There was a lot of interesting development before the French Grand Prix. And once the testings and training sessions started at Paul Ricard track, it became even better. Mercedes showed that they wouldn’t back out following a few setbacks being the fastest at the first training. Verstappen responded, a the very next one, while Ferrari wasn’t that flashy as on the previous two occasions. We expect to see even more fire during the race on Sunday, which is why you should stick for five minutes and read BetXchange’s preview for the French Grand Prix.
Preview
Max Verstappen won the pole today. Red Bull’s driver is highly motivated to win tomorrow and “return” 25 points lost two weeks ago. He knows that Mercedes doesn’t have that powerful vehicle as before, and his goal is to start utilizing that as soon as possible.
Verstappen had some pretty harsh critics fired in Pirelli’s direction, caused by the stiff and inadequate response of the manufacturer after tyre blowout that cost him a win two weeks ago. The Dutch driver was more than furious after the race in Azerbaijan, and his rage was multiplied once reading Pirelli’s answer to the whole situation.
Lewis Hamilton finished behind his biggest rival this year, and Bottas ended third. We’ve noticed that Mercedes has slight trouble keeping pace, which isn’t the first time since the start of the season.
Hamilton is looking a bit nervous. His body language during the press conferences is telling us that the champion isn’t comfortable with the current situation. Verstappen is the main reason for that, but also, there are some other factors for that as well.
Valtteri Bottas shook the atmosphere in Mercedes with an announcement that his future with the Silver Arrows is not that certain anymore. Even though the Fin didn’t say anything specific, it is obvious that the relationship between him and the team is a bit strained.
The winner of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Sergio Perez, is fourth, and that opens the space for a fierce battle between Mercedes and Red Bull during the start. It will be interesting to see what strategies will be involved on both sides during the opener.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. is fifth, ahead of Pierre Gasly from Alpha Tauri. The other Ferrari, Charles Leclerc, is seventh, Lando Norris eight, and Fernando Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo completed the top ten.
Last Years Race
We’ve seen a pause at the Paul Ricard circuit from 2008 until 2018. Lewis Hamilton is the most recent winner here in Le Castellet, Var. The Brit won the races back in 2018 and 2019 while driving his Mercedes.
Overall, Michael Schumacher has the most wins here, 8, while Ferrari triumphed 17 times, the most of all the constructors. Another active driver who has a victory here is Kimi Raikkonen.
In 2019, Mercedes had a 1-2 at the plate and finished like that, with Charles Leclerc ending third, ahead of Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel.
Prediction
Verstappen is on the rise, and that is something obvious in the last few races. He is Lewis’ head right now, and the recent development with Bottas is suggesting that he can’t be that sure in teammate’s help anymore. We are backing up Max to win with the odds at BetXChange at 0.90.
