Leclerc takes responsibility for an “unacceptable mistake”
Charles Leclerc has taken responsibility for his “unacceptable mistake” that saw him crash out from the lead of the French Grand Prix and says his speed is “pointless” if he keeps making errors.
In the early phases of Sunday’s race, the Ferrari driver saw off an early attack from title rival Max Verstappen which put him in a strong position for victory, before losing control and crashing on lap eighteen. The crash the latest in a string of mistakes by Ferrari allowed Verstappen to cruise to victory and extend his lead to sixty-three points.
The incident was the latest in a growing list of occasions when Ferrari has thrown away points this season, with reliability issues having forced the Monegasque to retire from the lead in Barcelona and Baku, while Leclerc also lost points because of a driver error at Imola in April.
Asked by Sky Sports what happened, Leclerc said, “A mistake, a mistake. I’ve been saying I think I’m performing at my highest level in my career but if I keep doing those mistakes then it’s pointless to perform at a very high level.
“I’m losing too many points – seven in Imola, twenty-five here, because honestly, we probably were the strongest car on track today. So, if we lose the championship by thirty-two points, at the end of the season I will know from where they are coming from.”
Before the race Leclerc explained that the Paul Ricard Circuit and the conditions didn’t suit his driving style, however, in qualifying, he still found the pace to beat Verstappen to pole.
There was plenty of speculation before the race that Red Bull’s superior straight-line speed would give Verstappen the edge on Sunday, but Leclerc had shown brilliant race-craft to fend off his rival in the opening stages. Leclerc’s frustration given his hard work was clear as he let out a loud anguished scream after crashing into the wall.
Explaining what happened, Leclerc said, t’s just trying to push too much and I lost the rear. It’s been a very difficult weekend for me, I’ve struggled a lot with the balance of the car. When it’s warm like this it’s very difficult to be consistent, it’s been very difficult to put laps together and I did a mistake at the wrong moment.”
During the race, Leclerc also was struggling with a throttle issue which wasn’t the cause of the crash and did not contribute to the error.
Team principal Mattia Binotto echoed Leclerc’s message in insisting the incident had been caused by driver error, but urged the Monacan to put the incident behind him. He also explained the reference to the throttle was Leclerc being unable to restart the car rather than technical issues.
Adding, “It’s just a mistake, it happens, in the same way, we have had reliability issues. I think what I said to Charles, was that we make our lives a bit more difficult, but we will enjoy it more in the future if we turn it round.”
Sainz defends Ferrari’s controversial strategy calls
Carlos Sainz has defended Ferrari’s strategic decisions after a controversial call over a late pit stop saw him lose out on a potential podium finish at the French Grand Prix. The Spaniard started Sunday’s race from the back thanks to engine penalties before coming through to challenge one stage for a podium.
Another Ferrari questionable decision may have cost him a chance of a podium after they brought him in for a late stop. The apparent confusion between the team and driver over the stop, which played out on team radio, added to a challenging day for Ferrari. But Sainz defended the team saying “I think the team is doing a very good job on strategy this year.”
He told Sky Sports, “At Ferrari, we get super criticised for things that other teams might be going through also in their pit stop windows. Every time there is a tricky moment on strategy, we are discussing things, but we are not a disaster like people seem to say we are.”
During the race, Sainz also had a five-second penalty for an unsafe release during his first pit stop and was engaged in a discussion over team radio as he attempted to pass the third-placed Sergio Perez in the final quarter of the race.
Having become frustrated at not making the pass, Sainz asked to come in for fresh tyres, but was initially told to stay out by his team. He then managed to overtake Perez, but Ferrari then decided he couldn’t manage this and that there was also a major risk of tyre failure on his wearing mediums.
That call came while Sainz was trying to overtake Perez, Ferrari however believed it was the right time to stop. Sainz “believed at the time that maybe it was better to risk it and stay out and see what happens with the tyres, even if it was the medium tyre on the limit of its life, but I had just made it to P3 and I saw a podium position. I thought, ‘if I make these tyres last, maybe I can finish on the podium’, but we will never know.”
He added that he was convinced that they did it with the best of intentions and the best spirit.
