Chapter 459 - 2021 French Grand Prix | Race IV

{He needs to give that position back.} Max immediately got on the radio when he saw Fatih was ahead of him by the end of the straight.

{We are reporting it.} GP got on the radio as he tried to calm Max down.

Max, not happy, followed Fatih, who was a short distance away, a full second and some ahead of him, through the third sector.

{Try to close the gap to Max. Fatih should be giving the position back soon,} Bono informed Hamilton so that when Fatih gave the position back, if he was close enough, he would be able to take that position as well.

Hamilton didn’t answer, but he pressed the pit OK button to show that he had received the suggestion.

{Fatih, we need to give the position back.} James reached out to Fatih, advising him to return the position, knowing a five-, if not ten-second, time penalty was coming his way if he didn’t give it back.

{He pushed me off deliberately, but I have to give it back?} Fatih complained on the radio despite knowing he didn’t have a case according to the rules. Not doing anything would be foolish on his part in his attempt to buy more time, and he also wanted something to be made clear so that it could not be used against him later.

{I know it is unfair, but the rules side with him,} James said, unaware of this and worried that an angry Fatih was definitely not planning on giving the position back and might receive a penalty, killing any chances of him finishing on the podium.

{So we can now push people off the track legally?} Fatih finally asked the question that he wanted to be answered clearly.

{That is how the rules are written. Fatih, let’s give that position back, please,} James said as he tried to get Fatih to listen to avoid a penalty.

During this whole conversation, Fatih had already arrived at the exit of Turn 12, and as they went through the wide Turn 13, Fatih slowed down strategically while staying on the inside line, letting Verstappen close the gap very fast. Since he was hogging the inside line, Verstappen was forced to take the dirty outside line that was filled with tire marbles from all the cars’ discarded rubber.

Before Verstappen passed him, he returned to full throttle, knowing that the speed difference was going to let Verstappen through anyway. If he had waited until Verstappen passed to return to full throttle, Hamilton would have benefited and passed him as well.

It worked perfectly, as he managed to slot himself behind Verstappen immediately as they started going through Turn 14 and followed through Turn 15. Verstappen had a slight oversteer from the marbles Fatih had forced his tires to collect by sending him onto the dirty side of the road. He managed to counter-steer in time, but he lost a tenth to Fatih.

Having given the position back in Turn13 meant Fatih crossed the DRS detection line at the start of Turn 14 while behind Verstappen, giving him DRS on the main straight.

While tucked behind Verstappen and gaining through the slipstream, he opened the DRS as he started chasing Verstappen, who was driving in an S-line to try and break the tow for both Fatih and Hamilton, who also had DRS behind Fatih while getting a double tow.

............

David Croft: "Fatih sends Verstappen the long way around, but he gives back the position and does so just before the DRS detection marker. Hamilton, who had been trying to close the gap, fails to capitalize on it as the three of them are now going through Turns 14 and 15.

Verstappen has a snap of oversteer there, but he manages to catch it, and the rear flaps of both Fatih and Hamilton open as fast as they can. It is now a drag race, as the two behind Verstappen both have DRS and are getting slipstreamed by him.

With DRS here at Circuit Paul Ricard, if you get it in both of the designated zones, you gain nearly seven-tenths on your lap time. But is that going to be enough for the two chasing Verstappen to make their move?

As the straight comes to an end, Fatih dives on the inside, but he is not even close enough!!!!!

Oh my god, he brakes later than Verstappen, allowing him to move side-by-side with Verstappen as they touch wheels before he pushes Verstappen wide and takes Turn 1 on a very bad racing line! But it doesn’t matter, as he stays within the track limits and goes through the Turn 1 and Turn 2 chicane with Hamilton behind him."

{He has to give that back,} Fatih said immediately as he exited Turn 2, seeing Verstappen about two seconds ahead of him.

At the same time, those who were either on the pit wall or watching with the data channel open could see him lifting slightly, allowing Hamilton to reduce the gap between the two of them very fast, showing what was at play here.

Martin Brundle: "That was a naughty move, but it is no different from the one Verstappen pulled on him just the previous lap, so he has every right to say that. He is really using everything in his arsenal to fight this unequal battle."

David Croft: "Do you think he did it deliberately?"

Martin Brundle: "If you ask him, he will definitely deny it, but he also saw an opportunity and knew if he left it one lap longer, or even a sector longer, Max would have opened the gap slightly, and even with DRS, the best he could do would be keeping up. But Verstappen looks as stubborn as he is, because he has yet to give the position back."

........

BANG!!! Jos Verstappen, who was watching the race from the Red Bull garage, hit the flat surface of the partition in anger when he saw how the situation was developing on track.

