The first half of the 2022 Formula One championship ends with another double-header: first up we have the French Grand Prix, which may host a Formula 1 event for the last time in the near future, given that the sport plans to introduce new venues for the next season and may no longer find a place on the calendar for the race which takes place at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet. In the meanwhile, here are two main topics of interest ahead of this year’s French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard.
Scuderia Ferrari looking to build on the strong form
Red Bull’s series of six consecutive race wins made many believe that the battle for the Drivers and Constructors championships were already over even before we had arrived at the half point of the 2022 F1 campaign. However, Scuderia Ferrari was determined to turn things around and prove it has the ability to challenge the Austrian team in the second half of the season.
While the Maranello team has indeed wasted some great opportunities to score valuable points in the last six races, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc won the last two races, at the Silverstone Circuit in the British Grand Prix and last time out at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, to remind everyone that Ferrari haven’t gone anywhere and want to fight to the very end.
Scuderia Ferrari and Red Bull proved to be evenly matched during this first half of the championship, and there is no clear indication to suggest that things will be different in the next round of the 2022 Formula 1 season, the French Grand Prix, despite the fact that the Maranello team encountered a lot of difficulties at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet last year, but surely learned valuable lessons that should allow them to improve this time.
Thanks to the win in the Austrian Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc is now back up to second place in the drivers’ championship and has reduced the gap to Max Verstappen by 11 points – to 38 – over the last two F1 events. While the Dutchman can still enjoy a solid advantage, if the Monegasque driver can once again win some points against the Red Bull driver this weekend then the pressure might start to build a little on the defending champion.
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Mercedes could get involved in the fight for a podium finish
At the Silverstone circuit, Mercedes proved for the first time this season that they can actually match Scuderia Ferrari and Red Bull in terms of race pace in certain conditions. Mercedes managed to provide a threat to the top two teams in the British Grand Prix, while Lewis Hamilton seemed to be in the mix for the race win. In the end, Lewis Hamilton took third place, but the British driver’s was in fact fastest in terms of race pace until the Safety Car which made things difficult for Charles Leclerc.
This time we could once again have a three-way battle for the top place, given the fact that Paul Ricard is a track which has some similarities to Silverstone: the high-speed cornering and the smooth track surface may play into Mercedes’ hands a little more than the Red Bull ring did. Ferrari could see this as an opportunity, because Mercedes being in the mix could potentially mean Lewis Hamilton and George Russel may take points away from Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, which adds an unpredictability to the title battle for the second part of the 2022 Formula 1 championship.
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