The second half of the season starts from the stage in the French Le Castellet. The main characters have not changed – Ferrari and Red Bull. However, this time Hamilton and Russell are planning to seriously prevent them.
Stage features
“Formula 1” again arrived in France – here from 22 to 24 July will be the next stage of the championship. The history of relations between F-1 and the country is very complicated. The French side has hosted the stage for many decades, but the series has never lingered here for long. There were at least half a dozen locations: even with little experience, fans remember the Magny-Cours track, on which, by the way, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso were still active pilots . But there were others, places that did not stay on the calendar for long.
One such place is the Paul Ricard circuit in Le Castellet, a few dozen kilometers from Marseille. In 2018, Formula 1 came here again and to this day holds stages here.
The track is unique in its own way: it is long – 5.8 kilometers, ideally gentle, and turns here for every taste. Engineers don’t like to come here too much, because setting up a car for a track is such a puzzle.
Another feature is configuration. In total, there are 247 different circuits on the Paul Ricard – from 0.8 to 5.8 kilometers long, they are used for different racing series. Plus, there is an artificial watering system, which makes the track suitable for pre-season testing of various auto and motorcycle races.
But, despite the unique features, the race here is still quite boring. The reason for this is the features of the cars or the configuration of the track is unknown. But there are rumors that in 2023 France will again be excluded from the calendar.
Disposition before the stage
Dutch pilot Max Verstappen will arrive at the 12th stage as the leader of the season. The leader of the “Red Bull” has a good margin of safety in front of the closest competitor from the “Ferrari” Charles Leclerc – 38 points. Even in the event of his own retirement and the victory of the opponent, the reigning world champion will still retain leadership in the individual standings.
For Max’s partner, the Mexican Checo Perez , the stage in France is an occasion to prove, first of all, to himself that excellent performances at the beginning of the season are not a single surge, but his real level. In the last races, the Mexican passed a few. Yes, there were technical difficulties with the car, but basically the problem lies in the pace of the racer: he began to yield not only to Verstappen and Leclerc, but also to the co-pilot of Ferrari Carlos Sainz . Perez believes that the latest updates to the car are more suitable for his teammate than for him. Be that as it may, if the Mexican is going to fight for the title, it is urgent to solve problems.
Charles Leclerc will arrive at the Paul Ricard in high spirits. Still, he won in Austria, on the home track of competitors, and even did it for the first time in three months. In the last Grand Prix, there has been a general trend: after the stage in Canada, Ferrari is consistently faster than Red Bull. True, the “reds” cannot bring both cars to the podium. Well, in France, it’s time to put all your cards on the table. There is less and less time to win back the gap from competitors.
For Mercedes, the upcoming stage is also very important. In England the silver car was up to par with the competition, in Austria the pace was the same, although the track configuration slowed the W13 down a bit. But in France, Hamilton and George Russell can show the maximum potential of the car. The Paul Ricard has everything that an Anglo-German car loves so much: long straights with smooth asphalt, an abundance of fast and medium-speed turns. In France, the Mercedes won’t bounce around the track, so the engineers will tune the car as low as possible. And here the capabilities of the W13 will appear in all their glory.
Experts say it will be the best race for the guys from Brackley all season. Some even bet on the Mercedes double. The boss of the team, Toto Wolf , is more restrained in his assessments: he set a goal for his guys to come to the podium with at least one car. It seems that the functionary is a little cunning: the potential of the machine can allow much more. In any case, if Mercedes intervenes in the struggle of the leaders, the race will become much more interesting.
Risk factors
Over the past month, abnormally hot weather has set in Europe. The thermometers reached +44 degrees Celsius. France is no exception, but nature took pity on the teams a little: the maximum temperature for the weekend is expected to be “only” + 35 degrees.
This heat creates a big headache for all teams. Air +35, asphalt +50 – these are monstrous conditions for a performance. Imagine a pilot dressed in a dense fireproof suit in such weather, and a power plant “breathes” in his back, a gearbox that heats up even more.
It will be hard for cars. Engineers will have to think hard about how to squeeze the maximum power on such a fast track and take care of sufficient cooling of the nodes. It will be even more difficult for tires: on such hot asphalt they will “leave” with amazing speed. Those racers who manage tire consumption best of all, and at the same time reach the finish line, can become the winners of the stage.
