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The F1 French GP was filled with heartbreak and joy as Charles Leclerc crashed his way not only out of the race but probably out of title contention as well, while Max Verstappen bagged another win. The championship standings show Max Verstappen leading at the top by 63 points, an advantage that is huge for all intents and purposes!
The 2022 F1 French GP was action-packed from start to finish. So, when all is said and done, who will be chuffed by how things panned out, and who will have a bitter taste in their mouth at the end of the weekend? Let's take a look at the winners and the losers for the F1 French GP.
Winners and Losers of 2022 F1 French GP
Winner
Max Verstappen
That's a 63-point lead in the championship for Max Verstappen now. There's one thing that you won't find Max Verstappen doing often and that is making mistakes. Even this weekend, the reigning world champion might have been on the backfoot in Qualifying as he lost out to Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, but he did not panic. He kept his head in the game and kept chipping away in the race.
While there was a probability that Max Verstappen would not have won the race had the Monegasque not binned it, it would have been a case where he covered all the basics at the very least. In the end, Leclerc made a mistake and Verstappen took the win. With the metronomic consistency that the Red Bull driver is showing right now, he's close to getting one hand on the championship already.
Loser
Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc's 2022 F1 French GP moment is eerily similar to Sebastian Vettel's 2018 F1 German GP moment. When you fight a juggernaut like Max Verstappen, you cannot make mistakes. This was the second time Leclerc has made a mistake in so far this season and if you compare it to the crazy standards of consistency Verstappen has set, it's just not good enough to win a championship.
Leclerc will be thinking long and hard about this lapse in concentration because, by the looks of it, this could have been the race where he let the championship slip away.
Winner
Mercedes
Mercedes is now within striking distance of Ferrari. Unlike the Italian squad, the German team does not make mistakes. In terms of pace, Mercedes is still not quite in the league of the front two teams. There is still a clear gulf. However, when it comes to executing a race, Mercedes has not dropped many points this season.
It is evident that the German team is closing the gap to the front runners. Could it end up overhauling Ferrari in the constructors' championship? It's hard to count that out just yet.
Loser
Ferrari
It's the toughest job in the world to be a Ferrari fan right now. The 2022 French GP was another example of this. Sure, Charles Leclerc's crash was entirely on him, but what was the team doing with Carlos Sainz's strategy? There seems to be a clear strategy paralysis at Ferrari, which has been there since Fernando Alonso drove for the team almost a decade ago.
It's surprising to see a front-running team make these many errors over the course of a season. Unless the team produces a car that is clearly much faster than Red Bull's (and more reliable as well), it cannot beat the Austrian team on an operational level and this race, with Carlos Sainz's strategy, was just another example of that.
Winner
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso's battle in the midfield in the French GP was against Lando Norris, and the Spaniard was able to get the better of him. Having said that, this is not the first time Alonso has done this. He did the same thing at Silverstone as well.
For quite a few races now, Alonso has been the benchmark at Alpine, while his teammate Esteban Ocon has struggled to keep up. The Spaniard is 40 years old now, and the level at which he's driving is nothing short of spectacular.
Loser
Alfa Romeo
Remember Barcelona, where Valtteri Bottas was easily the class of the midfield? That's not the case anymore! All of a sudden Alfa Romeo's performance has fallen off a cliff and there's no signs of it returning soon. The team struggled this weekend again. Hopes of Alfa Romeo being part of the battle at the front of the midfield seem quite distant now.
