LE CASTELLET, France — Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc crashed out of the lead at the French Grand Prix, dealing a critical blow to his title chances.
Leclerc was in a commanding position and was expected to pit for fresh tires when he went too far on the high-speed Turn 11 and spun into the barriers.
The mistake handed the lead of the race to title rival Max Verstappen, who was already leading Leclerc by 38 points before the race.
“I’m playing at the highest level of my career but if I keep the mistakes it’s pointless. If we lose the league by 32 points I know where they’re coming from but it’s unacceptable,” Leclerc told Sky Sports.
“I go through the same process all the time trying to analyze. It’s a mistake and that’s it. It’s trying to push too much and I lost the rear end. It’s been a very difficult weekend for me to struggle with had the balance of the car.
“I made a mistake at the wrong moment.”
Leclerc was unhurt but was visibly devastated by the incident and its aftermath. On the team radio, he said he “can’t slow down” before shouting “no!” to his race engineer.
Leclerc had a problem with his gas pedal on the final lap in Austria, when it stayed partially open in the final laps of the race. He managed to avoid the problem to win the race, but it’s not clear if this problem is related in any way to the problem he had in France.
The result was Leclerc’s third retirement of the year after twin engine problems in Spain and Azerbaijan.