Unreliability has already cost Verstappen lots of points in 2022 and it was perhaps inevitable that Leclerc would suffer his own bad luck at some stage during the championship fight.
As Matt Kew shows in our in-depth race coverage, what’s unfortunate for Leclerc is that his Barcelona retirement came when he was dominating a race in which Verstappen had made his first serious mistake of the year and was being hampered by another gremlin.
Red Bull also used team orders to assist Verstappen – in round six of a 22-race campaign – and Alex Kalinauckas looks at the possible impact that could have on Sergio Perez.
Leclerc will be hoping to break his home jinx at the Monaco GP this weekend, when the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 also takes place. Scott Dixon took pole at a record speed and David Malsher-Lopez speaks to some of the frontrunners, picks out the storylines to watch and even predicts the top three in our preview…
Elsewhere, Tom Howard was in Portugal to see Kalle Rovanpera take a remarkable World Rally Championship success as the series celebrated 50 years, while Gary Watkins heard how Peugeot’s radical new Le Mans racer is shaping up from some of the key figures.
Sim star Jimmy Broadbent has a massive online following and is now embarking on a real racing adventure in club competition. He tells us about his switch and how he hopes to draw a new audience to the UK’s vibrant racing scene in the National section.
We’ve also got reports and news from another weekend of domestic action, including RAM Racing winning its appeal against the controversial British GT results at Oulton Park.
Stephen Lickorish, recently nominated for a Professional Publishers Association Award, calls for some lessons to be learned from some near-misses and questionable decisions at Brands Hatch recently.
For the best motorsport coverage, from F1 to Britain’s club-racing scene, why not get Autosport magazine delivered to your door each week? Subscribe today and never miss your weekly fix of motorsport: www.autosportmedia.com/offer/article
