Weekend nr 8: Announcement of the French Grand Prix

The eighth weekend, the eighth race – the fastest circus in the world comes to the Paul Ricard track.

Before the drivers and the teams are the new racing weekend – the French Grand Prix.

In the past seven years, Mercedes has celebrated with dominant performances on everyone. Bolid, along with the drivers, works perfectly, so it does not surprise the number of victories. Literally, all paths suit them – whether it has directions or it’s a street circuit. They are definitely favorites in France too.

Ferrari, who slowly awakens from them an unknown dream, might be very close to the German team. Something started to happen positively. They took poles on the last race, and the finish line went as first. However, the penalty for their driver cost them the most stairs of the stand.

Red Bull or simply Max Verstappen, are constantly there. They are looking at every opportunity to take what they previously ‘messed up’ from their rivals. Again, it must be admitted that their strategy is a great side. They could be much closer here than they did at the last race.

McLaren, who is slowly returning, although he failed to reach points in Montreal, definitely proved he is capable of entering the top 10. The Woking team is on the right track.

Renault, this is a domestic race for the French team. Looks like they woke up in time. They did a great job on the Gilles Villeneuve trail and announce that they want more and more even better. Their motive is not missing. Winning points from both cars is certainly possible – especially on the driver’s tandem.

Racing Point is a team that has just begun to ‘rock’. On one race they are in points, while on the other they are unrecognizable. Although they are able to find themselves in the points winners, they will need to do much more effort here.

Toro Rosso woke up. His drivers have something in themselves that others do not have. Gradually they rise in the constructor’s order. France could easily pass with points in the ‘pocket’.

Haas F1 Team drowned in some gray. The American team does not show its potential. However, it must be acknowledged that drivers are getting into incidents, making things so difficult. Really they can score, but…

Alfa Romeo is in a crisis. Kimi Raikkonen who has won all their points, certainly can not alone. A second driver is needed to help. What they can do here is difficult to say. With regard to the current situation will be impossible to get some points in France.

Like all previous races, Williams will look at this from the last positions.

Track info:

• Lenght of the circle: 5.842km
• Number of circles: 53
• Length of race: 309.69km
• Circumference: 1: 34: 225 – Valtteri Bottas (2018)

DRS:

As before, Paul Ricard’s track will have two DRS zones. The first detection zone is 75m before the turn 7, and the activation is 170m after turning. The second detection zone is located on the turn 14, while the activation is 115m after the turn 15.

Tires:

Drivers in France will have a medium soft rubber component – C2 (hard – white mark), C3 (medium – yellow) and C4 (soft – red). So the majority (12) of the driver took 1 set of hard, 9 sets of media and 9 sets of soft tires. The most aggressive in the selection are Renault, Haas, Alfa Romeo and Toro Rosso. As for the top three teams, Ferrari drivers took 1 set of hard, 3 mediums and 9 sets of soft (soft) tires. Mercedes is also on the same combination. The only difference is the Red Bull driver, Max Verstappen. The Dutchman took 4 mediums and 8 soft sets.

Weekend Schedule:

Friday 21.06

free training: 11:00 – 12:30h
2nd free training: 15:00 – 16:30h

Saturday 22.06.

Free training 12:00 – 13:00h
Qualifications: 15:00 – 16:00h

Sunday 23.06.
Race: 15:10h