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Max Verstappen earned his seventh win of the 2022 Formula One season at Sunday’s French Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc did not finish after earning the pole position, crashing in the 18th lap. It allowed Verstappen, who started in second, to come out on top for an easy win at Circuit Paul Ricard.
The Red Bull Racing driver extended his lead in the season driver standings after yet another first-place finish, while Sergio Perez closed the gap behind Leclerc for second place.
Lewis Hamilton finished Sunday’s race in second, his highest finish of the 2022 season, while Mercedes teammate George Russell also earned a podium spot in third place.
Final Results
1. Max Verstappen
2. Lewis Hamilton
3. George Russell
4. Sergio Perez
5. Carlos Sainz
Full results available at Formula1.com.
It ended up being an easy win for Verstappen, who finished 10.587 seconds ahead of Hamilton in second.
Formula 1 @F1
MAX VERSTAPPEN WINS IN FRANCE!!!<br><br>A dominant display by the Dutchman who didn’t put a foot wrong to take glory at Le Castellet ????<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/FrenchGP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#FrenchGP</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/F1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#F1</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/Max33Verstappen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Max33Verstappen</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/redbullracing?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@redbullracing</a> <a href=”https://t.co/1SS1Xj13p1″>pic.twitter.com/1SS1Xj13p1</a>
There was little question about the result over the final 30 laps of the race.
Leclerc was seemingly in prime position early for a second straight win after earning the pole in France.
The Ferrari driver held the lead throughout the start of the race until disaster struck on the 18th lap:
Formula 1 @F1
LAP 19/53<br><br>Absolute heartbreak for Leclerc and Ferrari ????<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/FrenchGP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#FrenchGP</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/F1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#F1</a> <a href=”https://t.co/qUmPlzWEVn”>pic.twitter.com/qUmPlzWEVn</a>
Leclerc didn’t hold back in his reaction over the radio:
Verstappen was in second place at the time and cruised into first position after the collision. As the race progressed, he built a comfortable lead over Lewis Hamilton that expanded to more than 10 seconds.
The bigger story became the race for third between Sergio Perez, George Russell and Carlos Sainz. Though Sainz had a five-second penalty for an unsafe release earlier in the race, his team’s strategy was also questionable:
Chris Medland @ChrisMedlandF1
Ferrari opt to pit Sainz a lap after he cleared Perez with a good fight, but his time penalty means he has dropped all the way back to P9. This will need to be some charge…<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/F1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#F1</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/FrenchGP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#FrenchGP</a>
Sainz finished in fifth place, while Russell edged Perez for third.
It was a solid day for Mercedes, which got two drivers on the podium for the first time this year. Hamilton rushed to third at the start of the race, took second after Leclerc crashed and never gave up his position from there.
No one could catch Verstappen, who faced little resistance over the final laps and ended up with an easy victory to extend his lead in the championship.
The drivers will be back in action next week for the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday.
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