With Formula One’s French Grand Prix now in the books, we have a chance to look back on what was a surprisingly entertaining race and pick apart the fans’ choice for Driver of the Day. The race saw battles coming down right to the wire with the most notable being between Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
When it was all said and done, Verstappen found a way to edge out Hamilton on the penultimate lap of the race and took home the victory increasing his lead in the championship to 12 points. The race also saw Sergio Perez overtake Valtteri Bottas late to ensure a second Red Bull would stand on the podium, meaning they have increased their constructor’s championship lead to 37 points.
Fans thought that Verstappen’s drive was worth Driver of the Day, and there is certainly an argument to be made for that, but there is still someone potentially more deserving of the award. After starting P19 ahead of only Yuki Tsunoda who started in the pit lane after changing his gearbox, Lance Stroll led a charge through the field and found himself finishing in 10th and taking home a point.
Saturday was a difficult day at the track for Stroll after he had his first lap time deleted for exceeding track limits. He was unable to put in a lap time after he caught up to traffic and Tsunoda somehow found a way to red flag the session after crashing into the wall early in his lap. Everyone knew that it would be a difficult Sunday, and the memes were alive as ever for Stroll.
If there was one positive, it was the free choice of tire. Stroll and Aston Martin would start on the hard compound, something he also did in Azerbaijan before they failed, plunging him into the wall at high speed. Stroll started the race well picking up a couple of positions before heading to the pits for a set of mediums.
Stroll finished the race strong needing only one-stop while others came in for a second stop. It was a master class in tire management in what was a significant bounce-back for Stroll. Truly, he was deserving of winning Driver of the Day.
Stroll and Aston Martin’s next chance to score points will come next weekend when they head to Austria for the 2021 Styrian Grand Prix, the first of two consecutive races in Austria.