Welcome back to the Formula 1 calendar France! Here we are fellow F1 fanatics, your French Grand Prix edition of F1 Newsbites…let’s dive into it!

 

 

Hamilton dominates FP2 at Paul Ricard

 

Lewis Hamilton dominated the 90 minute Free Practice Two session at the French Grand Prix, topping the time-sheets by seventh tenths of a second.

 

The Briton set the benchmark earlier on with the yellow-branded soft compounds but dropped to second by Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo who posted a 1:33.243, which was set of the faster set of softer rubber available for the weekend, the ultrasofts just before the halfway point during the session.

 

Hamilton was one of the last few to head out on ultrasofts to do a performance run, but was forced to abandon his attempt due to a red flag 42 minutes into FP2.

 

This was because of Sergio Perez’s Force India losing his left-rear tyre at turn seven and spinning on the famous Mistral Straight.

 

The Mexican was on his second lap whilst running the purple side-walled ultras.

 

Hamilton went out after the red flag on his same set and put in a 1:32.539 on his first flying lap, setting a solid time through the final sector.

 

The reigning champion had another attempt after his cool-down lap, posting the fastest middle sector of the session before setting a time two tenths slower than his first flier.

 

Ricciardo kept second place, with his Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen taking third by setting a time 0.028 slower on ultra-softs than his after the red flag.

 

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen also improved post-red flag conditions, holding third momentarily before being relegated to fourth following Verstappen’s better time.

 

That put the Finn 0.263 seconds quicker than Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who set his effort on ultras before the red flag.

 

Haas F1 Team’s Romain Grosjean, like Hamilton, was forced to abandon his first ultra-soft run after an out-lap due to the red flag but the Frenchman jumped up to sixth at his home Grand Prix weekend, some 1.160 seconds down after the session resumed.

 

That put him in-front of Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas, who was strong on his soft tyre run earlier in the hour and a half long session and went out on ultras before the red flag.

 

Bottas was unable to return to the track after the restart, as the Brackley-based outfit removed the floor of his W09 EQ-Power+ to investigate a water leak.that kept the Finn out for the rest of the afternoon.

 

McLaren’s Fernando Alonso was eighth quickest in FP2 and set his best attempt with three minutes remaining on the clock.

 

The Spaniard focused his practice programme on a long soft tyre run before switching to ultras right at the end to move up from 13th.

 

He later spun at turn four after losing it on the exit kerb.

 

Kevin Magnussen was ninth quickest in the other Haas VF-18 and ahead of Toro Rosso’s tenth-placed Pierre Gasly, with the duo among the early drivers in the field to use ultras at the beginning of the session.

 

Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg ended the day 11th quickest, with the German setting his best time before the flag on ultras and was 2.528 seconds down despite his RS-18 racer suffering balance problems due to the change of wind direction.

 

His Renault team-mate Carlos Sainz was 0.019 seconds slower in 12th and in-front of McLaren;s 13th-placed Stoffel Vandoorne, Sauber’s Charles Leclerc who was 14th and Brendon Hartley’s Toro Rosso who took 15th.

 

Hartley’s afternoon came to an early end with nine minutes remaining after a loss of power, which deployed the Virtual Safety Car.

 

Force India’s Esteban Ocon finished the session in 16th and ahead of the Williams Martini Racing duo Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin, with the other Mercedes-powered VJM11 of Sergio Perez taking 19th having set his best attempt on softs before his incident.

 

The other Alfa Romeo-Sauber of Marcus Ericsson was unable to run in the session after his C37 sustained damage in a crash Beausset corner during FP1.

 

Haas “Pace not a surprise”

 

 

Haas F1 Team’s speed during Friday’s practice session at the Circuit Paul Ricard has been impressing the F1 paddock with Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen showing promising signs.

 

Grosjean competing at his home Grand Prix for the first, finished FP1 and FP2 in a solid sixth place while team-mate Kevin Magnussen was tenth and ninth in both sessions.

 

But for the American-based outfit, being near the front end of the field in the time-sheets earlier in the weekend simply confirmed the pace of the Ferrari-powered VF-18’s.

 

“It’s actually not a surprise… that the car is competitive,” explained Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner at the end of Friday’s running. “In Canada, we were quite competitive but we just didn’t show it because of what happened. We just need to bring it home. A good race, bring it home… and finally get the points that we should have.”

 

Haas started the 2018 season solidly, qualifying sixth and seventh at the season opening Australian Grand Prix before being enduring a difficult race as both VF-18’s retired due to incorrectly fitted wheel nuts. This set the team’s standard for the rest of the season, with the Kannapolis/Banbury-squad a low eighth in the Constructors Championship and 37 points behind Renault.

