© Getty ImagesFree Practice Update - French Grand Prix 2021Round seven is underway at Circuit Paul Ricard, France.
Bonjour!WelcomebacktotheSouthofFranceandmorespecificallyLeCastellet.AfternotvisitingthecolourfulCircuitPaulRicardin2020,it'sgreattobebackonFrenchsoil...orshouldwesaytarmac.
France is the ancestral home of motorsport, and has been a constant presence at the heart of Formula One, providing a constant stream of teams, engines, drivers and sponsors. The races, wherever they go, tend to be impact events – usually with vast, midsummer crowds.
This year we won't have those level of crowds, however we will be welcoming back a handful of fans with a maximum capacity of 15,000.
French GP Stats© Red Bull Racing Honda
The weekend's action got underway at 11:30 local time and it didn't take long before both Max and Checo were out on track.
At the end of the session Max was P3 with a best time of 1:33.880. The Dutchman managed a total of 23 laps. Checo brought the RB16B home in P4 setting a 1:34.193. He completed 25 laps.
Friday afternoon's Free Practice Two saw Max finish at the top of the timesheets, setting a best time of 1:32.872. He managed 21 laps of the circuit. Checo came home in P12 with a 1:33.921 and 24 laps to his name.
The final practice session of the weekend, Free Practice Three, saw Max come out on top yet again. The Dutchman finished P1 with a time of 1:31.300. He managed 11 laps of Circuit Paul Ricard. Checo brought his Bull back in P4 with a time of 1:32.238. The Mexican completed 15 laps.
French Grand Prix 2021: Free Practice
An Asymmetrical Bull In France© Getty Images
Sparks Fly In The South Of France© Getty Images
Up And Running In France© Getty Images
On The Racing Line© Getty Images
A Max On A Mission© Getty Images
A Great Looking Rear© Getty Images
To The Garage For FP2© Getty Images
Bulls Back In The Garage© Getty Images
Christian's Set For The Session© Getty Images
Driving Off Into The Weekend© Getty Images
Following The Right Route© Getty Images
Picking The Fastest Line© Getty Images
It’s difficult to say where we will be tomorrow and you never know what people will find overnight.
“I think overall it’s been a good end to the day and we improved quite well. I wasn’t entirely happy in FP1 and even at the start of FP2 but on the second set of tyres this afternoon the car felt a lot better and a lot more connected. It’s still really difficult around here as the track is so open and it’s quite windy which means it isn’t always easy to nail the lap. The wind is also quite gusty so one lap it feels alright and the next lap it can increase, which means it’s not always easy to judge your mid-corner speeds, but everyone has to deal with the same thing. It’s difficult to say where we will be tomorrow and you never know what people will find overnight but the long runs also seemed decent so for sure I expect it to be very tight and it definitely won’t be easy.”
“I got a pretty bad run of traffic today so it probably looks worse than it actually is on the time sheets. We look to be there or thereabouts and Max had a good day on pace. We tried some changes during the sessions and so tonight we’ll look at them to see what worked and hopefully we can find some pace overnight so we are right in the mix tomorrow. Coming from Baku, obviously this is a very different track but we’re continuing the good momentum, the understanding of the car is getting better and there are plenty of positives to take from today.”
| Position | Driver | Team | Time | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Valtteri Bottas | Lewis Hamilton | Max Verstappen | Sergio Pérez | Esteban Ocon | Daniel Ricciardo | Fernando Alonso | Pierre Gasly | Lando Norris | Yuki Tsunoda |
| Mercedes | Mercedes | Red Bull Racing Honda | Red Bull Racing Honda | Alpine | McLaren | Alpine | AlphaTauri | McLaren | AlphaTauri |
| 1.33.448 | 1.33.783 | 1.33.880 | 1.34.193 | 1.34.329 | 1.34.644 | 1.34.693 | 1.34.699 | 1.34.707 | 1.34.847 |
| Position | Driver | Team | Time | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | - | 12 |
| Max Verstappen | Valtteri Bottas | Lewis Hamilton | Fernando Alonso | Charles Leclerc | Esteban Ocon | Pierre Gasly | Carlos Sainz | Kimi Raikkonen | Lando Norris | - | Sergio Perez |
| Red Bull Racing Honda | Mercedes | Mercedes | Alpine | Ferrari | Alpine | Alphatauri | Ferrari | Alfa Romeo | McLaren | - | Red Bull Racing Honda |
| 1:32.872 | 1:32.880 | 1:33.125 | 1:33.340 | 1:33.550 | 1:33.685 | 1:33.696 | 1:33.698 | 1:33.786 | 1:33.822 | - | 1:33.921 |
| Position | Driver | Team | Time | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Max Verstappen | Valtteri Bottas | Carlos Sainz | Sergio Pérez | Lewis Hamilton | Lando Norris | Fernando Alonso | Esteban Ocon | Pierre Gasly | Daniel Ricciardo |
| Red Bull Racing Honda | Mercedes | Ferrari | Red Bull Racing Honda | Mercedes | McLaren | Alpine | Alpine | AlphaTauri | McLaren |
| 1.31.300 | 1.32.047 | 1.32.195 | 1.32.238 | 1.32.266 | 1.32.336 | 1.32.624 | 1.32.681 | 1.32.707 | 1.32.759 |
