Formula 1 Emirates Grand Prix De France 2021Formula 1 

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Jimlaad43

Jimlaad43

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Formula 1 returns to the Circuit Paul Ricard, a much maligned circuit with much more hate than I think it deserves. The track has been resurfaced and ambers reprofiled to try and improve the racing, so let's see how that goes. Max Verstappen holds a championship lead after a no-score for both him and Hamilton in Baku, one through the second high-speed puncture of the day and one through an accidental brake bias change. Either way, after a very popular top 3 on the podium last time out, will Paul Ricard also throw up a surprise, or are we up for a repeat of HAM-VER-BOT? We'll only find out at the FRENCH GRAND PRIX!
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First Grand Prix
1971

Number of Laps
53

Circuit Length
5.842km

Race Distance
309.69 km

Lap Record
1:32.740 Sebastian Vettel (2019)
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andrea
Pirelli ladies and gentleman.

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Ouch. I feel for Pirelli in some ways because they've been saying for several seasons that high sidewalls required by the small wheels aren't up to the enormous performance loads of modern F1 cars. 2022 should see much of that difficulty ameliorated but maybe it's too late for the current state-of-the-art on 13" wheels, maybe Pirelli diverted their own 2022 development efforts too early.

Whatever the case this is clearly going to raise questions about tyre safety in the remainder of the season, we're going to see revised operation specs from Pirelli and we may well see compound changes for the remaining races.

Hopefully we don't end up with a championship decided by tyre failures - both Verstappen and Hamilton are lined up for historic WDCs and it would be sad to see either marred by knobhead internet questioning of the validity through Pirelli failures.
 
I feel like tyre performance is massively inconsistent. They can't please everyone so they're constantly changing and refining the compounds. You see some races with four stops, and then you see what Russell tried to do in Baku which was essentially a classic 2010 Bridgestone strategy of pit because you're required to, not because you need to.

Sometimes I really do wish tyres weren't an issue or part of the discussion and drivers could just run hard and fast throughout the entire race.
 
Why has this circuit got a bad rep? I can't remember past races (maybe I've answered my own question)
 
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HenrySwanson
Why has this circuit got a bad rep? I can't remember past races (maybe I've answered my own question)
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It's first and foremost a test track, and whilst it has held competitive races since that conversion, it's primary function remains testing. So the corners are all surrounded by the same bright blue and red painted tarmac which means no punishment for drivers running wide, an eyesore on TV and harder to judge which corner you're looking at.

People might forgive that if racing there was good, but it isn't. The pretty much exclusive medium and high speed corners don't lend to close racing with modern aerodynamic cars and so both the 2018 and 2019 races were incredibly dull affairs. 2019 in particular is noted as having next to no action, sans the last couple of laps when Lando had a car issue which led to a few passes.
 
HenrySwanson
Why has this circuit got a bad rep? I can't remember past races (maybe I've answered my own question)
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It's all blown way out of proportion by fans.

There have been a load of overtakes at this track in the last two F1 races, quite a lot not even in DRS zones and around the epic turns 10 and 11, yet because none of it was a battle for the lead, it was branded "boring" for some reason.

The runoff areas don't look anything as bad as some people claim, the circuit does have character (unlike places like Sochi or Abu Dhabi) and some great corners. Mistakes have been punished as there have been a few big crashes at this track in just 2 years by people reaching the barriers. I really don't get any of the massive criticism this track gets.

The chicane on the back straight is people's main gripe, but it's shown to be a good enough overtaking spot so far, although the second apex is probably a bit too far away and awkward. Because the massive Mistral Straight isn't being used, people were already prejudiced against the circuit and jumped on two OK races to then decide to brand them terrible. There's like only 2 Spanish GPs in the last 15 years I'd prefer to watch over the 2019 French GP. It's not anywhere near as bad as claimed.

