Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: French Grand Prix

  • French Grand Prix

    Another week, another race! We are on our final double header before summer break and our first stop is France. The home Grand Prix of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon as well as Alpine.

    Will Ferrari’s reliability hold up? Or will it take a hit once again? What can Red Bull do and will Perez be looking for that win after last time out? And Mercedes… big upgrades are coming this weekend, will we see them fight for pole and the win?

    Who needs a good weekend?

    Carlos Sainz, after having mechanical issues last time out, he needs a good weekend in France as it looked like he was getting P2, which would’ve been an easy 1-2 for the Italian team.

    Sergio Perez, not a good weekend for him last time out. It’s going to be crucial for the Mexican and Red Bull to score good points this weekend, especially if he wants to be in this title fight.

    Pierre Gasly will be wanting a good weekend in front of his home crowd. This season isn’t going like last for the Frenchman, and his admitted the car is slow and possibly one of the slowest…

    Predictions for qualifying-

    My top five are- P1: Leclerc, P2: Verstappen, P3: Sainz, P4: Hamilton and P5: Perez.

    I think the Mercedes are going to close the gap to Ferrari and Red Bull. I think it will be top 6 fighting it out for pole and be quite close. Leclerc’s pace on one lap is definitely a stand out this year and hopefully it can be carried out.

    Times for weekend-

    Friday 22nd-

    • Free Practice F2- 10:35am – 11:20am (BST)
    • Free Practice 1 F1- 13:00pm -14:00pm
    • Free Practice 2 F1- 16:00pm – 17:00pm
    • Qualifying F2- 17:30pm – 18:00pm

    Saturday 23rd-

    • Free Practice 3 F1- 12:00pm – 13:00pm (BST)
    • Qualifying F1- 15:00pm – 16:00pm
    • Sprint Race F2- 17:00pm – 17:45pm

    Sunday 24th-

    • Feature Race F2- 08:35am (BST)
    • Race- 14:00pm

  • Tyres for French Grand Prix

    This weekend we are back at the French Grand Prix after having a year off due to Covid-19 and Pirelli have announced their tyres for this weekend…

    We have the middle compounds in the Pirelli range which are C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium) and C4 (Soft), this is the same range what they had back in 2019, the winning strategy was a one-stop from mediums to hards. It will be interesting to see who will be on the same strategy and wether that is on the winning strategy from 2019 or if they change it up.

    The tyres what have been chosen are meant to be well suited to the different characteristics of the track, the new asphalt laid on nearly all 15 corners just before the 2019 race ensures a smooth surface for the tyres to work on.

    The tyre degradation at the Paul Ricard circuit is low, however Turn 13 is particularly demanding in terms of continuous energy demands on the tyre.

    Not only do we have F1 this weekend, we also have Formula Three for their second round of the year – only one tyre compound is nominated for each Formula 3 round and the Hard Tyre has been chosen for this weekend.

  • Ocon to stay with Alpine

    It’s been confirmed on the eve of the French Grand Prix, that Esteban Ocon will be staying with french team Alpine till the end of 2024.

    Ocon joined the team when they were known as Renault at the start of the 2020 campaign, he scored his maiden F1 podium in Bahrain. This season though he has outperformed his double world champion team mate Fernando Alonso by scoring points four times in six Grand Prix.

    The team’s CEO Laurent Rossi said: “We are very proud to retain Esteban as part of the Alpine family. Since returning to the team in 2020, Esteban has grown in confidence and stature to deliver consistently good results and help develop the car with the team. We have every confidence in Esteban to help drive the team and the brand to the next level and meet its long-term objectives. Esteban is an asset for us beyond F1 as he is deeply involved in the Alpine global project.”

    My Opinion-

    I had a feeling Ocon was going to re-sign with Alpine, as it now seems that his getting comfortable with the team and the car. I do think it’s a good move from both Ocon and Alpine, it seems they work well together and that they look towards the future and hopefully fighting for championships. Also I think it’s nice it got announced on the week of his and his teams home race too, especially as theres fans there it makes it all a bit more special.