F1 practice LIVE: Carlos Sainz tops the timesheets in FP2 with Lewis Hamilton down in fifth at French GP
23.07.2022 - 18:21
/ msn.com
LIVE – Updated at 13:57Follow live F1 coverage as the French Grand Prix weekend kicks off with free practice sessions one and two at Circuit Paul Ricard. Charles Leclerc reignited his world championship hopes by racing to victory at the Austrian Grand Prix last time out as team-mate Carlos Sainz emerged unscathed from his Ferrari after it caught fire. Leclerc passed championship leader Max Verstappen three times to claim his first triumph since he took the chequered flag in Australia on April 10.
Verstappen finished second after Sainz’s engine expired with 14 laps remaining. Sainz’s retirement allowed Lewis Hamilton to take third with Mercedes team-mate George Russell fourth despite an opening-lap collision with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. At the half-way mark, Verstappen has a 38-point lead from Leclerc in second, while Perez - who retired from last Sunday’s race - is third a further 19 points back.
The next race is this weekend of 22-24 July at Circuit Paul Ricard at the French Grand Prix; Verstappen won last year’s race, overtaking Hamilton on the penultimate lap. FP1 took place earlier with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc going fastest, Verstappen 2nd and Sainz 3rd. Second practice starts at 4pm (BST).
As odd as it may seem to jump the gun during Grand Prix No. 12 of a 22-race season, this weekend’s French Grand Prix in the picturesque southern region of Le Castellet is something of a last chance saloon for one team and, more pertinently, one venue. First, to Circuit Paul Ricard, which only returned to Formula 1 in 2018 after a 28-year absence.
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