I don't see why a layout which has been largely unchanged since 1972 is suddenly unfit and therefore is only a test track. We have tarmac runoff lagoons at many other tracks on the calendar, but all the criticism places like Bahrain and Shanghai get for having tarmac is magnified unreasonably high by moaners for Paul Ricard.

Any track can have a bad race. Apart from 2019, Spa hasn't really produced an interesting Grand Prix since 2012. Bahrain was awful until it went to a night race and Baku started with the abysmal 2016 edition. The 2 races here have been hobbled from a lead battle early on, with Vettel and Bottas crashing in 2018, and then 2019 being Hamilton just miles ahead of everyone regardless. If Max and Lewis are together on track here, it'll all be epic.

The main mistake was making Austria the double-header and not Paul Ricard. Use the second race to change the layout, maybe bypass the first and Mistral chicane. If COVID has limited attendance numbers, scrap off one of the areas of grandstands then and put them in other grandstands for that race. A missed opportunity but Formula 1 were probably worried about seeing unreasonable fans crying about seeing Paul Ricardo twice on the calendar because it's a misjudged and prejudiced circuit.
 
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Jimlaad43
It's all blown way out of proportion by fans.

There have been a load of overtakes at this track in the last two F1 races, quite a lot not even in DRS zones and around the epic turns 10 and 11, yet because none of it was a battle for the lead, it was branded "boring" for some reason.

The runoff areas don't look anything as bad as some people claim, the circuit does have character (unlike places like Sochi or Abu Dhabi) and some great corners. Mistakes have been punished as there have been a few big crashes at this track in just 2 years by people reaching the barriers. I really don't get any of the massive criticism this track gets.

The chicane on the back straight is people's main gripe, but it's shown to be a good enough overtaking spot so far, although the second apex is probably a bit too far away and awkward. Because the massive Mistral Straight isn't being used, people were already prejudiced against the circuit and jumped on two OK races to then decide to brand them terrible. There's like only 2 Spanish GPs in the last 15 years I'd prefer to watch over the 2019 French GP. It's not anywhere near as bad as claimed.

I don't see why a layout which has been largely unchanged since 1972 is suddenly unfit and therefore is only a test track. We have tarmac runoff lagoons at many other tracks on the calendar, but all the criticism places like Bahrain and Shanghai get for having tarmac is magnified unreasonably high by moaners for Paul Ricard.

Any track can have a bad race. Apart from 2019, Spa hasn't really produced an interesting Grand Prix since 2012. Bahrain was awful until it went to a night race and Baku started with the abysmal 2016 edition. The 2 races here have been hobbled from a lead battle early on, with Vettel and Bottas crashing in 2018, and then 2019 being Hamilton just miles ahead of everyone regardless. If Max and Lewis are together on track here, it'll all be epic.

The main mistake was making Austria the double-header and not Paul Ricard. Use the second race to change the layout, maybe bypass the first and Mistral chicane. If COVID has limited attendance numbers, scrap off one of the areas of grandstands then and put them in other grandstands for that race. A missed opportunity but Formula 1 were probably worried about seeing unreasonable fans crying about seeing Paul Ricardo twice on the calendar because it's a misjudged a d prejudiced circuit.
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And Bernie owns it. Though I recall Slavica got it in the divorce.
 
So: a chicane drivers can race into, through and out of, some paint on an otherwise blank bit of tarmac so you can tell the difference between track and runoff and an owner who's kept the facility good.

How is any of that supposed to make the racing bad?
 
Jimlaad43
So: a chicane drivers can race into, through and out of, some paint on an otherwise blank bit of tarmac so you can tell the difference between track and runoff and an owner who's kept the facility good.

How is any of that supposed to make the racing bad?
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It hasn't, the layout is what made the racing bad, although that is primarily a direct correlation with the cars and their aero dependence. It wasn't the case as much in the 70s and 80s, that's why it's different.

2018 was OK, 2019 was just terrible.



The Williams racing each other, Norris' failing car causing a bit of carnage and a few DRS overtakes.

I'm still willing to give it a chance, but with these cars I just don't see it happening.
 
