The 3 challenges of the French Grand Prix

3-way battle for victory?

At the French Grand Prix this weekend, Ferrari et Red Bull should, barring any major surprises, find themselves once again fighting for pole position and victory. Nothing much different compared to this 2022 season as the Italians and Austrians dominate the field with 4 victories for the first and 7 for the second, i.e. all 11 Grands Prix contested so far.

But in the Var, Ferrari and Red Bull could see Mercedes transform the two-person fight into a three-person fight. From Silverstone at the beginning of the month where Toto wolff and its teams have introduced a new round of improvements, the W13 of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have regained momentum. Whether in Great Britain or Austria, the Silver Arrows showed a beautiful face, however insufficient to tickle the big guys. It is for this reason that the managers of the German team are continuing the development work and are planning a series of developments for the French Grand Prix.

On a track where top speed counts enormously and where there are numerous fast turns, Mercedes could continue its march forward and thus reduce the gap a little further with the leading duo. A scenario feared by Christian Horner, main team of the Austrians. “ We expect them to be fast at Paul-Ricard. They show that they are there or not very far. » Now closer to Ferrari and Red Bull, the Brackley team and its new batch of improvements could perhaps play spoilsport in the south of France.

Will Mercedes be able to compete against Red Bull and Ferrari at the French Grand Prix? ©DPPI

Gasly, improvements to aim for points?

The 2022 season of Pierre Gasly is far from being a long, quiet river. After two successful years with Alpha Tauri in 2020 and 2021, Normandy is suffering this campaign. With an AT03 that is stagnating and performing poorly, the Habs are having a hard time stringing together good results to the point of often overdriving to try to stay in touch with the Top 10 in qualifying and in the race. A situation which often pushes him to make mistakes, thus letting points opportunities slip away.

In tough times for a few weeks, Pierre Gasly received good news ahead of the French Grand Prix. For his national meeting, the Norman will finally be able to benefit from developments on his car, the first of the season (excluding winter testing). Under the eyes of his public, and hoping that the improvements produced at the Faenza factory bring a real gain in performance, the Frenchman could finally have equipment allowing him to appear in the Top 10 where he has very often been the last two years. Otherwise, the AlphaTauri driver could experience a weekend in continuity with his last outings where he was not successful.

Will Pierre Gasly regain the points at the French Grand Prix? ©DPPI/X. Bonilla

What Grand Prix should we expect?

Paul-Ricard is a bit like that kind of circuit that is hard to get a real opinion of. Despite a designed route emphasizing speed, the Var enclosure is not unanimously accepted either within the paddock itself or among racing enthusiasts. F1. In 2019, the French Grand Prix was one of the most boring in recent years. On the contrary, the last edition was one of the best with a strategic duel between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton ultimately won first thanks to a two-stop strategy.

Besides the battle between the two world champions, the 61^e edition of the French Grand Prix was very lively last year. In total, no fewer than 52 overtakes on the track were recorded in 2021, making the French meeting one of the most popular of the previous season.

During the last French Grand Prix, Max Verstappen gained the upper hand over Lewis Hamilton. ©DPPI/F. Gooden

With the introduction of new technical regulations favoring the fact of being able to follow each other more closely, the French Grand Prix could offer a great spectacle. The Var route has in fact different areas suitable for overtaking, such as the northern chicane cutting the Mistral straight in two or the Signes bend leading onto the Beausset double straight. Less than 48 hours before the start of the race weekend, all the ingredients seem to come together for the 2022 French Grand Prix to be a Grand Prix rich in spectacle and emotion.

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