2022 French GP: Post-race reactions from Max,Checo and Red Bull

World Champion Max Verstappen took a commanding seventh victory of the season at the 2022 French Grand Prix after title rival Charles Leclerc sensationally crashed out of the race after just 18 laps.

Sergio Pérez was forced to settle for fourth place after being ambushed by Mercedes’ George Russell at the end of a late Virtual Safety Car period. Second place behind Max went to Lewis Hamilton as Mercedes claimed a double podium.

At the start of the race, polesitter Leclerc made the best getaway and the Ferrari driver took the lead as Max held second place. Checo, though, made a slow start from third place on the grid and within metres he was passed by Hamilton. Behind them George Russell held his starting place of fifth ahead of Alpine’s Fernando Alonso who got ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris.

After shadowing Leclerc for the opening laps, Max closed in at the end of lap six as he began his attack. He tried to go around the outside through Le Beausset but Leclerc positioned his car well to keep the Red Bull at bay. Meanwhile, behind them Hamilton was also fending off a charge from Checo.

The Mexican pushed hard to get past the Mercedes over the first five laps but as his tyres began to suffer in the wake behind the seven-time champion’s car, Checo backed off to manage wear and plot his next move.

Max Verstappen (P1)

“We had really good pace from the start, although following around here, the tyres overheated a lot so I couldn’t really go for a move but I stayed calm and stayed close. It was really unlucky for Charles and I’m glad he’s okay, it could have been a really fun race because both cars were so quick! From there I just concentrated on my own race and looked after the tyres.

The pit lane is so long here so that prevented us from having another pit stop. Today was a great day but there are plenty more races ahead of us and I just always aim for the most points possible, the fight is nowhere near over.”

Sergio Perez (P4)

“It was a difficult one out there today, I was off the pace and unfortunately wasn’t able to get the podium we wanted. I struggled with tyre management and it was tough to get on top of it. I had a close battle with George but it was a good one, I wish we could have pushed for a 1-2 but Mercedes were very strong and it was difficult to overtake them. There are some bits for us to analyse and hopefully I will recover my pace and come back stronger for Hungary.”

Christian Horner, Team Principal

“The main thing today is that Charles was ok, it was a cracking race between Max and him in that first stint. We pushed the button early and went for the undercut, Max had effectively taken track position, so it’s a shame we didn’t get to see how that played out, it would have been a great battle. In the end it was a straight forward victory for Max and a very good point scoring day.

It was frustrating we didn’t have Checo on the podium too, it was just bad timing for the virtual safety car for him, there was a software error so they were held longer than they should have been. We have to keep pushing this season and look to get the best out of every ounce of performance, there are lots of factors at play but today was a big day for us.”