Lewis Hamilton was very sorry about Charles Leclerc's crash at the French GP, but said Ferrari is a great team and will keep working hard to win the title in 2022
Lewis Hamilton has been through countless situations throughout his 15 years in Formula 1, from triumphs to mistakes at crucial moments in the championship, such as the one made by Charles Leclerc at the French GP last Sunday. The Englishman even said he was "devastated" by the abandonment of the Monegasque, since Ferrari proves to have a car capable of winning the 2022 title.
On lap 18, Leclerc lost the rear end of his F1-75 at turn 11 and ended up on the tire barrier, saying goodbye to the race at Paul Ricard. But what seemed at first to be more of a reliability problem was in fact a mistake, and the driver himself absolved the team of blame.
"It's great to see Ferrari's pace this year," Hamilton told the press while still in France. "I'm devastated for Charles, who has done a great job, as has Carlos [Sainz]. But it's not easy to have that pace and performance and maintain them," the #44 Mercedes driver stressed.
"It's a tough job, and I feel for the whole team, because I know what it's like. But they are a great team and they will keep working hard," Hamilton added.
After Leclerc's retirement and Max Verstappen's victory in France, the gap in the Drivers' World Championship between the two main contenders for the 2022 title is already 63 points. Hamilton admitted that the Dutchman has a hard-to-take advantage, but preferred not to give the championship as lost to the #16.
"Yes, it's huge gaps, very big gaps, so it's a good distance for [Verstappen] to sail smoothly, overall. But a lot can go wrong further on, so I would just give one piece of advice, keep pushing," the seven-time champion finished.