Lammers saw Verstappen was stronger: 'Case fully under control'

In France, a heated battle between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc failed to materialise. Leclerc recorded a DNF early in the race, allowing Verstappen to win the race without a hitch. Jan Lammers believes that Verstappen would have won the race even without Leclerc's DNF.

Just when the battle between Verstappen and Leclerc was about to get exciting, the Monegasque lost his rear in the corner and parked his Ferrari F1-75 in the wall. Verstappen had already made a pit stop and was chasing Leclerc. The Ferrari driver would eventually have to make a pit stop too, which meant Verstappen had possibly taken away his leading position on the track and the race had turned around. In the end, fans were not treated to a battle between the two, but Verstappen fans were treated to the Dutchman's seventh win.

Jan Lammers disagrees with the NOS F1 podcast disagree with those who say Verstappen couldn't keep up with Leclerc's pace: "I think he was fully in control there. What you don't do is drive in that DRS zone all the time. Then you drive in the hot air and although the turbulence behind the cars is a lot better this year, you are still so caught up in the turbulence that you destroy the front tyres. Max took a gap of two or three seconds, but he was still on the ropes."

Lammers thought prior to the race that it might be more convenient for Leclerc to let Verstappen take the lead. With the Ferrari having the upper hand in the twisty sectors, Leclerc would be able to drive close behind Verstappen to take advantage of the Red Bull driver's slipstream on the long straight. The difference in top speed of both cars was significant. According to Lammers, Leclerc could have controlled the car much better this way and saved his equipment.

According to Lammers, Ferrari's problems and blunders are not the fault of current team boss Mattia Binotto. Lammers: "I would keep him on for a while. They simply have the best car and the best team. They just don't score when they get the opportunity. And then I think, 'When do you want to score?'"