Lewis Hamilton has returned to the top of the Formula 1 world championship table thanks to victory at the French Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Mercedes driver remained calm and composed en route to a comfortable win in the first French GP for a decade, finishing ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.

Deposed championship leader Sebastian Vettel, meanwhile, endured a nightmare race as he crashed into the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas at the first corner.

Despite falling to the rear of the field after the stewards imposed a five-second timed penalty, Vettel was able to recover and finish fifth, but it was not enough to preserve his championship lead.

Verstappen ran wide at the first corner, taking avoiding action to dodge the crash between Vettel and Bottas, but was unable to find sufficient pace to threaten the faultless Hamilton.

Raikkonen, meanwhile, overtook Daniel Ricciardo on the closing laps to clinch a podium finish, the Australian's Red Bull suffering damage due to debris and falling prey to the Finn's surge.

Alongside the collision between Vettel and Bottas, there was also a crash on the second corner between Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly and Force India's Esteban Ocon which took both competitors out.

French GP standings

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
4. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)
5. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
6. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
7. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
8. Carlos Sainz (Renault)
9. Nico Hulkenberg (Renault)
10. Charles Leclerc (Sauber)
11. Romain Grosjean (Haas)
12. Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren)
13. Marcus Ericsson (Sauber)
14. Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso)
15. Sergey Sirotkin (Williams)
16. Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
17. Lance Stroll (Williams)
DNF Sergio Perez (Force India)
DNF Esteban Ocon (Force India)
DNF Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso)