French Grand Prix: Dominant Hamilton wins in another one-two finish for Mercedes

It was all plain sailing for Mercedes at Circuit Paul Ricard, where they never looked like missing out on another one-two.

Lewis Hamilton stormed to victory as Mercedes secured another one-two at an uneventful French Grand Prix.

The Formula One world championship leader led from pole to flag and eased to a fourth consecutive win - and his sixth of a dominant season.

Hamilton crossed the line 18 seconds ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas, taking another step towards retaining his title at Circuit Paul Ricard.

The five-time F1 champion got off to a slick start and continued to fly after switching from medium to hard tyres on lap 25 of 53 on a warm day in Le Castelle.

BREAKING: @LewisHamilton leads a Mercedes 1-2 at Le Castellet as Charles Leclerc takes the final podium spot for Ferrari.#FrenchGP#F1pic.twitter.com/x1b0WVPdtC

— Formula 1 (@F1) June 23, 2019

 

Charles Leclerc took third place in his homeland and his Ferrari colleague Sebastian Vettel crossed the line in fifth behind Max Verstappen after starting back in seventh spot.

Vettel was furious after a five-second penalty meant it was Hamilton rather than the German who won in Montreal last time out and it proved to be another frustrating Sunday for the Scuderia.

Carlos Sainz was sixth ahead of Renault's Daniel Ricciardo on a day that lacked fireworks after the drama in Canada, with Lando Norris dropping to 10th late in the race.