Last mid-season, Max Verstappen (Red Bull) attacked this 12th round out of 22 in the shoes of the leader with a comfortable lead of 38 points over Charles Leclerc.

The reigning world champion arrives in France on conquered ground, since he beat Lewis Hamilton there last year.

But in his Ferrari, Leclerc found the recipe for success in Austria after a long period of eating his black bread.

His third victory this season is to be put into perspective, against the Dutchman's six, but with still so many races to play, anything is possible for the Monegasque.

"We got a good result last year in France," recalls Verstappen, who will experience his 130th GP with his team.

"The circuit has a lot of technical and high-speed corners, so it will be important to take care of the tyres, especially as the weekend will be very hot."

"Hottest Weekend"

The south-east of France, where Le Castellet (Var) is located, remains affected by the strong heat wave that affects Europe.

"The weekend is expected to be the hottest of the season so far, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees, which will make life difficult for drivers and teams," Ferrari said in a statement.

Dutchman Max Verstappen arrives at the Castellet circuit before the start of the F1 French GP on July 21, 2021 Christophe SIMON AFP

The approximately 200,000 people expected this weekend, including a sold-out Sunday (70,000 spectators), will also surely suffer from the heat, but the organization has notably implemented a vast mobility plan (carpooling, shuttles, trains at reduced prices , etc.) to avoid the monster traffic jams that spoiled the party in 2018, when the French round was back on the calendar.

Four years later, the current partnership with F1 comes to an end.

Negotiations continue to keep France on the program, with the possibility of alternating with other threatened European Grand Prix (such as Belgium or Monaco).

Hamilton in ambush

In the meantime, a race is up for grabs.

Besides Verstappen and Leclerc, their teammates Sergio Pérez and Carlos Sainz will, logically, be the best armed.

The 3rd and 4th in the championship are left behind, but they are the only other drivers to have won this year, in Monaco for Pérez, at Silverstone for Sainz.

Hamilton has not yet succeeded.

The seven-time world champion is biding his time.

In the shadows, he has just finished 3rd three times in a row, without succeeding in getting his 104th victory in F1.

Mexican Sergio Perez (g) and Briton Lewis Hamilton before the start of the French F1 GP on July 21, 2021 at Le Castellet Sylvain THOMAS AFP

Winner twice in France (2018 and 2019), he has already experienced the intoxication of "Ricard" and can count on an improved Mercedes.

"We want to continue to track down these last tenths (to fight for the lead, editor's note) and to bring new developments to single-seaters, especially this weekend in France", explains Toto Wolff, boss of the reigning champion team.

Let the spectators not worry if Hamilton does not take part in the first free practice session on Friday (2:00 p.m.): he will be replaced by reserve driver Nyck de Vries "as part of the sessions allocated to young drivers this year" , says Wolff.

Sir Lewis will be in charge from the second session, Friday at 5:00 p.m., to prepare for the 300th Grand Prix of his career, at 37 years old.

On the French side, Esteban Ocon (Alpine), 8th in the championship, is best placed to secure a podium in front of the tricolor stands, one of which will be in his name.

The other Norman, Pierre Gasly, 13th, is in more difficulty even if he hopes for "a real improvement in performance" of his AlphaTauri with new developments.

There too in front of “his” tribune.

© 2022 AFP