LE CASTELLET: Lewis Hamilton put on a display of domination at the French Grand Prix on Sunday to go 36 points clear in the Formula One world championship and stretch Mercedes’s winning run to 10 races.

On a scorchingly hot afternoon in the south of France, Hamilton put the rest of the field in the shade as he led from start to finish to take his fourth win in a row and sixth of the season.

The Briton finished 18 seconds ahead of Finnish team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who was pushed hard at the end by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in a rare moment of tension, as Mercedes celebrated their 50th one-two finish.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen placed fourth ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, who took a point for the fastest lap in what was otherwise another disappointing performance from the four-time world champion.

Vettel, who started seventh after a poor qualifying stint, has not won for 16 races dating back to the Belgian GP last August.

Spaniard Carlos Sainz finished sixth for McLaren while Daniel Ricciardo was seventh for Renault ahead of Kimi Raikkonen of Alfa Romeo and Nico Hulkenberg in the second Renault with Lando Norris finishing 10th despite hydraulics problems in the second McLaren.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2019