Charles Leclerc started on the pole of the Grand Prix De France in 2022 and spent the early stage of the race holding off points leader Max Verstappen.
Then, after 18 laps, disaster struck.
LAP 18/53
CHARLES LECLERC IS OUT OF THE RACE!!!
The Ferrari driver hits the wall at Turn 11!#FrenchGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/5SL5xQcmUc
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 24, 2022
Leclerc spun out entering turn 11 and hit the barriers. It’s rare to see cars hit the barriers in the run-off heavy Paul Ricard Circuit, which was designed as a test circuit with plenty of tarmac between the surface and the walls. Leclerc exited the car safely and walked back to the paddock.
LAP 22/53
Leclerc returns to the paddock#FrenchGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/F1fJCGU3J1
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 24, 2022
Although there was a concern that perhaps it was a tire going down due to issues earlier in the weekend, it ended up being a different issue per the driver.
“I had a hung throttle!” Leclerc screamed to his engineers over the radio in the immediate aftermath of the wreck. “No!”
This is not the first time Leclerc’s Ferrari has had throttle issues. At the last F1 race at Austria, Leclerc dramatically held off Verstappen for the win in spite of throttle issues. This time, the throttle issues appeared mid-race.
Leclerc’s wreck took him out of the points for this race and has opened the door for Verstappen to increase his 38-point lead on the Monegasque driver. The Ferrari stable still has one horse – Carlos Sainz – in the running as of press time.
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