Max Verstappen triumphs in pulsating duel with Lewis Hamilton at French GP

Red Bull driver hunts down rival to overtake in penultimate lap
Sergio Pérez completes podium with Bottas fourth

Max Verstappen won the French Grand Prix for Red Bull after a gripping fight with Lewis Hamilton, whose Mercedes was beaten into second place on the penultimate lap. Sergio Pérez was in third for Red Bull and Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas was in fourth with McLaren’s Lando Norris in fifth.

Verstappen won after a tense, superlative race that ebbed and flowed between the two as they fought on track and their teams attempted to outclass one another from the pit wall. Ultimately it was Red Bull and the Dutchman who triumphed, with Verstappen now taking a 12-point lead in the championship and his team a 37-point advantage over Mercedes in the constructors’. The head-to-head fight between the two title contenders was indicative of just what an intense battle they have joined this season.