The Dutchman pointed out that the tires overheated a lot during the race at Paul Ricard and there was no more time to make another pit stop
Max Verstappen took his seventh victory of the 2022 Formula 1 season at the French GP on Sunday (24). The Red Bull driver took advantage of the setback of Charles Leclerc, who spun alone early in the race at Paul Ricard and abandoned after a crash at turn 11, to secure another victory and extend his lead in the Drivers' World Championship.
The Red Bull driver highlighted the good pace of the car, but stressed that it was difficult to conserve tires in the French heat. Max also admitted that Leclerc's accident was unfortunate and hoped that the Monegasque driver was unhurt.
"I think we had a really good pace from the start, I was pushing Charles, but following here, with the heat, the tires overheat a lot, so I couldn't really make a go of it - only once," Verstappen said. "We tried to stay calm, stay close. We stopped a little bit early, and from then on you never know what's going to happen in the race. The car was fast today," he followed.
"Of course, it was unfortunate for Charles and I hope he is okay," he commented. "Then I was just taking care of the tires until the end. With the pit-lane being so long, you couldn't make another stop, so I had to stay on track. The tires were overheating a lot, so it was a matter of taking care of them until the end," he closed.
Formula 1 returns next weekend, July 29-31, with the Hungarian Grand Prix, which closes the first part of the championship. GRANDE PRÊMIO follows LIVE and IN REAL TIME all the activities of the weekend in Hungaroring.