Verstappen wins French Grand Prix after Leclerc crashes out
Max Verstappen won the 2022 French Grand Prix for Red Bull after Ferrari's Charles Leclerc crashed out of the race on Lap 18. Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell completed the podium at Paul Ricard.
"I think we had really good pace from the start," said race-winner Verstappen. "I was putting pressure on Charles but following around here with this heat, the tyres are overheating, I could never really go for a move, only once into Turn 11.
"But we just tried to stay calm, try to stay close. Of course, we pitted a bit early and from then onwards you never know how the race is going to go. But the car was quick today, and of course unlucky for Charles – I hope he is okay.
"From there onwards I just did my race, looked after the tyres, and because of the pit lane of course being so long, you couldn’t do another stop, so you had to stay out, but the tyres were wearing a lot. It was all about looking after the tyres until the end."
2022 French Grand Prix. Top-10
1. Max Verstappen "Red Bull"
2. Lewis Hamilton "Mercedes"
3. George Russell "Mercedes"
4. Sergio Perez "Red Bull"
5. Carlos Sainz "Ferrari"
6. Fernando Alonso "Alpine"
7. Lando Norris "McLaren"
8. Esteban Okon "Alpine"
9. Daniel Ricciardo "McLaren"
10. Lance Stroll "Aston Martin"
MAX VERSTAPPEN WINS IN FRANCE!!!
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 24, 2022
A dominant display by the Dutchman who didn't put a foot wrong to take glory at Le Castellet 👊#FrenchGP #F1 @Max33Verstappen @redbullracing pic.twitter.com/1SS1Xj13p1
