under a virtual safety car and double yellow flags.

Hamilton had never before won in France and his victory at Le Castellet, a southern circuit that last hosted Formula One in 1990, set a record for the most wins at different Grands Prix.

He had shared the record of 22 with retired seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher. He also extended his record of wins at different circuits to 26.

There was drama at the start as Hamilton and Bottas lined up on the front row with Vettel just behind in third.

Vettel and Bottas collided as they jostled for position, with the German handed a five-second penalty for causing the collision.

Screenshot of the incident between Vettel and Bottas

Image credit: Eurosport

The incident dropped both to the back of the field after pitstops while the safety car was deployed for four laps with debris scattered across the track from other accidents.

Two of the three French drivers retired on the spot, with Force India's Esteban Ocon and Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly the unlucky casualties.

Vettel returned to the pits for a new front wing while Bottas limped back on three wheels and a rim with the remains of the tyre flailing.

With additional reporting from Reuters

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