Verstappen or Sainz, who will celebrate in France? They are the best contenders for the title, as evidenced by the numbers of this championship. AP Photo / Matthias Schrader
Formula 1 will contest the French Grand Prix this Sunday, the twelfth date of its 2022 calendar, which will take place on the legendary Paul Ricard circuit, in Le Castellet.
The race, scheduled for 53 laps, will take place on Sunday 24 July at 10 am, Argentina time, and will last almost noon. It will be broadcast by Fox Sports and Star +.
The Paul Ricard circuit has 5,842 meters of rope to complete the 309.69 kilometer race. The lap record is held by the German Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), with 1.32.740 in the 2019 edition.
The fight will most likely center on Ferrari and Red Bull, as Charles Leclerc took pole position and Max Verstappen and Checo Pérez were second and third respectively in the standings.
Leclerc celebrates pole at Le Castellet. Photo by AP / Manu Fernandez
Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, will enter his 300th Formula 1 race in France in the unusual position of seeking his first win of the season. The seven-time world champion holds the F1 record with 103 wins and 103 pole positions but hasn’t won in the first 12 races of this season. And he will join a club of six drivers who have never achieved a victory after racing 300 Grands Prix.
In France, Hamilton missed the first free practice on Friday when Mercedes used test and reserve driver Nyck de Vries in the car, which finished ninth. Then, in the second activity of that first day, he was fifth fastest, behind his Mercedes teammate, George Russell, in the second free practice session.
Ferrari dominated both sessions on Friday.Charles Leclerc led the first session ahead of Verstappen and teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. and then the Spaniard was the fastest in the second free practice, beating Leclerc and Verstappen.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, while the champion dominated the last session, it was the Monegasque – thanks to a Sainz trailer and the enormous teamwork – who took pole position in the standings.
The leader of the race is the Dutch Max Verstappen (Red Bull), with 208 points, followed by the Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari, 170), the Mexican Sergio Pérez (Red Bull, 151), the Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Ferrari, 133) and the two British Mercedes drivers, George Russell (128) and Lewis Hamilton (109).
The Constructors’ Cup is led by Red Bull with 359 units, escorted by Ferrari (303) and Mercedes (237).
Max Verstappen of the Red Bull team is the championship leader. Xinhua photos / overview / ZUMAPRESS
F1: French GP program
Sunday 24 July
Race: 10:00
Source: Clarin
