Charles Leclerc title hopes suffer major blow after shock crash - On This Day

Four years ago today, Charles Leclerc was leading the French Grand Prix at Circuit Paul Ricard, seemingly on course for a victory that would have cut into Max Verstappen's championship advantage. 

Instead, he planted his Ferrari into the barriers at Turn 11 on lap 18 and watched his 2022 title hopes begin to unravel in earnest.

Leclerc had started from pole and was controlling the race comfortably, keeping Verstappen's Red Bull at arm's length in the opening stint. 

When Verstappen pitted on lap 16 to attempt the undercut, Ferrari elected to keep Leclerc out for two additional laps, asking him to push hard on ageing tyres. It proved a fatal decision. 

On lap 18, Leclerc lost the rear of his car through the fast Turn 11, spun and hit the tyre barriers head-on. There was no coming back.

The anguished scream of "Nooooooo!" over team radio told the full story. Leclerc, to his credit, took immediate responsibility.

"It's my fault and if I keep doing mistakes like this then I deserve not to win the championship," he said afterwards. "I'm losing too many points."

Verstappen inherited the lead and cruised to victory, finishing over 10 seconds clear of Lewis Hamilton, with George Russell completing the podium for Mercedes. Carlos Sainz recovered from a grid penalty to finish fifth, adding the fastest lap for good measure.

Championship damage

Before France, Leclerc trailed Verstappen by 38 points. After it, the deficit had ballooned to 63, more than two full race victories' worth of points with 10 rounds remaining. 

Combined with his error at Imola earlier that season, Leclerc calculated he had thrown away 32 points through his own mistakes alone.

"If we're 25 or 30 points short at the end I can only blame myself," he admitted.

The prophecy proved generous. Verstappen clinched the title at Suzuka three months later and ended the season 146 points ahead of Leclerc, who finished a distant runner-up.