Charles Leclerc's championship push has taken a hit after he was forced to retire from Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix. Leclerc held his pole position advantage at the start of the race and went on to build a commanding lead, thanks in part to title rival Max Verstappen taking a trip through the gravel. However, with the first round of pit-stops completed, Leclerc reported a loss of power - due to an as yet unidentified engine issue - on Lap 27 of 66, forcing him into retirement. "No, no, no! What happened?" Leclerc shouted over the radio, as he crawled back to the pits.
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LAP 27/66 📻 "No, no, no! What happened?" Leclerc radios The Ferrari driver has lost power and is out of the race #SpanishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/iA2VPKueqT — Formula 1 (@F1) May 22, 2022
How is the Spanish GP shaping up?
Red Bull's Sergio Perez moved into the lead of the race shortly afterwards, having swapped his Soft tyres for Mediums at a similar time to Leclerc. Behind, Mercedes driver George Russell has been defending valiantly from Verstappen, who continues to face issues with his DRS device. But it remains to be seen how the various tyre strategies will play out up and down the field in the intense Spanish heat. Stay up to date with all the action at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in the RacingNews365.com live blog .
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