F1 French GP: Leclerc crashes out; Verstappen overpowers Hamilton to win the French GP

Verstappen increased his championship lead to 63 points, meanwhile Charles Leclerc crashed from the lead. Lewis Hamilton and George Russel finished second and third respectively. Details of everything that happened in French GP, right inside!!

Charles Leclerc lost his chances of winning the championship with a dramatic race-ending collision and meanwhile, Max Verstappen took a significant step toward defending his Formula One Championship with a pole position in French GP. Verstappen defeated Lewis Hamilton to win the frantic French Grand Prix. After taking the lead early from pole position and surviving a Verstappen assault, Leclerc appeared to be in complete control. However, on the 18th lap, a costly unforced error cost him the race and his chances of winning the championship.

A sell-out audience gasped as the Monegasque driver lost control of his Ferrari at Turn 11 and spun into the barriers, and Leclerc broke into a loud cry of sorrow over the team radio. This put Verstappen in the lead, and he took advantage of it by winning easily to increase his championship lead over Leclerc to 63 points.

In his 300th race, Hamilton finished second to Verstappen as Mercedes enjoyed a stellar Sunday. It was Hamilton's best finish of the year. Verstappen defeated Hamilton for the victory.

After passing Sergio Perez with three circuits to go, after a late Virtual Safety Car, and then fending off a late attack, George Russell gave the Silver Arrows a double podium finish. After a strong comeback from the bottom of the grid, Carlos Sainz finished fifth, but he was deserving of higher. With 10 circuits remaining, Ferrari made an unexpected strategy choice and pitted the Spaniard, who had moved up to third. Due to a dangerous release in the pits, Sainz was also given a five-second penalty, and he could not make up the lost positions before the 53rd and final lap.

Fernando Alonso, who started ahead of Russell and is currently sixth overall, is clearly ahead of Lando Norris as Alpine and McLaren continue their intense midfield duel behind. In order to make up for an early penalty for colliding with Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon passed Daniel Ricciardo for eighth place. The AlphaTauri driver was one of four drivers to retire from the race after colliding with another competitor.

Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel engaged in a similar struggle for the final points spot, battling it out until the very last circuit.

French GP Results: Top 10

| Max Verstappen | Red Bull ||----------------------|------------------|| Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes || George Rissell | Mercedes || Sergio Perez | Red Bull || Carlos Sainz | Ferrari || Fernando Alonso | Alpine || Lando Norris | McLaren || Esteban Ocon | Alpine || Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren || Lance Stroll | Aston Martin |

Verstappen, who won the race, said, "I mean I think we had really good pace from the start. 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."

The 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix concludes this doubleheader the following weekend, July 29–31, with Leclerc facing a 63-point disadvantage to Verstappen and Ferrari aiming to cut Red Bull's 82-point advantage.