French Grand Prix Facts
| Circuit Name | Circuit Paul Ricard |
| First race | 1971 |
| Track Length | 5.842km (15 turns) |
| Race Distance | 73 laps (309.69km) |
| Lap Record | 1:32.740, Sebastian Vettel, (Ferrari, 2019) |
| 2021 Result | 1st Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1:27:25.770 |
| 2nd Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +2.904s | |
| 3rd Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +8.811s |
Laps: 53
Turns: 15
Circuit opened: 1970
F1 first visited: 1971
Races held: 17
Direction Clockwise
Circuits
- Reims 11 races (1950-51, 1953-54, 1956, 1958-61, 1963, 1966)
- Rouen-les-Essarts 5 races (1952, 1957, 1962, 1964, 1968)
- Clermont-Ferrand 4 races (1965, 1969-70, 1972)
- Le Mans 1 race (1967)
- Le Castellet 17 races (1971, 1973, 1975-76, 1978, 1980, 1982-83, 1985-90, 2018-19, 2021)
- Dijon-Prenois 5 races (1974, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1984)
- Magny-Cours 18 races (1991-2008)
Race wins at Le Castellet:
| 1. | A.PROST | 4 |
| 2. | N.MANSELL | 2 |
| 3. | L.HAMILTON | 2 |
| 4. | J.STEWART | 1 |
| 5. | R.PETERSON | 1 |
| 6. | N.LAUDA | 1 |
| 7. | J.HUNT | 1 |
| 8. | M.ANDRETTI | 1 |
| 9. | A.JONES | 1 |
| 10. | R.ARNOUX | 1 |
| 11. | N.PIQUET | 1 |
| 12. | M.VERSTAPPEN | 1 |
Facts:
Since the start of the World Championship era, the French Grand Prix has taken a peripatetic tour around France, stopping in at seven venues. The race was originally held on a street track through the fields outside Reims, in 1950, returning in 1951,’53-’54, ’56, ’58-’61, ’63 and ’66.
Formula 1 and Scuderia Ferrari legend Michael Schumacher has secured victory in the French Grand Prix more than any F1 driver, winning the race on eight occasions. Michael took all his French wins at the old Magny-Cours track.
Scuderia Ferrari have the most French Grand Prix wins, with 17, but does not have any race wins since the event returned at the Paul Ricard track, where Williams and McLaren share the record for the most victories, with three apiece.
Alain Prost took six victories in front of his home fans including four wins at Paul Ricard
The ten-year hiatus between 2008-2018, and the cancellation of the 1955 event have pushed the French Grand Prix down to sixth position in the list of most numerous FIA Formula One World Championship events.
Perhaps the most famous race in France – or any grand prix – history is the titanic scrap between Ferrari teammates Gilles Villenueve and René Arnoux in the final part of the 1979 event at Dijon.
While perfectly capable of hosting races, the modern Circuit Paul Ricard is primarily a testing track. It has various cut-outs and diversions offer a potential 167 circuit variations, designed to test… pretty much whatever characteristics you want to test.
With Carlos Sainz their best finisher in P11, Scuderia Ferrari were out of the points for the first time last championship.
Paul Ricard can have 167 different track configurations, from 0.8km to 5.5km.
The podium at the 1982 French Grand Prix was made up entirely of French drivers. Rene Arnoux took the race victory and was joined on the podium by Alain Prost and Didier Pironi, who was P3 for Ferrari. His Maranello teammate Patrick Tambay finished in fourth too!
From seventeen races here, the polesitter has finished on the podium thirteen times.
Fifteen different drivers have set the fastest lap of the French Grand Prix at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet. Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell are the drivers with the most fastest laps at Circuit Paul Ricard, each setting the pace in two Grands Prix.
The leader of the standings at the end of a French Grand Prix held at this circuit has gone on to win the F1 on 12 occasions.
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