Infinite Improbability Drive of the Race - France 2021

[Londoner]

1. George Russell. P12 on merit, in a Williams, in a race with zero attrition. Give this man the Mercedes seat already.

2. Daniel Ricciardo. Looked like the Ricciardo of old, looks like he's finally comfortable with the McLaren.

[Spooder918]

1. George Russell: P12 in a Williams. On merit. How?
2. Red Bull strategists: They learned from Hungary '19 and Spain this year and gave it straight back to Merc

[Kinnikuniverse]

I would say russell and alonso. Russell finishing in tbe top 12 ina moderm day williams is nothing short of a miracle, while alonso easily had his best race since he came back, and points for alpine/not-renault at their home race.

[FullMetalJack]

1. George Russell - Give me some attrition dammit
2. Daniel Ricciardo - Is he back? Time will tell

[Shadaza]

1.George Russell, he pitted fairly early and managed not just to keep the Hard tires alive but to pass what should be faster cars on fresher tires. A 10/10 drive.

2. Old Man Alonso. He still good bro.

[You-Gee-Eee-Day]

McLaren - Finally consistently doing well
Perez - Finally breaking the cycle of poor #2 drivers

[RAK]

1) George Russell: What a result in the Williams - all on merit as well.

2) Daniel Ricciardo: Finally found the pace to match Norris in a car which seems capable of consistently strong results.

[Aerond]

1. The trophies

2. Fernando Alonso - idem. That car didn't have the right to finish 8th

[IceG]

(1) Daniel Ricciardo - 6th on merit and because I was rude about him in the predicament predictions
(2) Aston Martin - double points finish and because I was rude about them in the predicament predictions

[rachel1990]

1st- George Russell- saving Williams from last place in the constructors and getting 12th. Making more waves and impressing at exactly the right time.

2nd- the race. All week I was waiting for a procession and even though there was 0 retirements it was a decent race. Intriguing race.

[Alextrax52]

1: George Russell: After Williams undeservedly lost 9th overall to Haas in Baku I feared that they might stay 10th for a while and yet this performance has taken it straight back in just 1 race, in a race where all 20 cars finished. I’ve been frustrated with George at times this season for not turning his Q2 grid slots into similar results but he really impressed today and it’s more evidence he deserves a better car

2: Lance Stroll: started 19th, made mammoth tyre life and scored a point for 10th

HM’s
Fernando Alonso: There’s life in the old warhorse yet. If there were doubts about his 6th in Baku being fortunate then he’s put that to bed today

Red Bull strategists: Lessons well and truly learnt

Haas: They only finished 1 lap down in a normal race. Little victories and all that

[went]

1 - Russell. Fancy a swap with Bottas?

2- Alonso. Old man still got it.

[Meatwad]

George Russell is a good nomination for finishing 12th in a race with no retirements. One of his best races so far, definitely won't harm his Mercedes chances. Honorable mention to Aston Martin – a different strategy is not surprising from them, but they seem to make it work surprisingly often.

[dj_vicious]

1. Max Verstappen: I gave Hamilton IIDOTR in Spain for pulling a similar drive, so Max should get the same treatment here. Had to make the mediums last 23 laps and pass the leaders at the end of this lifespan.

2. Sergio Perez: Used his tire saving wizardry to steal 3rd place and seems to have elevated himself to the more valuable of him and Bottas. He's the No. 2 Red Bull need and he does his job without the bitching, moaning, and grandiose of being a championship contender.

[noiceinmydrink]

Red Bull - Masterful stuff by the team and the two drivers. Could have very easily gone the other way if the strategy and drivers weren't up to their very best. Excellent race from them.

George Russell - More often than not I end up rolling my eyes at Russell come Sunday these days but 12th in the 2nd slowest car on the grid in a race with no retirements or safety cars is nothing to shake your head at.

[tBone]

1. Fernando Alonso - way ahead of Ocon and well in the points. Some nice battles along the way too.

2. Red Bull Racing - great drives from both drivers and clever strategy to finish with both cars on the podium, even though Mercedes did seem to have the edge on race pace.

Honorable mentions to George Russell for driving that Williams to 12th and Aston Martin for an unlikely double points finish.

[Miguel98]

1. George Russell - P12 on merit in the Williams, putting them back ahead of Haas in WCC. Very good drive.

2. Fernando Alonso - Not sure if that Alpine had the race pace to finish where he did.

Honorable mention to Daniel Ricciardo for finally putting a performance again after two miserable weekends, to Paul Ricard for providing a fantastic race and to Aston Martin for making the alternate strategy work on both cars.

[CaptainGetz12]

1) Aston Martin. Not seen on the radar much this race but they made their late stop strategy work and took 9th and 10th.

2) George Russell. Carved up the field as best he could, probably could have scored a point if there were any DNFs. Mercedes' bright spot today.

Honourable Mentions:
Fernando Alonso (The Alpine was slower than anticipated, and he fought hard to get it into the points)
Mclaren (5th and 6th is a good way to cement their advantage over Ferrari)
Paul Ricard (Put on a good race. Not one of the all-time greats, but certainly better than the last 2 times it held Grand Prix)

[Fetzie]

Russell - 12th on good merit on a day without any DNFs. That would have been a points finish any other day.

The race track - nobody expected anything interesting at the migraine-inducing car park in Provence.

[dinizintheoven]

My main nomination is [REDACTED] and [REDACTED], because [REDACTED].

George Russell for Honourable Mention, for the same reason everyone else has already given.

[Enforcer]

This is one of those where it's less Infinite Improbability and more Slightly Better Than Would've Been Expected Drive of the Race.

I'd go with McLaren for a solid 'best of the rest' day and overhauling the rest of the midfield, even on two different strategies.

[Batty]

1. The French GP - It was actually good. Woah.

2. George Russell - 12th in a race without any retirements will help Williams stay ahead of a Haas in the standings.

[James1978]

I'm going for Russell. Beat an Alpine, an Alpha Tauri, a Ferrari and both Alfas.

[UncreativeUsername37]

When I saw the final results and Russell was in 12th, I was like wtf. I did not expect that.
Second nomination will go to Gasly for being up with the top of the midfield.

[Rob Dylan]

Again, as in ROTR, our Infinite Improbability Drive of the Race awards for Paul Ricard largely continue the 2021 trend of our high achievers. Therefore the candidates (as they were nominated) will prove a little samey for some. But that is the way sometimes.

Vote for your Infinite Improbability Drive of the Race using the poll at the top of this thread. You have 48 hours

[Rob Dylan]

Forgot to link this. Here are the results of ROTR and IIDOTR in France.