Qualifying Report - Adding to his numbers

Lewis Hamilton topped qualifying for the French Grand Prix to win the 75th pole of his Formula 1 career. He now has poles at 26 different F1 venues. He has competed in two previous French Grand Prix but never led a lap in either race. Now he is in the top spot to win his first French F1 race and the 65th F1 race of his career.

The line-up for the weekend was: Mercedes - Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas; Ferrari - Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen; Red Bull TAG Heuer - Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen; Force India Mercedes - Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon; Williams Mercedes -Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin; Renault - Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz; Toro Rosso Honda - Brendon Hartley and Pierre Gasly; Haas Ferrari - Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen; McLaren Renault - Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne; Sauber Ferrari - Marcus Ericsson and Charles Leclerc.

QUALIFYING 1

It had rained during FP3, but that had stopped and the track was mostly dry when the 18-minute Q1 began. But there was a 60 percent chance of rain during the following hour.

The ambient temperature at the start of qualifying was 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Centigrade) and the track temperature was 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Centigrade).

The drivers headed out on slicks. Pirelli's options for the weekend were the soft, super soft and ultra soft compounds. Most of the drivers were on the ultras for Q1.

Verstappen set the early pace with a time of 1:31.823. Raikkonen beat that with 1:31.567.

Halfway through the session Vandoorne was 15th and on the bubble. Perez was 16th and Ocon 14th. Out front, it was now Verstappen, Raikkonen, Hamilton, Bottas, Vettel and Grosjean.

The track was getting faster as Hamilton topped the times with a 1:31.271.

Alonso was struggling and still 17th with just four minutes remaining. But then he jumped up to 12th. But he would not stay there as others improved.

The five drivers who were eliminated at the end of Q1 were: Alonso, Hartley, Vandoorne, Sirotkin and Stroll. So both Williams and McLarens were out.

The fastest 15 drivers who moved on to Q2 were: Hamilton, Verstappen, Raikkonen, Bottas, Vettel, Ricciardo, Grosjean, Magnussen, Sainz, Gasly, Ocon, Leclerc, Perez, Hulkenberg, Ericsson and Hulkenberg.

QUALIFYING 2

Would any drivers attempt to set their best Q2 time on the super softs? It would give them a strategic advantage as they would start the race on those more durable tires.

A few drops of rain were falling as the drivers lined up for the 15-minute Q2.

The Red Bulls and the Mercedes were on the super soft tires.

"Drizzling," Verstappen radioed.

Bottas went fastest with a 1:31.227, but Hamilton cleared that with a 1:30.645.

Raikkonen, Grosjean, Sainz, Verstappen, Ricciardo and Vettel rounded out the top eight in the early going.

The drivers continued to circulated and the order continued to change in the light drizzle on parts of the track.

With six minutes to go, Gasly was tenth with Sainz ninth and Ocon 11th.

With three minutes to go, the track was busy as the drivers made their last laps. The track was drying and getting quicker. And the Red Bull and Ferrari drivers were now on the ultra soft tires.

The five drivers who were eliminated at the end of Q2 were: Ocon, Hulkenberg, Perez, Gasly and Ericsson.

The fastest 10 drivers who moved on to Q3 were: Hamilton, Vettel, Raikkonen, Verstappen, Bottas, Grosjean, Magnussen, Ricciardo, Sainz and Leclerc.

QUALIFYING 3

The Ferraris were first out in the 12-minute Q3. Meanwhile, Leclerc stayed in the pits.

Vettel clocked the first time: 1:30.400, but Hamilton beat that with a 1:30.222.

So the early order was Hamilton, Bottas, Vettel, Verstappen, Ricciardo, Raikkonen and Sainz.

Then, Grosjean crashed out of qualifying in his home grand prix, and the session was red flagged with 7 minutes and 49 seconds to go. That ruined the fast lap of his teammate Magnussen.

Raikkonen headed out immediately when the session restarted.

All nine drivers were circulating in the final two minutes.

Bottas briefly took the pole then Hamilton turned a 1:30.029 to win pole number 75.

Bottas ended up second ahead of Vettel, Verstappen, Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Sainz, Leclerc (his best yet starting position in F1), Magnussen and Grosjean.