Verstappen leaves French GP victorious in Formula 1

By Selcuk Bugra Gokalp

ANKARA (AA) - Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing left the French Grand Prix victorious and grabbed his seventh GP victory in the 2022 season of Formula One on Sunday.

Dutch driver won the race with 1:30:02.112 time, 10.587 seconds in front of the second finisher, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, while Hamilton's teammate George Russell finished third with 16.495 seconds behind Verstappen.

"I think we had really good pace from the start, but following around here with the heat, I could only go for a move once," Verstappen said, adding: "We tried to stay calm, stay close."

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who started the race at the pole and had kept his lead until Lap 18, had to quit after crashing to the barriers at Turn 11 on Lap 18.

Referring to his rival Leclerc's accident in the race, Verstappen said: "You never know how the race is going to go, but the car was quick today. I hope Charles is okay. I was just looking after the tyres until the end."

Carlos Sainz of Ferrari, who finished the Grand Prix fifth, recorded the fastest lap on the track.

Yuki Tsunoda of AlphaTauri also retired from the race as a result of the damage from his collision with Esteban Ocon of Alpine on the opening lap.

Verstappen leads the driver standings with 233 points, while Leclerc placed second with 170 and Sergio Perez of Red Bull Racing lays at the third spot with 163 points.

In the constructor standings, Red Bull has the lead with 396 points, while Ferrari are runners-up with 314 points and Mercedes placed third with 270 points.

The Round 13 of Formula One will be held in Hungary on July 31.