20/07/2022
NEWS STORY
Lance Stroll: "Paul Ricard is quite a challenging circuit, with a variety of corners and some long, winding sections towards the end of the lap. The ground-effect cars we have this year appear to be producing better racing, so I hope we can put on a good show for the fans here. It is a special event for the team with Aston Martin's 100th anniversary celebrations, so hopefully we will be able to come away with a good result this weekend.”
Sebastian Vettel: "Paul Ricard's high-speed corners should gain an added dimension with these ground-effect cars, and the lower-speed corners will provide a challenge for everybody. The previous weekends have not always been kind to us for one reason or another, so it would be nice to pick up some momentum before the summer break. Finally, I am passionate about the history of the sport, so it will be really special to drive one of Aston Martin's original 1922 Grand Prix cars this weekend.”
Insight and Speed with Cognizant
• Overtaking: Expect to see a good number of overtakes during the race: Paul Ricard has (on average) 46 on-track passes outside of lap one. That's above the average for the season. There are two DRS zones, ahead of Turn One and Turn Eight. Expect most of the overtaking to be done into these two corners.
• Safety Cars: They're uncommon. There has been just one Safety Car here in the past - the end of lap one in 2018. VSCs have also been used in recent years for debris and stopped cars despite the vast run-off areas, which can mitigate some of the loss in the relatively long time it takes to complete a pit-stop if positioned well.
• Tyres: The C2, C3 and C4 compounds will be used together for the first time since May's Miami Grand Prix. The selection is a step harder than the compounds used in Austria. Generally, this is a one-stop race, but expected hot temperatures could change things around slightly.