FranceFrance

"I think we had to do something different with the strategy today [by pitting late] and it worked out for us quite nicely with both cars inside the points. Unfortunately, I went off the track in the first stint and lost a lot of time because I was just pushing a bit too hard. Without that, I would have been closer to the group of cars ahead and with fresher tyres at the end. So maybe we could have finished a bit higher up if things had been perfect. It was hard to be consistent in such windy conditions, which were tricky for everybody to judge. But we made the best of things and it was a strong performance by the whole team with competitive race pace."

"Formula One is all about maximising what chances are available – and, after a qualifying session thwarted by ill fortune in Lance’s case and by understeer in Sebastian’s, both of them drove supremely disciplined races to deliver a double points finish at Paul Ricard today. Sebastian started steadily, overtook [Esteban] Ocon early on, and the Ferrari of [Carlos] Sainz in the closing stages, capably managed a long planned first stint on the Hard tyre, and optimised that strategy to end up ninth. Lance recovered brilliantly from a P19 grid slot, moved up to 16th immediately, then passed [Kimi] Räikkönen and [Antonio] Giovinazzi in short order. The wind was troubling him at times, as it was Sebastian also, but he coped with it superbly, continued to battle the conditions skilfully throughout the race, and finished just behind Sebastian in 10th place – a truly excellent drive that saw him finish nine places ahead of his starting position."

The circuit has been resurfaced for this year’s race, throwing an additional curveball into the race-weekend mix. The run-off at Paul Ricard may look forgiving, but the surface is grippier and abrasive to help slow cars down, with the cost of heightened tyre wear.

Maintaining the flow and keeping high average speeds is key, so expect track infringements early in the weekend too as drivers discover the limits.

For a lap at Paul Ricard, the drivers will launch off the line down to Turn One and ideally allow the car to drift towards the right-hand side of the track at speeds of 185km/h (115mph) ahead of the S de la Verrerie corners, which dip downhill slightly on entry. The off-camber nature can also prove challenging.

There’s a short straight ahead of Virage de l’Hotel, allowing drivers to pick up the pace ahead of this medium-speed corner, which tightens on exit.

Drivers have a few different apices to choose from as they navigate Turn Four ahead of the low-speed, low-traction Turns Five and Six. Drivers often short-shift through this complex before the cars start to stretch their legs through the long right-hander out of Virage de la Ste Baume.