Speaking after the race, Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto was adamant they made the right choice, saying that Sainz was short on tyre life and it would have been risky to go to the end on the tyres.
Sunday’s race wasn’t the first time this season that Ferrari has faced criticism for strategic decisions, with Leclerc having most notably been left frustrated by decisions which he felt cost him victory in Monaco in May.
“Plenty of fuel in tank” as Hamilton reaches 300th start
Lewis Hamilton says there is “plenty of fuel in the tank” after completing his three-hundredth Grand Prix on Sunday. The seven-time champion was only the sixth driver to reach the milestone with second in Paul Ricard, but he will not only be looking for an eighth title but the first member of the three hundred club to win a race.
Asked last weekend if he might go for four hundred, Hamilton replied, “That’s a lot of races.” Adding “I firstly just want to be grateful to get to this point. But I still feel fresh and still feel like I’ve got plenty of fuel left in the tank. I’m enjoying what I’m doing.”
Hamilton is Formula One’s most successful driver of all time, with a hundred and three wins and the same number of pole positions among a raft of records. A prominent and outspoken campaigner for equal rights and diversity, he made clear he was still having fun despite his team’s current problems.
Hamilton said, “We’ve got some great people leading the sport and having great conversations about the direction we’re going as a sport, so I’m enjoying it more than ever. Of course, I want to get back to winning ways and that’s going to take time, but I’m sure we’ll sit down at some stage and talk about the future.”
“But again, just with our team, I always want to continue to be building. It’s one thing having races, but it’s also continuing the work that we do outside and doing more… and we will.”
Mercedes is yet to win a race this season, but looks to be gaining ground on Red Bull and Ferrari. This weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix marks the latest point in the season that the Englishman has had to wait for his first win of the season, both in 2009 with McLaren and 2013 with Mercedes.
Unlikely victory in Budapest would see him take a ninth win at the Hungaroring, surpassing Michael Schumacher’s eight wins at Magny-Cour in France, becoming the first driver to win the same race and at the same circuit nine times.
Hamilton had played down the significance of 300 races before the weekend but he recognised it meant more than he realised. He said, “This morning I woke up just feeling incredibly grateful, just thinking about all the people that have been with me along the way.”
Russell enjoyed Wolff’s input
George Russell says he “quite enjoyed” having radio input from Mercedes CEO and team principal Toto Wolff during his ‘high emotion’ battle for third in the French Grand Prix. Russell engaged in a duel for the final podium place with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez in the latter stages of Sunday’s race at Paul Ricard.
The two drivers did make contact when Russell made a late lunge at the Mistral Chicane which forced Perez to take avoiding action, but didn’t cede the position and wasn’t punished by the stewards. The Englishman made his feeling clear, before being told to keep his head down twice by Wolff.
Russell did eventually take third from Perez following a late virtual safety car message glitch that caught the Red Bull out, says he enjoyed the input from Wolff and feels it helps bring driver and team “a bit closer together” in these high-intensity situations.
Russell said when asked about Wolff’s radio interjection, he told Motorsport.com, “I think emotions are high there for all of us. I felt like I did a mega move on Checo, and ultimately didn’t get to keep the position. We definitely had a bit more pace there. I quite enjoyed hearing Toto on the radio, but ultimately from my side, you’re going absolutely flat out.
“We’re in this together as a team, and when you’re sat in the car, sometimes you do feel a bit alone because we’re in the car, we’re doing everything we can and you don’t know what the engineers are looking at, the engineers don’t totally feel what we’re feeling within the car, and sometimes having these exchanges brings it a little bit closer together.”
Horner believes Mercedes is closing in on top two
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes that Mercedes are “getting closer and closer” to his team and their title rivals after the eight-time constructors champions scored their best result of the season at the French Grand Prix.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen extended his lead at the top of the championship by scoring his seventh win of the season on Sunday, capitalising on Charles Leclerc’s crash while leading. However, the race also saw Mercedes score their first double podium of the season.
Hamilton sat second behind Verstappen for the restart after the safety car period but was powerless to battle the Red Bull due to his straight-line speed deficit. Hamilton eventually crossed the line ten seconds behind Verstappen at the end of the race.
