Charles Leclerc eliminated himself from the French GP by crashing while having a chance to win at Paul Ricard. Ralf Schumacher, therefore, thinks that the Monegasque threw away his victory.
Charles Leclerc eliminated himself from the French GP by crashing while having a chance to win at Paul Ricard. Ralf Schumacher, therefore, thinks that the Monegasque threw away his victory.
Max Verstappen has a 63-point lead over his nearest rival, Leclerc, after the French GP. And with 10 races to go, even if Leclerc wins the next 9 of them and Verstappen comes all the way in P2, the Ferrari driver would only be level on points with the defending champion. If this unlikely scenario happens, the last race in Abu Dhabi will decide the title as it did in 2021.
Therefore, according to Ralf Schumacher, everything indicates that the Dutchman's title defense will be successful, and this is not only due to Verstappen's good races.
Ferrari clears the way for Verstappen
"The path to Verstappen's successful title defense is not only clear, it is also being opened by Ferrari. We are witnessing an unbreakable chain here," Schumacher told Speedweek. According to the former F1 driver, Ferrari is doing everything it can to avoid becoming champions.
"Drivers make mistakes, sometimes one, sometimes the other. This time, maybe Charles threw away a victory," Schumacher concluded. Meanwhile, Verstappen has climbed so high in the championship that a first Ferrari drivers' title since 2007 already seems out of the question.