The crash that could prove to be the end of Charles Leclerc’s title challenge against Red Bull and Max Verstappen has left Lewis Hamilton “gutted”.
The seven-time world champion expects the Dutchman, who beat him to last year’s crown in controversial circumstances, to again swoop to the title after winning the French Grand Prix following Leclerc’s dramatic shunt at Circuit Paul Ricard.
Hamilton, 37, believes both the Monegasque and Carlos Sainz have excelled with Ferrari this season but he sees Verstappen’s 63-point lead ahead of the final ten races as “massive”.
“It's been great to see the pace of the Ferrari this year,” he told reporters.
“I’m gutted for Charles, who’s being doing a great job, as has Carlos. It’s not easy though, having that pace and that performance and maintaining it.
“It's a tough job and I feel for the whole team because I know what that can feel like. But they're a great team, and they'll continue to keep their heads down.
“Yeah, massive gaps, obviously pretty huge so that's pretty smooth sailing in that space [for Verstappen] generally. But a lot still can go wrong up ahead so I would just advise them just to continue to push.”
