The 2022 season reaches its twelfth round of 22 as Formula 1 heads to Paul Ricard for the French Grand Prix.
Last time out in Austria, Ferrari provided a timely plot twist in the title race. Championship leader, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, was the class of the field in sprint qualifying, but there was no beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc come race day.
With his first win since April’s Australian Grand Prix, Leclerc reduced his deficit to Verstappen slightly to 38 points, but the message that Leclerc is not finished in this title race yet was very much sent.
Nonetheless, even though Ferrari put things right on the strategy front, an engine blowout for Carlos Sainz as he harried Verstappen proved that Ferrari remain vulnerable when it comes to reliability.
Now, it is time to see what Paul Ricard can cook up with the ingredients of pace and reliability.
Here are all the details you need ahead of the 2022 French Grand Prix.
When is the 2022 French Grand Prix?
Friday 22 July
Free Practice 1: 1400-1500 (1300-1400 UK time)
Free Practice 2: 1700-1800 (1600-1700 UK time)
Saturday 23 July
Free Practice 3: 1300-1400 (1200-1300 UK time)
Qualifying: 1600 (1500 UK time)
Sunday 24 July
Race: 1500 (1400 UK time)
Where does the 2022 French Grand Prix take place?
Circuit Paul Ricard, opened in 1970, is no stranger to Formula 1 but, until 2018, it had not been used as a grand prix venue since Alain Prost’s victory back in 1990.
The revamped circuit has FIA Grade 1 listing but in order to achieve that it had to comply with the rules, meaning Formula 1 cars race on the 5.8km version of the track that features a chicane on the north side of the Mistral Straight.
Circuit Paul Ricard is located in the small commune of Le Castellet in South East France. The population is just under 4,000 and the village is surrounded by vineyards.
On seven occasions (1971, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1989 and 2021) the winner at Paul Ricard went on to win the World Championship in the same year.
In fact, Ronnie Peterson (1973 and 1974) and René Arnoux (1982) are the only drivers to win at Paul Ricard who never won the World Championship.
There are a variety of layouts which can be used at Circuit Paul Ricard, but since its return to the F1 calendar in 2018 there have been many critics regarding the quality of racing at the track, although the 2021 Grand Prix saw Max Verstappen chase Lewis Hamilton down in a thrilling conclusion at Le Castellet.
Where can I watch the 2022 French Grand Prix?
UK…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at News – PlanetF1…