LE CASTELLET, France: World champion Max Verstappen took full advantage of Charles Leclerc crashing out of the lead to extend his advantage in this year’s title race with a crushing victory ahead of Lewis Hamilton in Sunday’s sun-baked French Grand Prix.
The 24-year-old Dutchman drove with flawless control in the searing heat to guide his Red Bull home 10.587 seconds ahead of Mercedes’ Hamilton, in his 300th race, with George Russell, in the second Mercedes, beating Sergio Perez in the other Red Bull, for third.
It was Verstappen’s seventh win this season and the 27th of his career and a blow to Leclerc’s challenge in the opening race of the second half of the season.
After 12 of the 22 races, Verstappen leads Leclerc by 63 points in the drivers’ standings.
“We had good pace, but it was hard to follow here with the tires overheating so we stayed calm,” said Verstappen.
“You never know how it is going to go... It was unlucky for Charles and I’m glad he is ok.”
Perez finished fourth ahead of a rampant Carlos Sainz, who drove from the back of the grid to finish fifth for Ferrari ahead of Fernando Alonso of Alpine and McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Esteban Ocon was eighth in the second Alpine ahead of Daniel Ricciardo of McLaren and Lance Stroll of Aston Martin.
Hamilton was delighted to be second.
“It was a tough race as my drinks bottle didn’t work so it was a great result for us, especially considering we’re so far off the pace,” he said. “Great reliability from the team and George did an amazing job.”
On an afternoon of searing heat, with a track temperature of 52 degrees and the air 34 at the start, Leclerc made a clean start to lead into the first corner ahead of Verstappen, with Hamilton leaping clear of Perez into third.
Leclerc led by a second after the opening lap, which saw Yuki Tsunoda spin and recover while Sainz, from the back of the grid, began his charge.
Verstappen’s superior straight-line speed powered him close behind Leclerc’s Ferrari at the end of the Mistral Straight, but the leader held firm, his car squirming for grip in the heat.
Having resisted Verstappen’s early attacks, Leclerc held a lead of nine-tenths by lap 13.
Sainz, praised for his progress by Ferrari, reached 10th on lap 14.
At the front Leclerc increased his pace to draw 1.7 seconds clear by lap 15, when the track temperature was recorded at 55 degrees.
“We are planning Plan B,” Ferrari told Leclerc, refocusing on tire wear and strategy.
Verstappen came in on lap 17 for a stop in 2.4 seconds, rejoining seventh. As he came back, Ferrari warned Leclerc his tires were over-heating, but he held a 10-second lead ahead of Hamilton with Perez third, three seconds adrift.
Verstappen passed Norris swiftly for sixth, but Leclerc stayed out and then, on lap 18 crashed at Le Beausset, going heavily into the tire barrier.
He climbed out, apparently unhurt despite the estimated 175 kph impact.
The distressed Leclerc shouted that he had a throttle problem. It was his third exit from the lead this season, just as he looked capable of scoring Ferrari’s third consecutive victory.
A safety car was deployed, Hamilton pitted and Verstappen took the lead.
Leclerc emerged later to admit the crash had been his fault.
“It was a mistake, my mistake,” he said. “I was pushing too much and I lost the rear.”
Verstappen made a smooth restart to lead from Hamilton and Perez as Sainz climbed to fifth. The Spaniard was then handed a five-second penalty for an unsafe release from his pit stop.
By lap 34, Vertappen led Hamilton by 6.499 seconds with Perez third, 1.475 adrift, but blisters emerging on various tires, notably Sainz’s front right after he had passed Russell for fourth.
With 15 laps remaining, it posed problems for the Italian team’s pit wall crew and others as the swirling wind increased.
Frustrated in fourth, Sainz asked Ferrari for fresh tires who told him to go for Plan D, then to stay out and finally, in mid-overtaking of Perez to pit.
“Not now,” shouted the Spaniard who muscled through to third and then, on lap 43, pitted for tires and to serve his penalty.
It seemed Ferrari, bafflingly, had thrown away a solid chance of third as Sainz rejoined ninth, while Russell and Perez battled for the final podium spot.