Although Red Bull boss Horner was “not especially” surprised by the top speed of the Mercedes cars, saying “nothing stood out significantly to us”, he remained confident the rival team was making inroads on the leaders.
Horner told Motorsport.com, “They were certainly talking up their chances coming into the weekend. I think in the end, Max was reasonably comfortable. But you can see they’re chipping away at it, they’re getting closer.”
Then joked “I hear Toto [Wolff] said they’re going to work throughout the summer break to improve the car, which would of course be illegal… You can see they’re getting closer and closer.”
Mercedes had expected to go better in Le Castellet given the circuit’s smooth surface and layout which has suited the car all season. However, Hamilton was still eight tenths off Leclerc’s pole time with Russell only managing sixth, before both drivers finished the race second and third.
Wolff said after the race the team was still “lacking in car performance on a single lap and we are lacking performance at the initial stages of the stint”, and there would be no “silver bullet” to remedy these issues as it goes in search of a first win this year.
“Unfair” for France to lose spot on calendar
Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi believes it would be “kind of unfair” to lose a “racing stronghold” like France from the calendar in 2023. Paul Ricard hosted what is expected to, at least for now, be its final race on Sunday as Las Vegas, China and Qatar are scheduled to return for next year.
In addition, the sport is working on a return to South Africa, these additions have left France facing the axe from the calendar, although the race promoters at Paul Ricard remain hopeful of staying in contention for a return should F1 go down the route of rotating events.
France has enjoyed a growing presence on the F1 grid in recent years: Alpine has played heavily on its French connection since the Renault works team was rebranded in 2021, and it also fields a French driver in Esteban Ocon. Rossi said he would be “very disappointed” if Paul Ricard did not feature on next year’s calendar given the country’s significance to F1 and motorsport.
Rossi told Motorsport.com, “I’m not talking about it as the manager of a French team, or even as a French citizen. It’s more like I think France is a racing stronghold. It’s been giving a lot to the sport. It has a big audience, a big fan base.”
“It would be a little bit kind of unfair, I would say, to remove a big milestone like the French Grand Prix from the calendar. I think it would be odd, but I’m hoping that it will stay.”
Gasly said that he wanted to “enjoy every second” of the weekend knowing it could be his last home race for a while, finding it “quite emotional to see all the French flags out there.”
Sargeant putting himself into contention for Williams seat
Williams team principal Jost Capito says that Logan Sargeant putting himself into contention for a 2023 seat by winning the F2 title would “a great headache” to have. The British-based team are believed to be considering replacing Nicolas Latifi with Alpine backed and current F2 champion Oscar Piastri on loan.
However, the team’s own protege Sargeant has enjoyed a recent surge in form, winning the F2 feature races in both Britain and Austria, as well as finishing second in Baku. Momentum may be starting to slip away following a difficult French Grand Prix weekend, after earning his second pole of the season, but he still lies third in the championship, 55 points behind Felipe Drugovich.
Should he ultimately win the title, he won’t be able to continue in the category in 2023, leaving Williams to find a new role for him. When asked about Sargeant’s prospects. said Capito, “It would be a great headache, wouldn’t it? I’ve had worse ones. Of course, we are impressed. You know, it’s his first season in F2.”
“We didn’t put any pressure on him. So he has the time to develop, and he’s really impressed us with how fast he has got to grips with the car, about the tyre management and getting results.”
Capito says the way Sargent took pole in Le Castellet was really impressive, saying he is convinced that he will be in an F1 car in the future. But with him not yet having enough super licence points stressed it was too early to make decisions on his future.
Williams has already deployed one of its rookie FP1 slots this year, with Nyck de Vries driving in Spain, and Capito indicated that Sargeant has already earned a slot. He said, “Williams has already deployed one of its rookie FP1 slots this year, with Nyck de Vries driving in Spain, and Capito indicated that Sargeant has already earned a slot.”
Capito also indicated that Williams would be willing to take another team’s driver on loan, such as Piastri, but only if it was the optimum overall choice.
