Paul Ricard set to host last French GP as F1 future looks in doubt

The French Grand Prix will be hoping that it can provide an exciting race this weekend as its F1 future begins to disappear.

Once a guaranteed fixture on the F1 calendar, the French Grand Prix fell off of the sport’s schedule after the last race at Magny-Cours in 2008 for ten years before its highly-awaited return in 2018.

However, the race would be moved to Circuit Paul Ricard, which hoped to arrive with a bang as the 2018 title fight between Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton heated up.

Nonetheless, the bang it hoped for was instead a whimper, with both the 2018 and 2019 French Grands Prix seen as two of the worst races in each season respectively.

The Covid-19 pandemic would see the 2020 Grand Prix cancelled, returning in 2021 with an exciting battle between Max Verstappen and Hamilton that saw the Dutchman finish on top.

Following its less-than triumphant time back in the sport, the race’s future once again sits in doubt, with F1 yet to renew its contract while Qatar, Las Vegas and Chine will all re-join the F1 calendar in 2023.

With 25 races set to go ahead, and a possible 26th with a rumoured race in South Africa, two races will need to be axed to stick to the maximum number of 24 races allowed in one year.

With this, both France and the fan-favourite Belgian Grand Prix seem most-likely candidates to be replaced, meaning this year’s venture to the south of France could be the last for some time.

Track limit troubles set to be an issue after Austrian Grand Prix?

The 2022 Austrian Grand Prix saw multiple drivers hit with penalties for corner cutting as the new F1 race directors look to crack down on the inconsistencies seen in stewarding last year.

Although the majority of the season has seen drivers remaining within the white lines, the Red Bull Ring’s track limits proved difficult for most, as 43 infringements were noted, with four drivers even receiving penalties for exceeding track limits.

With tarmac surrounding Circuit Paul Ricard, track limits for drivers are even harder to follow as they look to gain every tenth of a second they can, on or off the circuit.

Speaking to Motorsport, Mick Schumacher gave his thoughts on the track limit concerns, saying:

“It’s something to be discussed, something to see if we can improve it for the next event because I think in Paul Ricard especially it will be a big concern,” Schumacher noted.

“It does look a bit silly if for going a centimetre of track you get a penalty of five seconds, and most of the time when you go off you don’t gain any lap time, which is worse.”

Hot weather risks reliability issues for teams

With a heatwave hitting Europe, and hot temperatures predicted for the French Grand Prix, engine failures and troubles could be a common sight this weekend.

After Carlos Sainz’s late engine failure in Austria, and Ferrari’s recent reliability issues, the Italian outfit seems to be at the highest risk of falling foul to the heat.

However, even if both SF-75 cars are able to finish, the Austrian Sprint showed that Red Bull Racing may hold better performance in hotter weather, made more apparent by Ferrari’s upturn in form when temperatures dropped on the Sunday.

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