French GP: Hamilton on Pole, LeClerc Impresses
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Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton bagged pole position in the 2018 French GP at the Circuit Paul Ricard. The defending champion led a Mercedes 1-2 ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo in the other Red Bull rounded out the top 5 with Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari 6th.
One of the more astounding revelations was Alfa Romeo Sauber’s Charles LeClerc in 8th. He starts behind Renault’s Carlos Sainz Jr and ahead of both Haas drivers. Speaking of the Haas drivers, Romain Grosjean brought out the red flag after he spun and hit the barriers in Q3. Fortunately, the clock stopped with 7 minutes left, giving everyone plenty of time to improve their lap times. Despite the shunt, Grosjean is still the highest-starting local driver for tomorrow’s race.
Missing out on the top 10 are Esteban Ocon, Nico Hulkenberg, Sergio Perez, Pierre Gasly and Marcus Ericsson. Ocon and Hulkenberg were unlucky to just miss out on a Q3 position as the gap was less than a tenth.
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Filling up the final grid positions were the two McLarens of Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne, the 2 Williams of Sergey Sirotkin and Lance Stroll and Brendon Hartley. In the case of Hartley, he had to change a few engine parts and will receive a penalty.
There was a minor scare for several drivers as the heavens opened slightly, but most of them survived. Here is how Twitter reacted t the French GP qualifying session.
1/ Some observations. Based on his demeanor in recent interviews I think this will be @alo_oficial last season in F1 #F1 #FrenchGP #SkyF1
— Shawn (@Shawn_SG) June 23, 2018
Lewis looking back to his unbeatable best this weekend. Pole position number 75 in the bag 😎👊🏽🔥 #F1 #FrenchGP #TeamLH #LH44 pic.twitter.com/yy123dvjAD
— Dan McMahon ⚡↗ (@DanMcmahonF1) June 23, 2018
Dare I say I'm excited for the race tomorrow! So many unknowns and so many cars out of position! The new track helps with a new challenge! Roll on #FrenchGP!!#f1 #bbcf1 #skyf1 #AskCrofty #F1Live #F1tv
— F1 Fanboy (@f1_fan_boy) June 23, 2018
This qualifying only increased the feeling of inevitability surrounding Kimi's future with Ferrari. He is my favorite driver but seems to have lost his edge over the years and has let his team down for too long now. LeClerc seems to represent Ferrari's future now. #FrenchGP
— Karthik Venkataraman (@karthik_red) June 23, 2018
Raikkonen:"I was pretty disappointed with the end result.
That's how it is" #FrenchGP #F1— F1 Madness 🏁 (@F1_Madness) June 23, 2018
Yes! Get in!!! Awesome pole position for @LewisHamilton and a great 1-2 for @ValtteriBottas @MercedesAMGF1 Confident it can be a victory tomorrow. #FrenchGP #C4F1 🇫🇷
— Matt Smith (@MattSmith_44) June 23, 2018
The great thing about going off the road at Paul Ricard is that you never really go off the road…. you just take a slightly different track configuration 🙂 #FrenchGP
— Sean Kelly (@virtualstatman) June 23, 2018
Raikkonen out @ScuderiaFerrari please. Do you want constructors championship or not ? #FrenchGP
— Loïc (@lo_131) June 23, 2018
@LewisHamilton is on the pole for the #FrenchGP
In other news the sky is blue and water is wet. Pole #75 for the Brit!
— The Chanman® (@Chandlerbaker23) June 23, 2018
Another woeful qualifying from the once mighty @McLarenF1 & @WilliamsRacing teams. When I started watching #F1 these were the teams to beat. Really hope they both turn it around very soon. #FrenchGP
— The Pob (@Quemerford) June 23, 2018
Grosjean crashes. The Haas Garage: #bbcf1 #wtf1 pic.twitter.com/vDHgGFincQ
— The Poon Pingu Possy (@Lothian_Viking) June 23, 2018
Can @HaasF1Team replace Grosjean w/Leclerc before race tomorrow?
— Ryan Ashby (@RyanInAuburn) June 23, 2018
Is it me or is Grojean WORSE than Maldonado?#FrenchGP #F1 #Quali #TeamLH #
— Tasha Burgess -Tash44 (@NatashaBurges10) June 23, 2018
lol no one's as bad as Maldonado but Grosjean is certainly in one of the biggest career freefalls I've ever seen & I'm including the VW & Audi bosses in that (Maldonado peaked in the junior formula so had no where to fall).
— David Walton (@sandrock30) June 23, 2018
https://twitter.com/DavidePizzetti/status/1010549488002457605
https://twitter.com/raunaqsingh11/status/1010549448999653376
https://twitter.com/Nack5513/status/1010549369144164352
https://twitter.com/realguy567/status/1010549131742507009
Alonso and McLaren a complete joke, Grosjean crashes, Max beats Dan and Lewis on pole. Normal Qualifying session really.
— Leo (@FastNLoud44) June 23, 2018
Get LeClerc in a Ferrari now.
— Tom97 | FA Racing (@Tom97HD) June 23, 2018
Leclerc starts P8 in a Sauber Alfa Romeo. Madness. #F1 #FrenchGP
— Aarav (@_aarava) June 23, 2018
I'm gonna jump on the Leclerc bandwagon while there's still room.
— Pablo Elizalde (@EliGP) June 23, 2018
Leclerc about to start P9 at least! pic.twitter.com/YUoPX5q06g
— Tom97 | FA Racing (@Tom97HD) June 23, 2018
Remember when some said Leclerc would be under huge pressure after the Ferrari rumors. He delivered a Q3 as a respond 😎
— tami. (@Vetteleclerc) June 23, 2018
We've talked rather a lot about Leclerc during this qualifying but his P8 is three tenths up on Magnussen's Haas, despite the American team having had a fairly speedy weekend. Best-of-the-rest Sainz five tenths further ahead.
— RaceFans Live (@racefanslive) June 23, 2018
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Wow. @Charles_Leclerc, you are an absolute STAR. Of course I’m gutted for @OconEsteban, but this is a special moment. Charles, you are making history. Your dad would be so proud. #F1
— Reagan Mackenzie (@reaganpeet) June 23, 2018
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Today is a prime example of why @ScuderiaFerrari are thinking of replacing #kimi with @Charles_Leclerc he is clearly a very gifted guy and kimi just seems to be treading water at the moment!
— Andy (@andyroberts82) June 23, 2018
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