Race 2018 F1 French Grand Prix Full Race Replay
Race 2018 F1 French Grand Prix Full Race Replay
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Race Info
Date 24 June 2018
Official name Formula 1 Pirelli Grand Prix de France 2018
Location Circuit Paul Ricard
Le Castellet, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
Course Permanent racing circuit
Course length 5.842 km (3.630 miles)
Distance 53 laps, 309.690 km (192.432 miles)
Formula One French Grand Prix 2018 What to Watch
After a decade away from the sport, France is back on the Formula 1 calendar this weekend.
Circuit Paul Ricard at Le Castellet hosts the eighth round of the 2018 season – the first time F1 has been held at the track since 1990.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel leads the drivers’ standings coming into this race, having secured his third win of the season at the Canadian Grand Prix last time out.
Usually we start our race previews with a recap of last year’s race, but that’s a little tricky for the French Grand Prix since the race hasn’t been on the calendar since 2008. Magny-Cours was the previous home of the F1 in France, taking over from Le Castellet for the 1991 season.
The previous French Grand Prix saw Ferrari win three in a row, with Felipe Massa joining Kimi Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher as winners. Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso are both former French Grand Prix champions, but none of the current Formula One drivers have competed at Le Castellet.
The circuit Although Paul Ricard has had a number of various configurations over the years, Nelson Piquet won for Brabham in 1985, the final time Formula One was held over the entire circuit.
The track has undergone some renovations since its last appearance in Formula One, and the event itself is new to the 2018 schedule.
The entire track, which was 5.809 kilometers long and featured 14 turns, was last utilized in Formula One. Due in significant part to the inclusion of a chicane on the Mistral Straight, the circuit is now marginally longer at 5.842. Additionally, the third, fourth, and fifth turns have been changed.
Le Castellet's inclusion means that Formula One is about to embark on its first triple header, with three races spread across the following three weekends.
This weekend marks the first time Mercedes will compete at Circuit Paul Ricard. The factory returned as an engine supplier in 1993 when the French Grand Prix had shifted to Magny-Cours, but the business had already left Formula One in 1955, before the track had hosted the sport.
Lewis Hamilton will be racing at the track for the first time, while over half of the current field has raced there in previous series.
For this weekend's event, Pirelli has chosen ultrasoft, supersoft, and soft tires, which are a step down from the tires used at the previous two Grands Prix.
Red Bull has chosen to bring less sets of the ultrasoft tire to Paul Ricard than any other team, suggesting that they are more focused on the race than qualifying because Le Castellet is regarded as a power circuit.
With sunny weather predicted all weekend, it doesn't appear that drivers will have to worry about using wet or intermediate tires this weekend.
At the circuit, temperatures are predicted to reach a sweltering 31°C for FP1 and FP2, then to hover around 27°C for Saturday's qualifying. For the race on Sunday, the temperature is predicted to stay at about 26°C, but there will be some cloud cover.
In addition to being hot and dry, the track is expected to have strong winds, with daily gusts of 25 to 30 mph.
With no recent track history to look at, it's a tough race to forecast, but there will be plenty of cheering from the home crowd.
With three drivers on the grid, France has more current F1 drivers than any other country. Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon and Romain Grosjean have all raced at Le Castellet is other series, but it will be the first time the trio have had a home race in F1. The track is also less than 200km from Monaco, meaning there’s also likely to be strong support for Charles Leclerc.
Although the track has large runoff areas, drivers will be desperate the keep their cars on the track this weekend. The circuit has been resurfaced ahead of its return to F1, giving it a smooth, grippy surface which is expected to be similar to the new asphalt at Circuit de Catalunya.
As the engine provider to McLaren and Williams, Honda has a strong history at Paul Ricard, having won four of the previous five races there, albeit on the small circuit. Although Honda's chances of competing against Toro Rosso this weekend are slim, the manufacturer did bring an updated power unit to the most recent race in Canada, which seemed to boost performance. The team will be looking to fully use their upgraded power unit this time out after Gasly was given a grid penalty in Montreal and Brendon Hartley was destroyed in a first-lap collision.
With 17 victories overall, including the last three in Magny-Cours and six of the previous eight, Ferrari is the most dominant team in France. Having won the French Grand Prix eight times, Michael Schumacher is the driver with the most victories.
This is the first time this version of the track has been used, hence the person who sets the quickest lap in the race will hold the lap record. Keke Rosberg currently holds the long circuit lap record, having set a time of 1:39.914 in Williams' FW10 in 1985. Since then, the lap has gotten a little longer and the track's longest straight has acquired a chicane.