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The main issue with the Mistral Straight is that you need a chicane to make it a DRS zone because turn 10 is taken flat out. Otherwise you end up only with a very short and rather ineffective DRS zone on the start/finish straight.
 
Samus
an eyesore on TV and harder to judge which corner you're looking at.
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For me this is the main problem - the track is so migrainy to watch and there's no sense of progression around the criss-cross of gaudy stripes. On most tracks you get a feeling of two cars racing each other out of one corner and down to another but it's nearly impossible to see that progression on the test track.

Only my opinion of course but at least I know I'm not the only one who thinks it's an eyesore.
 
I never really understood the need for such bright and stand out colours. What is wrong with two grey colours, white, or, well, anything that isn't so garish.
 
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Media on twitter saying that all 20 drivers boycotted a meeting with Pirelli, not happy with their response.



Clear language from the Formula 1 drivers in France. They boycotted a meeting with tyre supplier Pirelli this afternoon to express their dissatisfaction. "Pirelli must be honest, because our safety is at stake," Max Verstappen said.
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The Pirelli tire saga continues. This afternoon in preparation for the Paul Ricard GP Pirelli organized a meeting. All drivers refused to attend this meeting. Max asked Pirelli to be open and honest. Drivers safety could be in jeopardy?

haha before pushing the <post reply> button saw above post op @Samus . pre Ninja'd ;)
 
The Pirelli statement was pretty odd/PR drivel. They managed to say what caused it without saying what caused it.

 
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Sadly for us, the chance of rain is very low all weekend. Unless someone finds the button for Bernie's sprinklers. Which are a real thing at this track.

sprinklers-f1-testing-paul-ricard_3404858.jpg
 
Samus
The Pirelli statement was pretty odd/PR drivel. They managed to say what caused it without saying what caused it.

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My understanding of tyre technology suggests that Pirelli thinks it's sidewall failure caused by running the tyre pressures too low.

Due to the enormous sidewalls on F1 tyres, there's a significant amount of flex between the tyre contact patch and the wheel rim - likely an inch or more. Low tyre pressures allow for more flex, which is why Pirelli requires a minimum (and the focus here is on AM & RB running lower tyre pressures in race conditions). It's no accident that both of the... accidents happened just after the point of maximum lateral loading and maximum sidewall deflection.
 
Point One: Paul Ricard. Skipped.

Point Two: It's mostly not Pirelli's fault.

Liquid
I feel sorry for Pirelli; first they were accused of making tyres out of cheese, then they were accused of making the tyres too hard, after that they were accused of offering too many choices and now they're back on tyres made out of toilet paper.

Pirelli is a professional, international tyre manufacturer with a presence in all major markets. They know how to make tyres, it's just that they're told what specifications to make by the governing bodies. Their hands are tied.

It makes me wonder how the racing would fare if Pirelli were given a white paper to make whatever tyre compounds it wanted, as the company involved in the industry's primary manufacturing and therefore has all the specialist and technical knowledge to make the highest quality tyres, and see which teams would then opt for softer or harder tyres.

I don't seem to recall Goodyear ever getting that much stick and back then you had special qualy tyres that wouldn't last 5 laps. It's only since the 2000s that the tyre manufacturers have really come under scrutiny as it happened to both Bridgestone and obviously Michelin in this pursuit for control tyres.

In fact, reintroducing a competing tyre manufacturer would eliminate this control tyre nonsense and bring back some lost element of competition.
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Two pertinent bits bolded.
 
It will be interesting to see the pecking order this weekend. Red Bull were quite slow in qualifying last time here so they could even end up on the fourth row. If they are right at the front still on this track then Mercedes will have their work cut out to beat them on pure performance.
 
An action-packed first practice so far. In 20 mins we'be has Schumacher hit the wall on his outlap, Tsunoda have a spin, Bottas damage his front wing on the exit kerb of T2 and a few other drivers have hairy rides over it. And now Vettel has backed it into the wall at T11.
 

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