Charles Leclerc led from the start at Paul Ricard and, with less tire degradation than his main rival Max Verstappen, seemed to have everything under control.
However, a mistake on lap 18 caused him to hit the barriers, forcing him to retire on the spot and leaving Verstappen clear to win and extend his championship lead to 63 points.
Leclerc’s mistake in France came after he lost valuable points at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, when he damaged his car after an incident on the Variant Alta while trying to claim second place. He was able to get the car back to the pits for repairs, eventually working his way back to finish sixth.
Both incidents have cost Leclerc significant championship points, and he now needs his luck to turn if he is to carry the fight with Verstappen to the end of the season.
But Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto has defended his driver and dismissed any suggestion Leclerc is error-prone.
“I think that’s a bit of an unfair thought,” he said. “I think he was clearly driving on the limit. There are things that can happen when you drive on the limit.”
“Why it happened, [we’ll see if] there’s something else, we’ll take our time with him to talk about it and to judge it, but at the moment there’s no reason to blame him.”
“I’m sure he’ll learn. We’ve always seen Charles react very well and strongly when he makes mistakes. And I’m pretty sure he’ll come back to Hungary stronger and hungrier.”
El accidente by Charles Leclerc in Le Beausset
Binotto reckons that based on the speed Ferrari has shown over the weekend, coupled with Leclerc’s better tire degradation early on, victory was within his grasp.
“It’s been a good weekend in terms of pace, and the car has shown to be very competitive. I think Carlos Sainz’s race has also reflected that.”
“Charles took pole. He was leading the race. I think we had an advantage over Red Bull in terms of tire degradation until lap 15, and then Max had to stop.
“We could have lengthened the stint and we were lengthening the stop, seeing the moment when Max stopped when he was starting to suffer from tire degradation.
“Charles was taking two or three tenths off him a lap, proving once again that our car is great and that it takes good care of the tyres.”
Rather than dwell on Paul Ricard’s disappointment, Binotto says the goal now is to hit back in Hungary.
“I think we left here, from Le Castellet, with full confidence in our package, in the ability of our drivers and in our speed.”
“Fortunately, in a week we have Hungary. It is important for us to turn the page and look forward. In Hungary it will be very hot again and everything will once again focus on tire management, tire degradation and overheating. , something very similar to what happened in Le Castellet”.
“So I will say that there are many reasons to smile, and be positive, because our goal going to Hungary should not be to win, but 1-2,” Binotto said.
Do you want to read our news before anyone else and for free? Follow us here on our Telegram channel and you won’t miss a thing. All the information, at your fingertips!
