French Grand Prix: Race Recap

Schumacher started from 17th position on Pirelli P Zero Yellow medium tires and gained places to hold 14th through the first stint. Schumacher came in on lap 10 for White hard tires, emerging at the back of the train, before making a second stop for the same compound on lap 19, during a safety car stint caused by Charles Leclerc’s accident.

Shortly after the restart Schumacher was spun through turn 11 after contact from Zhou Guanyu, for which the Alfa Romeo driver was penalized. Schumacher recovered to the track and was eventually classified in 15th spot.

Magnussen qualified in 10th place but was demoted to 20th position on the grid due to taking on fresh engine components. From there Magnussen made a strong getaway on mediums, climbing up to 14th position, before capturing another couple of positions in the early stages.

Magnussen pitted on lap 9 for hard tires and came in once more for another set of the hard compound during the safety car period caused by Leclerc’s accident. Magnussen returned on track in the lower segment of the midfield but was unfortunately involved in a collision with Nicholas Latifi at Turn 2 on lap 38. Magnussen boxed at the end of the lap to retire the car. 

Up front Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen claimed his seventh victory of the season, ahead of Mercedes AMG drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. 

Haas F1 Team occupies seventh place in the constructors’ championship with 34 points.

Kevin Magnussen, Driver No. 20, Haas F1 Team

“We gave it our best and I tried very hard today, made some good moves, but at the end of the day, the degradation on the tires was too high. The car was great at the beginning of the stints and our pace was fantastic as we saw yesterday in qualifying as well. For some reason we had a lot of degradation and that’s why we couldn’t really fight today.”

Mick Schumacher, Driver No. 47, Haas F1 Team 

“We had a difficult start on the medium tire, it didn’t really work as well as we imagined. We knew it was going to be tough, so we came in early but unfortunately there was a safety car, which meant for a lot of people it was a free stop essentially. With a pitlane like we have here, the difference is quite big, so we were quite far behind and then we had contact with Zhou. Overall, it was quite tough but we learned some things and hopefully we have a better weekend in Budapest.”

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal, Haas F1 Team

“It was all going to plan until the Safety Car came out and it all went down hill from there. The strategy team did a fantastic job to predict what the tires would do because they did exactly what was predicted. The Safety Car came out and we had to go, change the tire too early because we were on a two-stop and all the other cars on a one-stop got a free stop, so what can you do. The car once again showed that it’s fast, we just need to regroup and hope that we don’t get unlucky – I don’t even ask for luck!” 

Today's Data

Event: French Grand Prix – Sunday July 24
Location: Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet
Layout: 5.842-kilometer (3.630-mile), 15-turn circuit
Weather: Sunny
Air Temps: 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit)
Track Temps: 55 degrees Celsius (131 degrees Fahrenheit)
Race Winner: Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing
Team Result:
Mick Schumacher – Started 17th / Finished 15th (Running – completed 53/53 laps)
Kevin Magnussen – Started 20th / DNF (Retirement – completed 37/53 laps)