French Grand Prix: Max Verstappen wins after devastated Charles Leclerc crashes out with 'unacceptable' mistake

By Jack Bantock, CNN

Updated 1550 GMT (2350 HKT) July 24, 2022

Max Verstappen celebrates as he leaves his car after winning the French Formula One Grand Prix.

(CNN)Max Verstappen eased to victory at the French Grand Prix to extend his championship lead over a devastated Charles Leclerc, whose recent woes continued with a high-speed crash on Sunday.

An anguished scream on team radio from Leclerc summarized another frustrating day for Ferrari, after the Monegasque driver — having led from pole — slammed into the wall at high-speed on lap 18. It is the third time this season that the 24-year-old has failed to finish a race having led. Leclerc has converted only two of his seven pole starts into wins, with the latest gifting Verstappen the opportunity to open up a 63-point gap in the driver's championship.And Red Bull's reigning world champion — after checking in with his team to ask if Leclerc was ok — made no mistake to win his 27th career grand prix, and his second in a row at the Circuit Paul Ricard.Verstappen leads Lewis Hamilton at Circuit Paul Ricard.«The car was quick today,» Verstappen said. «Unlucky for Charles, I hope he is OK, but I just did my race and looked after the tyres.Read More»I always try to get the most points possible. Some moves, you see they are on, and sometimes you just have to back out and wait for the end of the race. That's what we did. «There are plenty more races to come where you have to score points. In that aspect, today was a great day.»An excellent day for Mercedes sawLewis Hamilton and George Russell secure the team's first double podium of the season. After three straight third place finishes, Hamilton went one better in his 300th race, while Russell overtook Red Bull's Sergio Perez with