Le Castellet (France) (AFP)

The longest fortnight ... After their disappointments in Baku at the beginning of June, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are eager to resume their fight for the world title in Formula 1 in France, in front of 15,000 spectators, from Friday to Sunday.

With three stands of 5,000 seats and an audience subject to the new health pass (an individual QR code that certifies that the person meets the conditions for vaccination, immunity or has been tested negative for Covid-19), the Grand Prix de France de F1 (canceled last year and brought forward by one week to 2021) is one of the most important events organized in France since the start of the pandemic.

For F1 too, it's a milestone: this season, the premier category of motorsport welcomed at best 7,500 spectators per day in Monaco at the end of May, against around 25,000 during rare GPs in autumn 2020 (Russia, Germany, Portugal).

This start of a return to normal in the stands should be coupled with a return to normal on the track, after a completely crazy GP - as only Azerbaijan can produce - in the streets of Baku on June 6.

Nowhere at the start of the weekend did Mercedes find an unexpected boost in qualifying performance to put star Lewis Hamilton into the forefront race alongside championship leader Max Verstappen.

- Four gap lengths -

But ... the Dutchman from Red Bull crashed after being betrayed by one of his tires, then Hamilton missed a brake and pulled straight into a corner.

Neither of them scored a point and the gap in the drivers' standings between Verstappen and his British runner-up remains four lengths when it comes to the 7th round out of 23 this season.

Fans of the half-full glass will say that this double mishap helped limit breakage on both sides, but that's not the mentality in F1.

Out of the question for the two protagonists and their teams to settle for a goalless draw.

Especially for Mercedes, arch-dominant since 2014 but which has just experienced its two "most difficult" GPs in recent years, according to boss Toto Wolff.

Indeed, for the German team (led by 26 points by Red Bull among the manufacturers), the concerns did not start in Baku but at the previous GP in Monaco (Hamilton 7th), failing to succeed in the crucial warm-up of the tires.

At best, city circuits are hardly suitable for the Mercedes of 2021. At worst, the problem is deeper and visible through a series of disappointments (delay on Red Bull in winter testing, Hamilton's mistakes at Imola and Baku , failed pit stop by Valtteri Bottas in Monaco).

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- Return to a "normal" circuit -

The future will tell but Red Bull is betting on a return to business for the Silver Arrows on the Paul Ricard circuit in Le Castellet, which has succeeded for them since returning to the calendar in 2018, with two pole positions and as many victories. from Hamilton.

"I feel good but I am sure Mercedes will be very strong now that we are back on more normal circuits," said Verstappen.

"It was difficult for the whole team but we learned a lot," said Hamilton.

"I'm looking forward to a circuit where we probably won't be affected in the same way by the temperature of the tires."

"It's been good for us here in the past," he said, "but I still foresee a complicated weekend (because) Red Bulls have shown a serious pace in two of the last races but also on more conventional tracks. . "

France is all the more important as one third of the championship, the calendar is intensifying: hardly the race completed, it will be necessary to join Austria for two GPs on June 27 and July 4.

Better to tackle the first "triple header" (three races in three weeks) of the season on the right foot!

© 2021 AFP