Formula 1 fans may groan but Mercedes will be seeking more dominance and a lot less drama at the French Grand Prix this weekend after their street race setbacks and in Monaco and Azerbaijan reports Reuter's Alan Baldwin.
Le Castellet's Paul Ricard circuit is loved more for its history and location, perched on a plateau above the Mediterranean coast in the sunny south of France, than its layout.
To say that the track has generated few thrills since its return in 2018 after a 28-year absence would be an understatement.
Seven-times F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton won from pole in 2018 and 2019, with no race last year due to the pandemic, and a hat-trick would do nicely as the Mercedes driver seeks to retake the overall lead from Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The Briton led every lap in 2019 as Mercedes celebrated their 50th one-two finish but has scored only seven points in the last two races -- seventh in Monaco followed by 15th in Baku after a rare mistake while second.
The champion is four points behind Verstappen, who crashed out in Baku after an alarming high-speed tyre blowout, after six rounds.
Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas failed to score in either race, through no fault of his own in Monaco after the team were unable to remove a wheel from his car until 43 hours after he came in for his pitstop.
The Finn, out of contract at the end of the year and with considerable speculation about his place at the team, needs a strong result.
"We come off the back of two street circuits unsuited to our car, two circuits we knew would be difficult for us, and we were disappointed to lose a podium finish and a victory through our own mistakes," said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.
"The French Grand Prix means returning to a more traditional circuit and hopefully, better fortunes for us."
Mercedes have led every practice session at Le Castellet in the last two years and locked out the front row of the grid.
This time, France is the first of a triple-header on successive weekends, with two races at Austria's Red Bull Ring following on.
Verstappen, twice a winner this season to Hamilton's three, is sure to take the fight to Mercedes, while Mexican team mate Sergio Perez will be boosted by his win in Baku.
"I´m feeling good but I'm sure that Mercedes will be very strong on the 'normal' tracks again," said Verstappen.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc will meanwhile be going for an unlikely third pole in a row.
The race should draw a line under an early season 'bendy wing' controversy, with the governing FIA introducing new flexibility tests to make sure teams comply with the regulations at all times.
There will also be a revised protocol for tyre warming and pressures after two big Baku blowouts, with Pirelli indicating they were caused by how teams were running the tyres during the race.
Experienced Australian Daniel Ricciardo is also looking forward to more predictable territory as he continues to settle in at McLaren.
"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but kind of excited to go to Le Castellet," Ricciardo laughed after crashing in qualifying in Baku.
"Just get a fairly basic track to maybe get away with a few more mistakes. The familiarity with that and then a double-header in Austria will hopefully make this learning phase a bit easier."
Reuters compiled Formula 1 statistics for the 2021 French Grand Prix:
- Le Castellet, round seven of the season.
- Lap distance: 5.842 km. Total distance: 309.69 km (53 laps)
- No race in 2020.
- Race lap record: Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Ferrari 2019, one minute 32.740 seconds.
- Start time: 1300 GMT (1500 local)
French Grand Prix
- This weekend´s race will be the 61st French Grand Prix in world championship history and 17th at Le Castellet.
- Hamilton (2018, 2019), Fernando Alonso (2005) and Kimi Raikkonen (2007) are the only current drivers to have won in France, which was off the calendar for a decade until 2018. The race was not held last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Hamilton won from pole position in 2018 and 2019 and Mercedes also led every practice session before both those races.
- There will be two French drivers in Sunday's race - Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) -- while Ferrari's Monegasque Charles Leclerc is the most local.
Race Victories
- Hamilton has a record 98 career victories, of which 77 have been with Mercedes, from 272 starts. He has been on the podium 169 times.
- Hamilton has won three races so far in 2021.
- Ferrari have won 238 races since 1950, McLaren 182, Mercedes 118, Williams 114 and Red Bull 67. Former champions McLaren and Williams have not won since 2012.
- Sergio Perez's Azerbaijan Grand Prix victory on June 6 was the first time since 2018 that anyone other than Max Verstappen had won for Red Bull.
Pole Position
- Hamilton has a record 100 career poles and is the only driver to have won from pole so far this season. He has won 59 times from pole.
2021 Championship
- Verstappen is four points ahead of Hamilton. Red Bull lead Mercedes by 26 points.
Milestones
- Vettel's second place in Baku was a first podium for Aston Martin as a constructor.
- Perez's win was the second of his career, the Mexican equalling compatriot Pedro Rodriguez as his country's most successful F1 driver.
- Mercedes run of 55 races in a row in the points ended in Baku. It was the sport's fourth-longest scoring streak. Hamilton failed to score after a run of 54 races in the points.
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