French Grand Prix: Charles Leclerc Crashes Out As Max Verstappen Wins

 

Charles Leclerc has suffered a huge setback in his quest for the F1 championship title as he dropped out of the French Grand Prix following a crash, leaving Red Bull's Max Verstappen to coast on to finish quickest for his seventh race win of the season. 

Verstappen had a tough time getting past Leclerc who started in pole and kept him at bay until Lap 18 just after Red Bull had its first pit stop, when the Ferrari driver spun off the track and went over the kerb and crashed into the walls. 

Eventually, that incident brought Leclerc's race to its end and Verstappen led in pole to win the race and extended his title race lead by 63 points as Red Bull seeks to defend the title back-to-back. 

"I lost the rear. That's it," Leclerc clarified when asked about the crash. "I think it's just a mistake. I try to take too much around the outside."

Mercedes now move up the stat after Leclerc's crash with Lewis Hamilton in second and held that position through to the chequered flag and his teammate George Russell followed third. 

Russell had a tough time getting ahead to the third as he had to battle with Sergio Perez after he was done getting past Ferrari's Carlos Sainz. Sergio and Sainz, in the end, finished fourth and fifth respectively. 

Hamilton for the first time this season finished second on his 300th F1 start. He was satisfied with his performance and praised his team for that as he was considerably faster than Perez during the race and that gave him the advantage to stay in second after Leclerc was out.