Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc suffered a severe accident that led to him withdrawing while leading the French Grand Prix, round 12 of the 2022 season of the Formula 1 World Championship, due to a problem with the reliability of the car.
As Leclerc started from first place at the Paul Ricard circuit, after setting the fastest time in the qualifying session.
Almonegasque retained his lead in the first laps, controlling the course of the race and controlling the difference despite the fierce pressure he came under from his Red Bull rival Max Verstappen, who was faster than Ferrari on the straights.
Verstappen headed to the pits at the end of lap 16, trying to force Ferrari to stop early, but the Italian team asked Leclerc to continue driving without stopping, while maintaining his tires.
However, after only a few laps, and despite the good speed shown by Leclerc, he lost control of his car at Turn 11 to hit the barriers, and was withdrawn from the race.
Leclerc told his team, angrily over the radio, that he had encountered a throttle problem similar to the one he encountered at Red Bull Ring two weeks ago, which almost cost him victory in that race.
This comes in a season where Ferrari has made many mistakes, whether strategically in some races, or reliability problems and frequent withdrawals, which contribute to strengthening Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen lead in the drivers’ world championship.