French Grand Prix highlights and reactions: F1 standings 2021 after French Grand Prix 2021

Sunday's French Grand Prix 2021 once again featured a nail-biting contest between Mercedes and Red Bull until the last lap as fans were unaware as to who would come out on top. At the Circuit Paul Ricard, fans got to witness some of the best overtaking moves at high speed and the close moments that can define a driver's race as teams utilised strategy to the best of their abilities to overtake their rivals on the track. Here are the French Grand Prix highlights and the latest F1 standings 2021 after a dramatic and intense race.

French Grand Prix highlights: Verstappen vs Hamilton battle goes down to the wire

After qualifying on pole position, Red Bull's Max Verstappen lost the lead at the first corner as he went deep and skipped the apex of turn 2, allowing Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton to pass him and take the lead. The Dutchman rejoined in second place ahead of Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas in third. With Mercedes drivers first and third, the team could dictate the strategy to put Red Bull under pressure.

On lap 17, Bottas was brought in to change tyres, thereby adding pressure on Red Bull to do the same as the Finn's fresh tyres would allow him to lap faster than the Dutchman on old tyres. In order to cover the threat of Bottas, Red brought Verstappen into the pits one lap later. Much to everyone's surprise, Hamilton was not brought into the pits a lap after Verstappen pitted. As a result of that one lap delay in Hamilton's pit stop, Verstappen successfully undercut him and emerged in the lead of the race.

With Hamilton pushing Verstappen hard to regain the lead on the track, it took the life out of the tyres on both cars. Both drivers expressed concerns to their pit wall over the state of their front left tyres, making it seem that a two-stop strategy could be the fastest way to the chequered flag. Red Bull blinked first as they got Verstappen in for a second pit stop as he was losing out to Hamilton on the track.

French Grand Prix 2021 result: Verstappen overtakes Hamilton on penultimate lap

Red Bull's proactive strategy meant that Mercedes had no better option than to leave their drivers out on the track. With 21 laps remaining in the race, Verstappen's hunt for Hamilton began on fresher tyres. Red Bull's bold strategy ensured that fans remained hooked on as until the penultimate lap the French Grand Prix 2021 result was in the balance. With Hamilton having run out of tyres, Verstappen easily went past him to win his third race of the season.

F1 standings 2021: Verstappen vs Hamilton battle continues for Drivers' Championship

F1 standings 2021: Red Bull extend lead over Mercedes in Constructors' Championship

Fan reactions to French Grand Prix 2021 result

Image Credits: F1/Instagram