FrenchGP 2021: Practices and Qualifying

**jgonzalesm6** · 18th June 2021, 08:53

A little over an hour and 30 minutes at time of post for FP1.

**patrese86** · 18th June 2021, 11:41

I don't know what to make of that. Obviously we were never going to be close to Mercedes or Red Bull but I'm struggling to believe we are also at the levels of Haas and Williams. See how we develop over the next 24 hours or so i guess.

**tifosi1993** · 18th June 2021, 11:42

**wisepie** · 18th June 2021, 11:49

First practice runs don't look too promising but hopefully there's plenty of room for improvement, our cars don't appear to have any more pace than the Alfas thus far. Renault/Alpine showing that Renault power is way better than ours, but strangely Aston are struggling too. Hope for a more positive FP2.

**KimiBot** · 18th June 2021, 11:57

It was nice weather, not so much else to say about that session.

**ferrari1.8t** · 18th June 2021, 12:09

Liberty, SKY and the FIA must be ecstatic to have Merc back at 1-2. It’s not a coincidence that the directives on “bendy” wings and tire pressures have helped Merc. 2022 can’t come fast enough.

**458 Italia** · 18th June 2021, 15:06

Red Bull whinging about the yellow curbs causing damage to cars if they're driven over

Simple solution to that, DON'T DRIVE THAT WIDE TO GO OVER THEM.

Paul Ricard is such a clinical track with no risks anyway, at least those bumps give the drivers something to think about.

**tifosi1993** · 18th June 2021, 15:11

**tifosi1993** · 18th June 2021, 15:15

Long run pace looked pretty strong. Charles was the only man in 1m37's on hards when he had free air. Only Max and Bot could do 1m37's apart from Leclerc.

**20000rpm** · 18th June 2021, 15:37

I think we should be happy if we can take 5th place in the race. More than that should be an achievement.

**JacKy** · 18th June 2021, 16:03

I dont like this circuit at all. That blue escaping areas makes it even worse.

**Silent Bob** · 18th June 2021, 16:09

Let's not be like Binotto and always wait till next year. Podiums for Ferrari. Both Leclerc and Sainz are always thinking about podiums and winning every race. Max doesn't start the race thinking he's going to finish 5th. Hamilton didn't win 7 championships and 100 wins by thinking he was going to finish the year 4th. Russel has no points in the Williams and making 3 stops in a Merc with a flat tire is no excuse for finishing a place behind Bottas who had no issues.. Just wanted to get my Brembo rant out of the way.

Hoping for a good showing from our boys this weekend even though it might be a tough race for us.

**WS6TransAm01** · 18th June 2021, 16:18

Originally Posted by JacKy

I dont like this circuit at all. That blue escaping areas makes it even worse.

Same. If we are gonna race in France, I'd rather it be Magny-Cours

**KimiBot** · 18th June 2021, 16:33

Originally Posted by Silent Bob

Let's not be like Binotto and always wait till next year. Podiums for Ferrari. Both Leclerc and Sainz are always thinking about podiums and winning every race. Max doesn't start the race thinking he's going to finish 5th. Hamilton didn't win 7 championships and 100 wins by thinking he was going to finish the year 4th. Russel has no points in the Williams and making 3 stops in a Merc with a flat tire is no excuse for finishing a place behind Bottas who had no issues.. Just wanted to get my Brembo rant out of the way.

Hoping for a good showing from our boys this weekend even though it might be a tough race for us.

I went for that, I was reading and thinking...what the...

That was funny, thanks.

**458 Italia** · 18th June 2021, 17:17

Originally Posted by WS6TransAm01

Same. If we are gonna race in France, I'd rather it be Magny-Cours

Agreed.

Paul Ricard is just so sterile.

**wisepie** · 18th June 2021, 17:59

Much better FP2 so there is hope that we can still look for a good points haul. Keep at it, ragazzi and stay off the kerbs!

**ntukza** · 18th June 2021, 18:37

Originally Posted by wisepie

Much better FP2 so there is hope that we can still look for a good points haul. Keep at it, ragazzi and stay off the kerbs!

