Summary of the French: Grouped shots and points
The French speakers moved up closely together as they occupy all the positions between the 9th and 12th place. Esteban Ocon and Charles Leclerc were able to score new points while Romain Grosjean made a great recovery.
On the starting grid, the last row was 100% tricolor as Pierre Gasly and Romain Grosjean were pushed to the back of the grid. The two men opted for a common strategy, stopping only very late to provide opportunities in case of a safety car. Unfortunately for them, it only came out on the first lap, which did not allow them to take advantage.
In the end, they finished wheel to wheel but just outside the points, in 11th and 12th positions. They had the same feeling after the race: satisfaction of having made a good comeback but disappointment at not being able to score points, as Romain Grosjean explains: « The performance is there this weekend. We tried a different strategy »
But before that, he managed to stay ahead of Esteban Ocon for several laps, as Ocon had already pitted. The entry into the pits for the Haas driver was eventful because the Sahara Force India driver cut in front of him, forcing him onto the grass: « He just pushed me onto the grass. There need to be explanations because I don’t understand how I can be pushed onto the grass at 300 km/h. »
On Esteban Ocon’s side, there wasn’t much to make a fuss about: « He was 20 seconds behind, we weren’t in the same race. There was no point in taking risks. I was just waiting for him to stop. » So it’s indeed the Pink Panther driver who finishes as the best of the French speakers, with a nice ninth place. But he couldn’t hide his disappointment at being overtaken by the two Renault drivers during their single pit stop: « I was able to resist the Renaults on the first lap. We pitted at the right time, I should have come out ahead of them but I lost a bit of time with the rear jack. That’s what cost us the race, we lost two places. »
In the midst of the French, there’s a Francophone who is getting used to scoring points alongside the Monegasque Charles Leclerc. He managed to score points for the third time, thanks to the tenth place: « Once again extremely happy! We had to manage the brakes and we didn’t want to have the same issues as in Monaco. Towards the end, we had a very good pace and managed to score a new point. » Previously, he saw Fernando Alonso overtake him during the pit stop, but he was able to take advantage of the Spaniard’s retirement to make it into the top 10.
As for the local racer, Lance Stroll, his race ended as early as the fifth corner when he made a mistake, sending Brendon Hartley into the safety barriers.