 

But having received an upgraded Ferrari power-train at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Canada, Grosjean, who has scored no points this season after a series of incidents, is still optimistic that he and the team can now turn the tides around and show they are the fourth fastest team this year.

 

“I think the upgrade in Canada really suits my driving and I was very happy with it,” explained the Frenchman. “In Canada I should have qualified seventh and run easily in seventh position,”

 

“The gap [to the teams behind them] is bigger because we knew the update would work better on the track like this. I had a great feeling in the car, a few things we can improve obviously, but generally I was very pleased with the car and looking forward to tomorrow.”

 

“I think if we take out Monaco, where we weren’t fast, we’ve been probably the fourth fastest most of the places. Maybe not Baku where Force India was really quick, but if not, we’ve always been here. So we just need to get the consistency and the luck to be able to achieve the results we need.” Grosjean concluded.

 

Mercedes reveal updated engine spec for France

 

 

After keeping quiet on the specification of engine since arriving at the Circuit Paul Ricard, Mercedes revealed that they along with the other customer-powered teams Force India and Williams, will be running updated power-units.

 

A last minute “quality concern” forced the Silver Arrows plan to halt it’s plan to introduce it to Canada, where Ferrari, Honda and Renault brought their updated specs. Mercedes decided to keep it tight-lipped during Thursday’s media day.

 

Reigning Champion Lewis Hamilton took charge of both practice sessions, with the Briton posting the benchmark 0,704 seconds faster than Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo in FP2 before Mercedes revealed their plans.

 

“The new engine feels clean and fresh, but we won’t really know its full potential until tomorrow when everyone gets to turn their engines up,” explained Hamilton. “I’m grateful for the hard work that everyone put into it back in Brixworth. They’ve been pushing so hard to get this engine and do it in the right way, so a big thank you to everyone back at the factory – I hope that we can do something great with it!”

 

Hamilton and team-mate Valtteri Bottas, along with Esteban Ocon, Sergio Perez, Sergey Sirotkin and Lance Stroll all fitted their cars with a second ICE (Internal Combustion Engine), Turbochargers and MGU-H (Motor Generator Unit-Heat) ahead of the two Friday practice sessions.

 

The components were a new spec that Mercedes said included performance and reliability updates with the reigning World Champions saying that their “Phase 2.1” will provide a much needed boost to what they would have brought to Canada last time. As it stands, the Silver Arrows will be running it for the rest of the weekend.

 

Mercedes look to be the team to beat following a solid Friday, with Hamilton out-pacing both Ferrari SF71-H racers, but they didn’t have a faultless day. Bottas was unable to do a qualifying simulation in FP2 after a water leak forced the Finn to sit out the remainder of the session.

 

Bottas ended the day seventh fastest, and 1.617 seconds off of team-mate Hamilton, but explained that there is much more to come out of it’s upgraded power-train.

 

“We were running the new spec engine today which felt fresh and good, but we didn’t run it yet in full power, so there’s more to discover,” said Bottas. “We need to identify the cause of the water leak, but we’re confident that we [will] continue to run the new engine.”

 

Red Bull confirm Honda-power from 2019

 

 

The news of the week and the worst kept secret of the paddock was Aston Martin Red Bull Racing confirming that they have reached a two-year agreement with Honda Motor Co Ltd. to run the Japanese manufacturer’s power-units for 2019 and 2020.

 

The switch ends a 12-year partnership with Renault at the end of the season, which began in 2007 during the 2.4L normally aspirated V8 era, a long spell that has seen them win four consecutive World Championship doubles from 2010-13.

 

The relationship with the French-manufacturer was strained since the 1.6L V6 turbocharged hybrid engines were introduced in 2014 and Renault finding itself behind rivals Ferrari and Mercedes.

 

Red Bull are confident that Honda will be more competitive in 2019 and 2020.

 

“This multi-year agreement with Honda signals the start of an exciting new phase in Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s efforts to compete not just for grand prix wins but for what is always our goal – championship titles,” Team Principal Christian Horner said. “We have always taken decisions such as this dispassionately and with only one criteria in mind – do we believe the outcome will allow us to compete at a higher level,”

 

After careful consideration and evaluation we are certain this partnership with Honda is the right direction for the Team.” Horner continued: “We have been impressed by Honda’s commitment to F1, by the rapid steps they have made in recent times with our sister team Scuderia Toro Rosso, and by the scope of their ambition, which matches our own. We look forward to working with Honda in the coming years and to racing together in pursuit of F1’s biggest prizes.”