Wonder what the deal was with FP1. Different programme, tricky conditions or genuinely struggling? Whatever it was, hopefully FP2 is a realistic indication.

**Rob** · 18th June 2021, 19:54

GP FRANCIA F1/2021 - VENERDÌ 18/06/2021
Le Castellet, 18 June 2021 – Friday at the French Grand Prix offered up the expected scenario of the two teams currently leading the championship heading up the time sheet, while the chasing pack were all very close to each other in terms of performance. Scuderia Ferrari got through its programme with no major issues and given that Le Castellet circuit does not particularly suit the characteristics of the SF21, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz being fifth and eighth fastest respectively, is in line with expectations going into this weekend.

FP1. The team split the job of tyre evaluation between the two drivers: Charles started on the Medium compound, while Carlos left the garage on Hards. Grip was fairly low and so, after a handful of laps both drivers switched to the Soft compound, with which Charles set a time of 1’34”950. Unfortunately, Carlos had a spin which ruined his tyres and so he was unable to do better than the 1’35”342 set on the Hard compound.

FP2. In the afternoon, the Monegasque and the Spaniard completed 23 and 24 laps respectively, posting the fifth and eighth fastest times. As usual, the first part of the session was spent looking for quick times over a single lap on the softest compound, before both drivers switched to evaluating the various compounds with plenty of fuel on board. There was not much difference between the Ferrari men’s lap times with Charles posting a 1’33”550 and Carlos a 1’33”698.

Programme. Tomorrow’s action begins with the third free practice session at 12 CET, which will be useful preparation for qualifying at 15. The 61st French Grand Prix to count towards the Formula 1 World Championship gets underway at the same time on Sunday.

Charles Leclerc #16
The main focus today was on car balance. The wind was very strong, which made it tricky to drive, but that was the same for everyone so we just had to try and find a good way to manage in these conditions.
In general, here things are looking more in line with what we expected compared to the last two race weekends, where we had pleasant surprises.
Our performance today was not bad and although we still have quite a bit of work to do, we made a nice recovery from FP1 and the car felt better this afternoon.
It will be important to understand how to get the tyres in the right operating window tomorrow. With the wind, we also have to find the right set-up to make sure that the car is easy to drive in qualifying. If we manage to put these two things together, I’m pretty sure we can have a decent weekend.

Carlos Sainz #55
Today was quite tricky. We knew that this layout would be challenging for us compared to some of the previous races, so today went more or less as expected. However, we are not that far away and we are reasonably pleased with the car balance.
The trickiest thing was the strong wind, which was blowing in the worst possible directions, with a head wind on the straights and a tail wind in the corners. It made the circuit challenging and slower.
The Soft and Hard tyres seem to work well, so we’ll keep working tonight to try and extract the maximum from the car tomorrow

**paolo lalli** · 18th June 2021, 20:13

Turn up and compete at your best thats the name of the game for ferrari.Dont let binotto put the mocca on the boys before they even start the race.Binotto should change his tune its rather down putting constantly he is to stiff and rigid with his approach.He reminds me of lippy the lion.

**Rob** · 18th June 2021, 22:46

Originally Posted by 458 Italia

Agreed.

Paul Ricard is just so sterile.

Its great track, but not for f1. The recent elms and gt world challenge races was amazing.

Also, they should do away with the chicane and the mistral straight for F1.

Toothlessrage* · 19th June 2021, 06:21

I have a question,
How is race pace calculated?

**jgonzalesm6** · 19th June 2021, 08:18

Originally Posted by Toothlessrage*

I have a question,
How is race pace calculated?

The LEADER determines race pace soooooo in lamens terms, you have to have a fast and reliable car. Also, if the leader determines the race pace and everyone else following the leader loses a second a lap from the leader......well.........it's not rocket science.......you either keep up with the leader or your race pace falters from lap to lap.

**Brembo** · 19th June 2021, 09:54

Or when the 2nd place starter jumps ahead of the leader! No rocket science needed again! We all know; Quali is where you start not where you wind up finishing ! Hoping for another Ferrari podium!!! We are fortunate to have two drivers who really believe every race is there for them .