A promising French Grand Prix for Ferrari quickly went pear-shaped. First, Charles Leclerc made a crucial mistake and crashed out a third into the race, which likely cost him a much-needed victory. Then, Ferrari made another questionable call to send Carlos Sainz in for a late pit stop that saw him lose out on a potential podium finish.
Leclerc’s crash allowed defending champion and championship leader Max Verstappen to cruise to a comfortable victory. Meanwhile, Mercedes continued their renaissance as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell joined Verstappen on the podium.
Read on below as SBOTOP delivers three key takeaways from the 2022 French Grand Prix.
Leclerc lacking Verstappen’s championship composure
Charles Leclerc is clearly a talented driver and based on the form he’s shown this season, he really should be right up there challenging Max Verstappen for the world championship.
But despite his undoubted ability, the 24-year-old Ferrari driver’s flaws were there for all to see in the French GP as he missed a great opportunity to close the gap on the defending champ.
After seemingly reviving his title challenge with his impressive win at Austria, Leclerc’s French Open 2022 odds of claiming back-to-back victories were looking good after securing another pole position. But the Ferrari driver committed what he described as an ‘unacceptable’ mistake which caused him to crash on Lap 18 while being in the lead.
Leclerc simply lost control of his car despite not being in any pressure whatsoever, and he was right that it was a mistake no one with serious title aspirations should be making.
That’s now the third time this season where Leclerc has retired from a race while he’s been in the lead, and he really should be considering it as 25 more valuable points dropped.
With Verstappen hardly putting a foot wrong this season, Leclerc cannot afford to make any more of these sorts of mistakes. He simply must cut out these costly errors if he is to compete for a championship in his career.
Faulty Ferrari strategy strikes again with Sainz pitstop call
Meanwhile, Ferrari – who have been making questionable strategic moves all season long – made another controversial call to send Carlos Sainz into the pits late in the race.
Sainz, who started all the way at the back of the grid after changing his engine due to his engine blow-out in Austria, had done extremely well to be in contention for a podium place. But his hopes of reaching the podium were all but lost after making his late stop.
Ferrari were previously under fire for not calling Charles Leclerc in for a pit stop during a late safety car in the British Grand Prix. That decision proved costly for Leclerc as he was overtaken by Sainz – who did go in for a pit stop – and went from the race lead to a disappointing fourth.
Ferrari certainly have their reasons for making these decisions, and Sainz also came to his team’s defence after the race. But the fact remains that their decisions are having a detrimental effect on their drivers, and they simply must do better if they are to compete with Red Bull.
Mercedes capitalise on Ferrari foibles
While Ferrari keep shooting themselves in the foot, Mercedes are slowly but surely getting their act together. Lewis Hamilton finished second – his highest finish of the year – while George Russell was right behind at third. It was the first time this season that the two Silver Arrows made it to the podium.
Hamilton was understandably delighted by his team’s French Grand Prix 2022 results, their best showing of the season to date.
“What a day and weekend,” Hamilton said. “I’m so proud of the team, this is an incredible result.
“Winning races and getting results like this, it’s about the whole package. Of course, we know that we don’t have quite the pace of the two teams ahead but reliability is a huge fundamental part of the process. I’m so proud of my team for having the reliability that we do have.”
After a slow start, Hamilton is finally back to competing at the top of the grid as he is accustomed to doing and has now reeled off four consecutive podium finishes.
Granted, he acknowledges that he does not have the pace to fully compete with the Red Bulls and Ferraris, but with the Prancing Horse’s frequent pitfalls, Hamilton is making the most of his opportunities to grab a higher position.
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