Max Verstappen wins French Grand Prix after Charles Leclerc crashes out
https://arab.news/cz6wt
Max Verstappen wins French Grand Prix after Charles Leclerc crashes out
- The 24-year-old Dutchman drove with flawless control in the searing heat to guide his Red Bull home
- Lewis Hamilton was delighted to be second in the Mercedes
Set to go: Two weeks of tennis mania Down Under ahead of the Australian Open
- Leading the way is the United Cup, a mixed teams event which will be played in Perth and Sydney beginning Friday and finishing Jan. 11
- Also during the first full week of 2026, the Brisbane International will be headlined by defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, fresh off the Battle of the Sexes exhibition against Nick Kyrgios in Dubai
BRISBANE: If it’s a new year, it must be serious tennis time Down Under.
Just over six weeks since the ATP and WTA held their respective 2025 Finals, players on the men’s and women’s tours are arriving in Australia and New Zealand for a crammed two-week schedule of tournaments ahead of the Australian Open, the year’s first Grand Slam event starting Jan. 18 in Melbourne.
Leading the way is the United Cup, a mixed teams event which will be played in Perth and Sydney beginning Friday and finishing Jan. 11. The tournament will feature four of the world’s top 10 men and women including Coco Gauff, Taylor Fritz, Alex de Minaur, Iga Świątek, Alexander Zverev, Jasmine Paolini and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Also during the first full week of 2026, the Brisbane International will be headlined by defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, fresh off the Battle of the Sexes exhibition against Nick Kyrgios in Dubai.
But missing from the pre-Australian Open tournaments are the two biggest names in men’s tennis: No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and second-ranked Jannik Sinner.
Alcaraz and Sinner — who have won nine of the last 10 Grand Slam singles titles, with Sinner winning the 2025 Australian Open — have decided to play an exhibition at Incheon, South Korea on Jan. 10. After the exhibition, it’s expected they’ll fly to Australia to begin their preparations at Melbourne Park.
Alcaraz will be playing his first major in seven years without coach Juan Carlos Ferrero — the Spanish player recently announced their split. Alcaraz has not announced a replacement.
Other players at the United Cup, which begins Friday with Greece taking on Japan in Perth, include Emma Raducanu, Naomi Osaka, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Stan Wawrinka, who has said 2026 will be his last year on tour.
The 40-year-old, three-time major winner Wawrinka says he hopes to improve on his current ranking of 157 and move back into the top 100 before he retires. His highest ranking was No. 3, achieved when he won the Australian Open in 2014.
“I’m happy with the decision (to retire) and feeling at peace with that,” Wawrinka said when he arrived earlier this week in Perth.
Joining Sabalenka at the 500-level Brisbane International will be two-time major finalist Amanda Anisimova, WTA Finals champion Elena Rybakina, reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva.
The 18-year-old Andreeva is tipped to be the next big thing in women’s tennis and she could renew her rivalry with Sabalenka in Brisbane. Sabalenka leads 4-2 in the head-to-head matches but world No. 9 Andreeva had a three-set win in the Indian Wells final in 2025.
The Russian also made it to the quarterfinals at last year’s French Open and Wimbledon along with the semis at Roland Garros in 2024 when at 17 she became the youngest to reach the final four in a major since Martina Hingis at the 1997 US Open.
“Maybe the rivalry (with Sabalenka) is a little bit there but she is leading ... unfortunately ... for now,” Andreeva told Australian Associated Press this week.
Andreeva lost to Sabalenka in the semifinals in Brisbane in 2025 and again in the fourth round at the Australian Open before her victory at Indian Wells where she was the youngest winner since Serena Williams.
“That gave me a lot of confidence. Winning Indian Wells is a milestone of my career so far,” she said.
In the second week of the warm-up events, the joint ATP- WTA Adelaide International featuring 24-time Grand Slam singles champion Novak Djokovic will run from Jan. 12-17 as well as a WTA 250 tournament at Hobart, Australia.
Auckland, New Zealand will host a WTA tournament from Jan. 5-11 before the ATP plays at the same venue from Jan. 12-17. Kyrgios and Frances Tiafoe are scheduled to play in an exhibition tournament at Kooyong in Melbourne several days before the Australian Open begins.
And in the only warm-up tournament being played outside Australia or New Zealand, Hong Kong will host an ATP event from Jan. 5-11.
The ATP events will come under a new rule for 2026 to address extreme heat during men’s matches that will allow for 10-minute breaks during best-of-three-sets singles matches and is similar to what was put in place on the WTA more than 30 years ago.
