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Lewis Hamilton did it! The Briton won the 11th round of the season – the Eiffel Grand Prix and thus equaled legend Michael Schumacher in victories, both with 91 hits.
At the mythical Nurburgring, the world champion took control of the race after the elimination of his teammate Valteri Botas and since then he has not looked back, without giving a chance to Max Verstappen, who finished second.
Daniel Ricardo posted an excellent third place and brought Renault’s first podium after the Frenchman’s return as an independent team in Formula 1 a few years ago.
It was a great moment at the awards ceremony, when Michael’s son Mick Schumacher presented Hamilton with one of his father’s helmets, and the driver of the Mercedes was very touched by this.
Hamilton’s exit was better and he took the lead in the first corner putting pressure on Botas, who, however, accelerated better for the second corner and managed to regain the first position. There were no accidents in the past, as Antonio Giovinazzi managed to gain 3 positions and reach 11th place.
In the opening minutes, the Mercedes leaders began to exchange the fastest laps as Boots’s lead over Hamilton was about 1.6-1.8 seconds. A little behind was Verstappen, and Danny Ricardo pushed Charles Löckler for fourth place and overtook him on lap nine.
There was also information about a short rain, which made the situation even more unpredictable. Alex Alban was the first to enter the turn on the eighth lap and went down last.
Norris and Pérez also overtook Leclerc, who, losing speed, also changed his tires on the eleventh lap and fell behind, while team-mate Sebastian Vettel turned again, but managed to stay on the track and continue. Then he went through the pits and even put the hardest, hardest tires on.
On lap 13, Botas made a mistake by blocking the right front tire to stop at the first corner, off the track, and Hamilton took advantage to get ahead. Valteri was called for a change on lap 14, putting in a half, and in some places on the track it started to rain.
In his record 323 start, Kimi Raikkonen hit George Russell, who was subsequently eliminated, resulting in a virtual safety car, in which Hamilton and Verstappen logically went through the gearbox, returning to the top two. The Finn was punished for what happened shortly after.
This led to lap 18, when Botas lost power and lost several positions, returned to boxing and left the race due to injury. This cleared the way for Hamilton on the forehead, while Max was about 2-3 seconds behind him.
Esteban Ocon with Renault and Abex Alban with Red Bull withdrew, hoping to score good points. Lando Norris also complained of car problems after reaching third place. He went through the pits and continued the race, although at a somewhat slower speed. Hamilton led 5 seconds ahead of Max, but mid-race the gap rose to 8 seconds.
Löckler changed tires again and returned to the middle of the column, with the Alfa Romeo drivers in the top ten, but then losing ground. Danny Ricardo was third, but changed his tires early and Sergio Pérez was hoping to catch up.
Norris, logically, parked his McLaren aside on lap 44 and abandoned the race. This was followed by the launch of a safety car, which helped the leaders change their tires, of which Daniel Ricardo was most pleased. However, Pérez remained on the track and reached 3rd place, which he had to defend after the restart. One lap later, however, he decided to change his tires and lost time, but not position, finishing 4th.
The battle resumed 11 laps before the end, with Hamilton retaining his first place while Max started hesitantly but holding his position against Danny Ricardo, who was attacked by Pérez but remained third.
There were no surprises or changes until the end, as Lewis won his seventh win of the season. He boosted his assets to 230 points and is even closer to the title, as Botas was left with 161 and Max Verstappen with 147.
For Danny Ricardo, the podium was his first at Monaco 2018, as he finished fourth in the drivers’ standings. Sergio Pérez with Racing Point and Carlos Sainz with McLaren took good points, entering the top 5.
The top ten was completed by Pierre Gasley with Alpha Tauri, Charles Löckler with Ferrari, Nico Hulkenberg with the other pink car and after starting last, Romain Grosjean contributed 2 points to Haas and first for him this season, and Antonio Giovinazzi with Alfa Romeo se carried the last point. .
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