Had it been a normal situation, Verstappen would have given the place back as fast as possible, but he knew that with the incident on the previous lap, the matter was not normal, because no one likes being served what they just dished out.

Fatih was also exacerbating this by deliberately slowing down to let Hamilton catch up to him so that the moment Verstappen slowed down to give the position back, he would have no choice but to lose two positions at once. This made Verstappen, who was aware that Fatih was slowing down and saw them close together, reluctant to return the position immediately.

He had put Verstappen and Red Bull in a dilemma: either accept losing two positions or take a time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.

........

{Max, let’s return the position as fast as possible. Better if we do it in Turn 6,} GP was on the radio with Max as they started the Turn 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 complex.

They needed him to give it back in a corner to give him the possibility of only losing one position, because there was a chance that on the next straight, with the close gap between Hamilton and Y?ld?r?m, Hamilton could overtake Fatih, and that would guarantee him losing two places.

{This is fucking bullshit,} Verstappen said on the radio after he went through Turn 5 and started Turn 6, looking in his mirror as he slowed down and seeing the two drivers close to one another.

He was not happy, and as he slowed down, Fatih closed the gap, though not as fast as Max would have liked. The pass only happened at the Turn 6 exit and Turn 7 entrance. Max immediately accelerated, trying to cover Hamilton, who, seeing an opportunity, was sticking close to Fatih. They went into Turn 7 side-by-side, exiting onto the straight the same way.

Still, things changed as soon as both Fatih and Hamilton opened their DRS, reducing their drag. With Hamilton in low drag while Verstappen had his DRS flap closed in the car’s draggiest configuration, Max couldn’t put up a fight against Hamilton, who gained more and more of an advantage down the straight, moving ahead of him. By the time they arrived at the Turn 8 and 9 chicane, it was Y?ld?r?m in the lead, Hamilton in P2, and Verstappen down in P3.

........

David Croft: "As Y?ld?r?m goes past Verstappen, he times it perfectly, taking DRS along with him and dragging Hamilton to fight with Verstappen in his stead! On the second straight, it is the three of them fighting one another, but this time it is Fatih who is at the front and the two championship contenders side-by-side, one with DRS and one with none. As is obvious to anyone, the one with DRS wins into the chicane as Hamilton moves up to P2!

I cannot believe what I’m seeing; at the moment, an AlphaTauri is leading the race on pure strategic merit and smart play from the driver, with two championship contenders behind him fighting one another."

Martin Brundle: "He is a very interesting driver, to say the least. He has nerves of steel to pull a move like that on Verstappen and use it to gain even more of an advantage, bringing Hamilton into contention to fight on his behalf to guarantee that he keeps the lead into the chicane."

David Croft: "Red Bull has to be seething, as the sister team has just dragged Hamilton through and made their strategic undercut to gain the lead all moot in a matter of just a few laps.

Those moves are definitely impressive, but his chances of a promotion to Red Bull are looking bleak after them," he said sarcastically while chuckling.

Martin Brundle: "And they would be foolish to let that stop them. He has done great driving in his super-short career against drivers with a few hundred times more F1 experience than he has, and if he gets a podium at the end of this race, then this will be the greatest debut of a rookie in history."

David Croft: "It would be great, but he has to fight to keep his race lead, as Hamilton is now three-tenths behind him as they come out of Turn 15 onto the start-finish straight. He has everything he needs for a move as he opens his DRS. Can the rookie keep his position, or can Hamilton do anything about it? And what is Verstappen going to do, as he has DRS as well?

He has done great driving, leading the race for half a lap, but the pace deficit of his car can’t beat the monstrous Mercedes as Hamilton flies past him! He couldn’t do anything about that except tuck in behind him and move to the inside line to block Verstappen from diving down there as they get into the Turn 1 and 2 chicane.

Hamilton, for the second time in this race, shoots out into the lead, with Fatih now sticking close behind him while Verstappen remains in P3, biding his time for a move.

He didn’t make any attempt to fight that, as it was going to be futile. Do you think there was a strategic decision behind it?"

Martin Brundle: "It might and might not be at the same time. His pace deficit to the two cars in his group should be around half a second per lap, meaning he can keep up with them if he has DRS. At the moment, the nightmare situation is for Verstappen, as he now has to look for an opening on Y?ld?r?m, who is definitely going to be receiving DRS from Hamilton to drag him along lap after lap."

Martin Brundle, as a former driver, tried to guess what might be an advantage for Fatih at the moment, though he knew Fatih had no option and couldn’t fight Hamilton for long since the pace gap was so massive.