Charles Leclerc crashes out of French Grand Prix while leading race

The Ferrari driver was leading the race

Charles Leclerc was forced to retire after hitting a wall in the French Grand Prix on Sunday, while he was in the lead of the race. The Ferrari driver - who started the race on pole - crashed his car on lap 11. It is the third time this season that the 24-year-old has been forced to retire after crashing. After starting the race well, Leclerc's tyres failed to provide him with the adequate grip, which forced his spin out and slam into the barriers at high speed. Thankfully, the Monegasque was uninjured, but he was clearly annoyed - letting out a huge scream over team radio as he complained about not being able to engage the throttle without causing that spin. https://twitter.com/SportsJOE_UK/status/1551200423926812673 Ferrari's other driver, Carlos Sainz, wasn't expected to be in contention for the race win after starting from the back of the grid. However, after making his way up to seventh place by the time the safety car came out, he gave himself a chance. The Spaniard was in danger of punishment from the stewards after an incident in the pit lane during that safety car period, and was handed a five-second time penalty for an unsafe release as he came out of his pit box into the pit lane. Leclerc was 38 points behind Max Verstappen prior to the start of the race, with the defending champion given a golden opportunity to increase his lead in the standings. At the time of the crash, Lewis Hamilton was in third position, meaning he moved up to second on the grid and behind rival Verstappen.