France: pre-race 2019


Checking last year’s result, which has been a fairly good guide so far to this season, Mercedes started on the front row, followed by Vettel then the two Red Bulls with Raikkonen last of the top chaps. Come the chequered flag, things had changed quite a bit, with Hamilton retaining the top spot, but Verstappen 2nd, Raikkonen 3rd and then Ricciardo, Vettel, and Magnussen (Bottas was 7th due to a first lap collision with Vettel).

Also worth noting the race last year was dry and there was plenty of overtaking, so top 6 cars out of position should have little difficult carving their way through the field. It also means a fast-qualifying car that’s rubbish on it’s tyres will slide inexorably backwards in the race.

In first practice, astoundingly, Hamilton was fastest, half a tenth ahead of Bottas. A few tenths further back was Leclerc, but half a second more to Verstappen and Vettel slower still. Gasly was next, then Norris and Sainz, with Ricciardo and Albon rounding out the top 10.

Bottas topped P2, but given he was four-tenths ahead of Hamilton it’ll be due to complicating factors (fuel, engine mode, tyres) rather than pace. Behind the Mercedes was Leclerc, a tenth ahead of Vettel. Perhaps the Monegasque will be the faster Ferrari driver this weekend. Norris, Verstappen, Sainz, and Gasly were next (early signs for McLaren seem good, but it’s only practice), followed by Raikkonen and Magnussen.

Bottas was also fastest in third practice, but this time by just half a tenth. Qualifying could be tasty. Hamilton was next, of course, with Leclerc four-tenths off (and half a tenth ahead of Vettel). Verstappen was nearly a second down the road from the Ferraris, with Gasly just a tenth behind his talented team mate. Norris, Ricciardo, Sainz, and Raikkonen round out the top 10.

My thoughts were to check for Bottas’ odds. He was just 1.9 on Ladbrokes and 2.1 on Betfair for the fastest time, which doesn’t tempt me as it looks like a probable coin toss.

So, no qualifying tip. Intrigued to see how Renault and McLaren do.

The pre-race ramble will probably be up tomorrow, though there’s an off-chance it’ll be this evening.

Morris Dancer

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