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Preview: French Grand Prix - track guide, prediction, race preview

:Headline: Preview: French Grand Prix - track guide, prediction, race preview:
Sports Mole previews Sunday's French Grand Prix at Circuit Paul Ricard, including predictions, a track guide and qualifying results.
Sports Mole

After Carlos Sainz won in Great Britain and Charles Leclerc claimed victory in Austria, Ferrari will be hoping to clinch a third consecutive win at the French Grand Prix on Sunday.

Meanwhile, world championship leader Max Verstappen will be aiming to stand on top of the podium for the seventh time this season.


Race preview

Leclerc has had two weeks to celebrate his third win of the season after holding off a late charge from Max Verstappen to emerge victorious at the Austrian GP.

The Monegasque driver will now be looking to build upon the win in Austria as he bids to close the 38-point gap to the championship leader Verstappen.

While Leclerc celebrated a win two weeks ago, Sainz was left to mull over a reliability issue that curtailed his Austrian GP.

The Spaniard looked set to overtake Verstappen, but just as he went to launch a move past the Dutchman, his car suffered an engine failure, which caused the Ferrari to burst into flames.

Sainz's hopes of finishing on the podium this weekend may also be slim after taking a 10-place grid penalty for using too many engine parts.

As for the reigning world champion, Verstappen would have been content with a sprint race win and a second-placed finish in the main race two weeks ago, but he will be looking to halt the Ferrari fightback this weekend.

The Dutchman has the chance to extend his gap at the top of the Championship if he can clinch his seventh race win of the season on Sunday.

Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez is also hoping to have a positive weekend after a first-lap incident with George Russell forced the Mexican to retire on the 24th lap in Austria.

With Perez now 57 points behind his teammate, the 32-year-old will be well aware that he needs a run of successful races to rekindle his championship hopes.

Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, will make his 300th start in Formula One, with the seven-time world champion aiming to finish on the podium for the fourth consecutive Grand Prix after finishing in third spot in the last three races.

Russell has finished in the top five of every race that he has finished, and the 24-year-old will be hoping to earn a podium place for the fourth time this season when he lines up on the grid on Sunday.


Track Guide

After spending time in the Styrian hills, Formula 1 heads to a circuit that has 247 different track variations, but the one used on Sunday will be 5.8km long.

The track is relatively smooth and flat, and unlike the gravel traps of Austria, Circuit Paul Ricard is characterised by a number of long run-off areas.

Although the circuit contains some long straights, the track also has a number of low-speed sections which will test the drivers over the weekend.

There will be two DRS zones in play on Sunday, one will activate down the pit straight and the other will be used after turn seven for the one-mile-long Mistral straight.

Since the circuit returned to the calendar in 2018, every race has been won by the driver that started from pole position, which highlights the importance of qualifying this weekend.

The championship leader will be looking for his second win at the French Grand Prix after winning the race last year.

As well as Verstappen, Fernando Alonso and Hamilton are the only drivers on the grid who are previous winners of the French Grand Prix.

After winning in Austria, Leclerc will be hoping to claim his first Formula 1 victory in France as he bids to win consecutive races for the first time this season.


Qualifying Results

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
3. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
4. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
5. Lando Norris (McLaren)
6. George Russell (Mercedes)
7. Fernando Alonso (Alpine)
8. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
9. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)
10. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
11. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
12. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin)
13. Alexander Albon (Williams)
14. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri)
15. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
16. Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)
17. Mick Schumacher (Haas)
18. Nicholas Latifi (Williams)
19. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
20. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)

Leclerc clinched Ferrari's first pole at Circuit Paul Ricard since 1990, after finishing three tenths clear of Verstappen, who had to settle for second place.

Sainz – who created a tow for his teammate – will start at the back of the grid alongside Haas driver Magnussen after the pair were awarded grid penalties for exceeding their respective allocations for engine components.

Perez will start in third place, while British drivers Hamilton, Norris and Russell will line up in fourth, fifth and sixth place respectively.

Alonso put in a lap good enough for sixth place, while Tsunoda enjoyed a successful qualifying session to clinch the eighth grid spot.

Ricciardo will be looking to move up from ninth place on Sunday, while Ocon will begin his home race in 10th position.


Driver Standings

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 208
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 170
3. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) - 151
4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) - 133
5. George Russell (Mercedes) - 128
6. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - 109
7. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 64
8. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) - 52
9. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) - 46
10. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) - 29
11. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) - 22
12. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) - 17
13. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) - 16
14. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) - 15
15. Mick Schumacher (Haas) - 12
16. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) - 11
17. Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) - 5
18. Alexander Albon (Williams) - 3
19. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) - 3
20. Nicholas Latifi (Williams) - 0
21. Nico Hulkenberg (Aston Martin) - 0


Constructor Standings

1. Red Bull - 359
2. Ferrari - 303
3. Mercedes - 237
4. McLaren - 81
5. Alpine - 81
6. Alfa Romeo - 51
7. Haas - 34
8. AlphaTauri - 27
9. Aston Martin - 18
10. Williams - 3


We say: Charles Leclerc to win

Ferrari looked to have more pace than Red Bull in Austria, and with Sainz at a disadvantage due to his grid penalty, Leclerc will lead the charge from the prancing horses, and we think that the 24-year-old will fight off Verstappen to claim a win on Sunday that would reignite his championship hopes.

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Read more about Charles Leclerc Carlos Sainz Max Verstappen Sergio Perez Lewis Hamilton George Russell Fernando Alonso Lando Norris Esteban Ocon Valtteri Bottas Kevin Magnussen Daniel Ricciardo Pierre Gasly Sebastian Vettel Mick Schumacher Yuki Tsunoda Zhou Guanyu Alexander Albon Lance Stroll Nicholas Latifi Nico Hulkenberg Formula 1
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