French Grand Prix: Podium Example

French circuits are often remembered when it is necessary to cite as an example a boring race on a provincial circuit, which is not entirely fair. Of course you should not expect such unpredictability in Paul Ricard as in Jeddah, but there will be no “train” like in Monaco. This is a classic European circuit in the homeland of motorsport, where provincialism is even convivial.

The French Grand Prix opens the second part of the 2022 season. Eleven Grands Prix behind, eleven ahead – five in Europe and six away. The schedule is tight, due to the winter World Cup in Qatar, this year’s season will end earlier this year, but the second half will include a mandatory summer break and a three-week break between Monza and Singapore following the cancellation of the race in Sochi. Pretty much all other weekends will be all about racing.

Last year there were also 22 Grand Prix on the calendar. Then the 11th race was held at the Hungaroring, after which Lewis Hamilton led the championship with eight points. Max is now 38 points ahead of Leclerc. And although Charles has cleared the backlog somewhat in the last two Grands Prix, the Dutchman’s position seems inviolable. He and Red Bull have no reason to take risks, but Ferrari has to take risks – and in such a situation, Scuderia’s reliability problems fuel optimism among rivals.

In the first half of the season, the leaders were not without setbacks. In Bahrain, Red Bull Racing did not score points with Ferrari’s double, in Baku the situation was reversed. Red Bull is seven out of four in wins, and while Ferrari caught up in July, Sainz’s engine failure in Austria made up for the situation. No one has a clear advantage, which will increase interest in the remaining races.

Last year Verstappen won the French Grand Prix as convincingly as he then lost two races at Spielberg, where he lost this time. It’s interesting how things are going. Obviously any reliability issue can change everything, and the weekend will be hot – there could be overheating issues.

In Paul-Ricard the road surface is very slippery – Mercedes drivers can also participate.

The upcoming French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard is the last under the current contract not to be renewed. Formula 1 is no longer coming to Le Castellet. The podium does not fit into Formula 1’s new business plan, in which even Spa and Monaco may not have a place.

Designed as a testing ground for car manufacturers, but totally unsuitable for Formula 1, racing on the French circuit often proves to be downright boring, and belonging to one of Bernie Ecclestone’s companies can be seen as a complicating circumstance. Paul Ricard has an excellent artificial irrigation system that needs to be activated, maybe the stage would then shine with new colors.

A hypothetical replacement could be the podium in Nice, where the mayor (and former motorcycle racer) Christian Estrosi dreams of hosting a Grand Prix, but so far this is just an idea.

France has no luck with the national Grand Prix. The race was held in Reims, Le Mans, Dijon, Rouen, Clermont-Ferrand, Magny-Cours and Paul Ricard, but didn’t linger anywhere. In France there was no Silverstone or Monza, where fans come year after year – first with friends, then with families, which creates a tradition. Of the French circuits, only Le Mans has become truly legendary, but there is a very different format for the annual race festival and Formula 1 is not expected.

It is surprising that a country with such a rich motorsport history, represented in Formula 1 by a factory team and two drivers, no longer has its own podium. But the German Grand Prix has been like this for many years.

Someone thinks that the French Grand Prix will one day leave to return, but in today’s reality such a scenario seems unlikely. Will the race be held on the Champs Elysees in Paris? Liberty Media would love that.