 

Speaking on the Milton Keynes-based squad’s time with Renault, Christian Horner said: “We would like to thank Renault for the past 12 years, a period during which we experienced some incredible moments together. We have sometimes had our differences but Renault has always worked tirelessly and to the best of its ability to provide us with a competitive power unit. That is still the case today and we would like to thank the Renault team, and particularly the guys in our garage at every race, for their unstinting commitment and we look forward to ending our partnership on a high come the end of this season. Our focus for the rest of this year is still very much on delivering the best results possible in the 2018 Championship and we wish Renault Sport all the best for the future.” Horner concluded.

 

The team will continue to run the name Aston Martin Red Bull Racing and sister team Scuderia Toro Rosso will stay as a works Honda-team.

 

Alfa Romeo Sauber “A learning day”

 

 

Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team had an up and down first day at the returning French Grand Prix with the team bringing updated parts to their C37 racers as they collected data on the Circuit Paul Ricard and optimise their performance over the weekend.

 

It was a promising start for the Hinwil-based outfit with both Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson taking 13th and 14th respectively.

 

However, as they were continuing to look more comfortable on the 5.842km track during FP1, the wind affected the balance of Ericsson’s C37 as he lost the rear entering turn 11, crashed into the barriers and his car caught fire, as the Swede was unable to take part in the afternoon session.

 

“It is a disappointing outcome for me, as I did not participate in the second free practice session today,” explained Ericsson. “FP1 looked quite promising. We had some updated parts on the car, and it felt like we made another step forward there.”

 

“We are currently analysing our data to understand what exactly happened. Unfortunately, the incident has compromised our weekend quite a bit. We lost precious time and the mechanics have a lot of work ahead to change the chassis. I look forward to having a more positive day tomorrow.” Ericsson concluded.

 

On the other side of the garage it was smooth sailing for Charles Leclerc, with the Monegasque youngster ending the day 14th fastest in FP2 and was the sole-Sauber taking part in the session.

 

He posted a best effort of a 1:35.383 and completed a total of 33 laps in the afternoon.

 

“It was an interesting day for us here at the Circuit Paul Ricard. With the venue coming back to Formula 1 after such a long time,” explained Leclerc. “It has been a challenge to all teams to find a way in which to master this track today.”

 

“The two free practice sessions went quite ok for me. The wind played a big role in terms of how it affected our balance, and it was difficult to have a consistent performance during the sessions. We will now analyse the collected data and work hard to find a way to maximize our performance for the rest of the weekend. It will be important to put everything together in FP3 tomorrow, and have a satisfying qualifying result. I like a challenge, and look forward to being back on track again.” Leclerc concluded.

 

Drivers call for layout change at Paul Ricard

 

 

The drivers have called on the FIA to change the layout of the Circuit Paul Ricard following the first day of running at the French track.

 

Returning to the F1 calendar for the first time in 28 years, the circuit now features a chicane halfway down the famous Mistral Straight.

 

From 1971-1985 the circuit ran the long back-straight before changes were made to run the shortened Club Circuit from 1986-1990 after the death of Brabham driver Elio De Angelis.

 

“I think a long straight line will create overtakes,” explained Brendon Hartley. “I don’t think it will happen for tomorrow, but I’ve tested and raced without the chicane.”

 

“It makes things interesting because it’s less downforce with the long straight line, Turn 10 becomes more of a corner, and so does the last sector with less downforce.”

 

“Maybe it’s a discussion point for next year. The good news is here there are plenty of options.” Hartley concluded.

 

Force India’s Sergio Perez said the drivers wanted to improve the show for the fans visiting at the circuit and watching around the world.

 

“We asked Charlie [Whiting, FIA race director] about this, to improve the overtaking, to improve the show, and make it more interesting,” explained Perez.

 

“I think the best race we’ve had up to now this year has been in Baku, and all the tracks should be taking some direction from that.”

 

“The circuit is challenging, it pushes the drivers for mistakes.” Perez concluded.

 

The FIA already made changes over the concerns of pit-lane entry speeds at the driver’s briefing, with it being reduced from 80 kph to 60 kph as Race Director Charlie Whiting felt a driver might lose control and spin into the Mercedes pit area.

 

Some drivers also complained of the Circuit Paul Ricard’s multiple layout issues with reigning champion Lewis Hamilton explaining that it was hard to find reference points on track and difficulty to tell where you are on certain parts of the circuit.

