22-24th July - Race report by Aramco

FranceFrance

2022 season

Lance and Sebastian battled hard in the heat at Circuit Paul Ricard, with Lance bringing home a valuable point after a great start and Sebastian just missing out on a top-10 result.

2022 season

French Grand Prix circuit figures

Number of pitstops

Longest stint (laps)

257

Total laps in France

1501

Total Km in France

Fastest lapM:S.MS

1.39.185

Lance

1.39.044

Sebastian

Max speedKM/H

331.1

Lance

335.4

Sebastian

We're continuing our trend of being more competitive on a Sunday so today is a good platform.
Lance Stroll

French GP

Lance Stroll

"We had a great first lap today that set us up to have a great race. I nearly got [Esteban] Ocon in Turn Nine as well, but it was important to have such a good start.

"I felt I had some momentum in the closing stages to possibly catch [Daniel] Ricciardo. We are continuing our trend of being more competitive on a Sunday so today is a good platform as the summer break approaches.

"I had a snap on the exit on the last lap because I was struggling with my tyres at the very end. It was a good fight with Sebastian, but the most important thing was to bring a point home for the team today."

The cars ahead of us were not disappearing – and we also understand the car a little bit more now.
Sebastian Vettel

French GP

Sebastian Vettel

"My afternoon was frustrating. I was stuck in traffic for the whole race – but you expect that when you start in the midfield.

And, with the strategy, I do not think there was really much more the team could have done there.

"It is clear that we need more grip. In the race, things were not too bad – the cars ahead of us were not disappearing – and we also understand the car a little bit more after this weekend.

"I had a chance to pass Lance on the final lap; I was a little bit faster but we are not fighting over one point – it is the same net result for the team. It does not make any difference."

A double points finish would have been great, but it was not to be.
Mike Krack - Team Principal

French GP

Mike Krack

"We decided on a one-stop strategy for both drivers, but we did not want to risk stacking our drivers' tyre stops during the Safety Car period triggered by [Charles] Leclerc's accident because the pit lane was extremely congested at that point and we would have had to hold Sebastian for too long.

"Despite rear tyre degradation in the last third of the race, Lance did well to hold on to 10th and thereby score a hard-earned point, with Sebastian just behind him.

"A double points finish would have been great, but it was not to be. Even so, our race pace was decent and our reliability was good, and that is a solid basis to take forward to the Hungaroring – a circuit that we think may suit our car better than Paul Ricard.

"Last but far from least, on behalf of our whole team, I want to express our deepest sympathy with the family and friends of 18-year-old Jake Pedley, one of our apprentices, who tragically lost his life in a road accident on Tuesday."

Your guide to France

With Cognizant

Insight and Speed

Overtaking

Expect to see a good number of overtakes during the race: Paul Ricard has (on average) 46 on-track passes outside of lap one. That's above the average for the season. There are two DRS zones, ahead of Turn One and Turn Eight. Expect most of the overtaking to be done into these two corners.

Safety Cars

They're uncommon. There has been just one Safety Car here in the past – the end of lap one in 2018. VSCs have also been used in recent years for debris and stopped cars despite the vast run-off areas, which can mitigate some of the loss in the relatively long time it takes to complete a pit-stop if positioned well.

Tyres

The C2, C3 and C4 compounds will be used together for the first time since May's Miami Grand Prix. The selection is a step harder than the compounds used in Austria. Generally, this is a one-stop race, but expected hot temperatures could change things around slightly.

With SentinelOne

Unlocking the Lap

A lap begins with a tricky left-right chicane – the S de la Verrerie. Its slightly off-camber entry makes it tough to nail the apex; running wide can push drivers onto the exit kerbs. With its wide entry, it is considerably faster than it appears on the track map.

The key overtaking point is at Turns Eight and Nine – the chicane at the halfway point of the famous Mistral Straight. Nailing the entry is crucial, but getting the exit right sets drivers up for the following straight. It is often better to compromise the entry to set up the exit onto the second part of the straight.

Following the famed Signes corner is the tricky double-apex Beausset, Turn 11. It is a very long, fast right-hander and carrying momentum is key to setting up the next sequence of corners. It is over 180-degrees in radius and the front-left tyre suffers the most here on this clockwise circuit.