Welcome back to Tayla Talks. We’re back at Le Castellet for the French GP. If you missed it; a lot happened during this weekends Grand Prix, so let’s rip straight into it.
Strategy was a hot topic over the weekend, the tyres available between Scuderia Ferrari and Oracle RedBull Racing; no one really sure who would benefit from Mediums and Hards. Mattia Binotto (52) never properly claiming whether they’d be better off or not before the race – intriguing the audience. Especially with Carlos Sainz (27) starting from P19 at the back of the grid after a penalty from new components.
The 309.69km race took place in very warm weather, but it got off to a quick and eventful start. Charles Leclerc (24) reacted quickly against Max Verstappen (24) and Lewis Hamilton (37) as the lights went out, gaining a slight advantage. Yuki Tsunoda (23) spins on the opening lap, close misses taking place every which way.
As the race fires up, Leclerc opening his gap as we get into just under halfway, he spins off into barriers. The rear of the car loose, commentators wondering if it’s yet another Ferrari throttle issue. Tyre degradation clear as they begin to blister throughout the entire field – however eyebrows are raised at the mishap.
Verstappen appears on the radio, checking on his opponent after the 100mph hit. Respect is clear between the pair as they race for wins, remaining competitive.
More carnage takes place further down the grid with Mick Schumacher (23) being spun from contact with Zhou Guanyu (23).
Carlos Sainz fighting his way to P3 against Sergio Perez (33) when his team put out a command for a pitstop – confusion for Sainz as he races further up the grid, securing a podium. Horrid timing for the spaniard as he toughs it out to get the move done past the pit lane entry.
Sainz takes the pit stop a few laps later. Footage displays a sloppy stop by the team, problems and mishaps with putting the tyres on. The spaniard is handed a 5 second time penalty for unsafe release; later discovered due to a close call with a McLaren mechanic and another car travelling down pit lane. Unfortunate and messy.
A highly anticipated return of McLaren pace is devoured by fans. The new upgrades really boosting their performance as they battle it out with Alpine during the halfway mark – a notable pain for Fernando Alonso (40).
The track’s temp remained around 52 degrees celsius; adding some tyre grip but not siding with a few others on different compounds. Lap 39 saw a contact disaster for Kevin Magnessun (29) and Nicholas Latifi (27), the pair later retiring out of the race from damage.
Sainz takes his pitstop with ten laps to go, serving his penalty. The choice to come in greatly scrutinised by commentators, another eyebrow raising decision by the Italian team. The spaniard comes out in P9 instead of his former P3, practically giving away his podium result. Although he fought his way back up the field, reaching fifth place – just too far back behind the battle between George Russell (24) and Perez.
The race heats back up with an unfortunate virtual safety car; Zhou spinning off into barriers with a mere three laps to go. His Alpha Romeo handed a DNF as marshals made quick work of clearing the track. Mercedes-AMG Petronas’ George Russell pounces as the green flag comes out, overtaking Sergio Perez beautifully to obtain a P3. Lot’s of chatter about FIA timing with clearing the VSC, but no further action was taken.
The 53 lap race comes to a close with Max Verstappen taking the lead, Lewis Hamilton snagging his first P2 of the season with his teammate in tow.
Charles Leclerc took to the media after a while, explaining exactly what happened out on track. It was speculation of an uncommon driver error or throttle pedal issue, however the twenty-four year old Monegasque confirmed it was driver error.
He started off with confirmation of a mistake, stating ‘If we lose the championship by 32 points, I’ll know where they came from.’ A tough self assessment as he continues, ‘I was trying to push too much, lost the rear. I was struggling with the balance of the car, made a mistake at the wrong moment..’ which couldn’t have been easy to be that honest – admirable sportsmanship quality for starters.
He confirmed he speaks with a mind coach to help deal with pressure behind the wheel, and continues to help himself improve. A disappointing weekend for the young Scuderia Ferarri driver; it’s visibly taken a toll. He verbalised if he performs like he did, he does not deserve to win the championship.
Formula One is incredibly cut throat, it is beyond fast paced and full with massive highs and lows. As much as it’s disheartening to see athletes doubt their ability and whether or not they deserve to be contenders, it’s a great insight for fans to see the high stakes and pressure first hand. Hats off to the strength of being so honest, and a big congratulations to Mercedes-AMG drivers for securing decent points this weekend – a welcome change for many to see them back up at the front of the grid.
All in all, the French GP has had some mega, hard racing by all and some great results for a few teams that had recently been struggling to find the pace needed to properly contend for points.
What was your highlight of the Grand Prix? Comment below!
Until next time,
Tayla Talks.
Tayla Talks 
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