 

“There’s a lot of different lines you can take and it’s tricky to find reference points out on the track,” said Hamilton. “It’s difficult to tell where you are. There’s a couple of places, for example on the back straight where you’re trying to find out where the corner is.”

 

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo and Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg felt the problem went away after a couple of laps running on the returning circuit to the F1 calendar.

 

“A lot of the corners are kind of blind,” explained Hulkenberg. “You have so many different track layouts and all these colours alongside the track.”

 

“But after a couple of laps you are getting it.”

 

Ricciardo also added: “It’s kind of open, you can get lost with all those blue and red lines, but the layout was more fun than I thought.”

 

Changes to the layout cannot be made this weekend due to the circuit being homologated for F1 with the added chicane and the FIA needing to run simulations on how the safety factor for turn 10 would be affected by the higher speeds.

 

Ferrari “Satisfied, but hoping to find extra performance”

 

 

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen said “it was another day at the office” as they charged through the weekend’s programme at the French Grand Prix, testing the different range of compounds available for the weekend as track temperatures soared above 50 degrees with both drivers testing new parts on their SF71H racers.

 

The day’s running ended with Raikkonen and Vettel in 4th and 5th places respectively.

 

“It was a good day” said Raikkonen. “And it’s fun to be in a new place, I enjoyed it as it’s something different. In the afternoon session, the weather conditions made it quite tricky. It was not the easiest situation on track, but overall it was ok. From the tyre point of view I think it was also pretty ok. Obviously we cannot compare what we saw today with the past, as this is a new track for everyone, but I think that we had no particular issues.”

 

Race simulations on the 5.482km circuit produced encouraging pace as Vettel echoed team-mate Raikkonen’s comments.

 

“The long-runs felt pretty OK, quite consistent,” explained Vettel. “Although I haven’t seen much of what the other teams did. I think the car has more potential here, especially on the fast laps, which we need to unlock for tomorrow and then we’ll be fine. The wind was quite an issue at the beginning of the session, but then it calmed down and it all started to come together. In the end I was reasonably happy with today’s run”.

 

Ricciardo: “Mercedes the team to beat”

 

 

Mercedes updated power-units at the Circuit Paul Ricard surprised Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo, with the Australian impressed by Lewis Hamilton’s pace during Friday’s practice sessions after he finished over seven tenths behind the Briton in FP2.

 

After two difficult race weekends in Monaco and Montreal, Hamilton dominated the day’s running in France after the Silver Arrows introduced upgraded power-units for both their F1 W09 EQ Power+ racers, along with customers Force India and Williams, with their second ICE’s (Internal Combustion Engines), Turbochargers and MGU-H’s (Motor Generator Unit-Heat) just before FP1.

 

Having delayed their upgrade, which was meant to be for Montreal, the Silver Arrows remained tight-lipped on the specification of engines this weekend. With the news being confirmed after both sessions ended, Ricciardo is well aware of the threat they pose for the 53-lap French Grand Prix Sunday.

 

“I thought we were relatively fast, but then we saw the time of Lewis and the long runs were a bit more up and down. We have a bit of work to do tonight but it wasn’t a bad Friday actually,” explained Ricciardo. “The time to Lewis in this session (FP2) now was a bit too big, but actually our day was pretty productive. Obviously Lewis was pretty quick (so) that’s a bit of a shame, he obviously did a good lap.”

 

“Hopefully they used it (the new engine) today. If they’re going to go quicker, then it looks like everyone is chasing them this weekend. I guess for them it’s working. I don’t know where Valtteri (Bottas) was but obviously Lewis’ time was pretty fast.”

 

While the Aussie was aware of Mercedes’ improvement, Ricciardo was focused on his team’s own performance and believes they can have a strong weekend.

 

“I think we can keep improving,” Ricciardo continued. “Today was a good day to get a lot of information. I think the downforce level is a question mark. Maybe we have a look and change that. I think it was a good Friday so hopefully it will be a better weekend.”

 

“I think (we can learn) quite a bit. Across cars we changed a few things for this afternoon so I think we got a good bit of data to look at between myself and Max (Verstappen) to try and figure out a direction,”

 

“Downforce levels is a big one, so that’s probably one of the big things we will assess tonight to try and learn which way is better.” Ricciardo concluded.

 

Ricciardo currently sits fourth in the Driver’s Championship and 37 points behind leader Sebastian Vettel, with the Red Bull driver aiming to keep his 2018 title aspirations alive with a great performance.