Lewis Hamilton defended Sebastian Vettelâs error-prone record despite taking advantage of his rivalâs crash at the French Grand Prix.
Hamilton ruled from start to finish on Formula Oneâs return to France after a decade away to claim his third victory of the season and move 14 points clear of Vettel in their race for a fifth world championship.
Vettel started third but smashed into Valtteri Bottasâs Mercedes on the 210mph opening-bend charge here at the Paul Ricard Circuit. The Ferrari driver fell to the back of the pack after he pitted for a new front wing, and was then punished with a five-second penalty.
He recovered to finish fifth, but after costly collisions in Baku, Singapore and Mexico last year, as well as running off the road at Aprilâs Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the Germanâs latest faux pas was his fifth high-profile mistake in only 12 months.
âIt is really a racing incident in Turn One and those things can happen,â a diplomatic Hamilton said.
âWeâre all going into that first corner at great speeds.
âI donât feel that heâs particularly making more mistakes. Weâre all on the edge, weâre fighting for the world championship, and weâre not pootling around. Weâre out there putting our lives on the line.
âWeâre out there putting the cars as far beyond the edge as we can in the safest manner. Itâs not like a train track, you donât just stay on the rails. Sometimes you can go off. Weâre only human.â
Hamilton, however, believed the stewards were too lenient on Vettel for the collision. Bottas, who raced on with a wounded Mercedes, could manage only seventh.
Hamilton shook his head as he watched a television replay in the green room before the podium celebrations.
âJeez, he took him right out,â Hamilton said. âOh, man, thatâs crazy.â
He later added: âFor me, it is definitely disappointing because the team had a chance for a one-two finish.
âWhen someone destroys your race through their error, and they get a tap on the hand, and are allowed to come back and finish ahead of the person they took out, it does not
weigh up.
âUltimately, Seb should not have not been able to finish ahead of Valtteri because he took him out of the race.â
Niki Lauda, Mercedesâ non-executive chairman, added: âWhy did Vettel only get five seconds for this enormous mistake?
âI donât understand. Itâs too little. Five seconds is nothing. He really destroyed the whole race for himself and for Bottas.â