French Grand Prix: Recap of this first day of testing
After the first two sessions this Friday, a hierarchy is emerging. The leadership will be with Mercedes or Red Bull. French speakers are lying in wait. Disappointment at Aston Martin!
After two atypical Grand Prix, F1 returns to tracks outside urban areas.
If nothing changes at the top and bottom of the leaderboard, the rest of the competitors are engaged in a fierce battle.
The Hamilton/Verstappen and Mercedes/Red Bull double duel is back in full swing.
Valtteri Bottas set an impressive fastest time in FP1. It’s time for the Finn to get his head above water if he wants to continue the adventure with the “silver” next year. We know he is very quick over one lap so he will need to continue on this path to perform well in the race.
On his side, Lewis Hamilton remains discreet, but always on the lookout for the right opportunity. He knows how to give it his all when it really matters. After setting the second fastest time in FP1 and the third fastest time in FP2, he is clearly in the game.
Red Bull confirms its status as an outsider. After signing the 3rd and 4th times in FP1 with Verstappen and Perez respectively, the Austrian team wanted to show that it is always necessary to count on them for both classifications. Verstappen took the lead in FP2, a breath ahead of Bottas. These two sessions announce a high-level fight for victory.
Does the Aston Martin bellows fall back?
If the last places are usually dominated by Haas and Williams, for this French Grand Prix, Aston Martin unfortunately seems to be finding the place that was its own before the fabulous races in Monaco and Baku, that is to say the back of the grid.
Are francophones lying in wait?
At Castellet more than anywhere else we hope for a good result for our French-speaking drivers. Certainly, they do not drive a Red Bull or a Mercedes, but they have managed to get the best out of their cars and remain on the lookout for the best opportunity. In FP2, Leclerc 5th precedes Ocon 6th and Gasly 7th. A nice group performance forecasting big points for Sunday.
The other good news for the French team comes from Alpine. While Ocon holds a convincing sixth place tonight, it’s Fernando Alonso who, following his very good result in Baku, places his F1 car in fourth place!
