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Added on the 27/06/2018 10:30:00 - Copyright : Auto Moto EN
"The doyen of all Grands Prix returns to the calendar after an absence of ten years. The first race to be called a Grand Prix was held in France, 112 years ago at Le Mans. Back then, the track was triangular and measured 103 kilometres, of which 12 laps were required to make up the race distance. It was won by the Hungarian, Ferenc Szisz in a Renault, at a respectable average speed of 101.19 km/h. Many years later, F1 as we know it began and the French GP moved around various circuits: Reims, Le Mans, Rouen, Clermont-Ferrand and Dijon. Then, before the Magny-Cours facility was built, the lion’s share of races took place at the Le Castellet Circuit, otherwise known as Paul Ricard. The last race was held there in 1990 and was won by Alain Prost driving a Ferrari 641. From then on, the track was used for testing, with facilities for watering the track, but with no permanent grandstands. So now, the race returns to Provence with a race that kicks off F1’s first ever triple-header, with three GPs- France, Austria, Great Britain – one weekend apart, followed by a weekend off before two back-to-backs at Hockenheim and the Hungaroring. It makes for a very demanding schedule in the run up to the August break. Planning for three events, with one of them at what is effectively a brand new venue, is no easy logistical task. However, after Sunday’s race, our cars and a good part of the personnel, will return to Maranello. This will be a weekend of discovery on the 5.861 km long track, where the tyres available will be the Soft, Supersoft and Ultrasoft, with a construction similar to that used in Spain a month ago."
What is part of the calendar, after a ten-year absence, is the dean of all the Grand Prix. The first race with this title took place in France, 112 years ago, in Le Mans. What then was a triangular track of the length of ..., 103 kilometers and broken, to be repeated twelve times. The Hungarian Ferenc Szisz, on Renault, won the respectable average of 101.19 km / h. Many years later, the F1 era began and the French GP migrated several times on various circuits: Reims, Le Mans, Rouen, Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon ... but before that, in 1991, the Magny plant was inaugurated -Cours, the lion's share for the presences had it the Circuit du Castellet, or the Paul Ricard. What, after the last GP in the 90s (and won by Prost on Ferrari 641), had become, for Formula 1, a test track, equipped with artificial irrigation systems and without fixed stands. Now we are back in Provence, with a race that opens the first real "triple header", or three Grand Prizes at a distance of one week from each other. France, Austria, Great Britain. Then a weekend break that will precede two other races in succession, in Hockenheim and Hungaroring. A particularly demanding championship phase before the August break. Planning three trips, one of which on a virtually new infrastructure circuit, is not an easy task for logistics. After Sunday's race, however, the cars and most of the staff will return to Maranello. The weekend will be all to be discovered, on the track of 5,861 Km you will use Soft, Super soft and Ultrasoft tires, with a tread similar to the one used a month ago in Spain.
It’s time for the Japanese Grand Prix, one of the most popular events on the calendar for enthusiasts and F1 folk alike. Suzuka first featured on the World Championship trail almost four decades ago and along with two races at Fuji in the mid-70s and again in 2007 and 2008 and with two Pacific Grands Prix in the Nineties, the Land of the Rising Sun has played an important part in the history of the sport. Suzuka is special, not just because of the beautiful figure-of-eight track, but also because of the electrifying atmosphere around the circuit, the grandstands packed with local fans, both young and old who love to dress up in race suits, often wearing the most bizarre home-made caps made to look like the race cars, as they wander around the track and even in the paddock.If the 18 corners that make up Suzuka circuit could talk, they would tell the tale of some of the most memorable moments in the history of the sport. So many world championships have been decided here, many of them in favour of Scuderia Ferrari. In 2000 came the “Red Dawn” as the tifosi called it, when Michael Schumacher won the race to clinch his first title in red, repeating the feat in Japan in 2003. There were also moments of disappointment for the Prancing Horse, in 1990 when Alain Prost was beaten to the crown by Ayrton Senna and in 1998, when Schumacher was bested by Mika Häkkinen.
The Barcelona-Catalunya circuit returns to the layout used up until 2006, doing away with the chicane in the third sector, as it hosts the seventh round of the season, the Spanish Grand Prix. It is Carlos Sainz’s home race, at which he finished fourth last year, his best ever home result in Spain.
As was the case last year, Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit hosts the third round of the Formula 1 World Championship.
Just one week on from the Portuguese Grand Prix, on a track that has only hosted two Formula 1 races, the World Championship now moves to the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit in Montmeló, 25 kilometres from the Catalan capital, which has featured on the calendar every year since 1991. It also used to be the usual venue for pre-season testing, but this year, because of the pandemic, that was moved to Bahrain.The track layout, featuring high, medium and low speed corners, direction changes, undulations and a long start-finish straight, is a demanding test-bench of a car’s abilities. It is also one of the most difficult tracks for overtaking. Being close to the coast means that changes in wind direction are one of the factors to deal with, because it has a significant impact on the balance of the cars that run in a medium-high downforce configuration. There are two DRS zones, one on the main straight leading to the first chicane and another after turn 9 on the back straight that leads to turn 10, where it will make less of a difference under braking, but it will not be impossible to try a textbook overtaking move around the outside, relying on entry speed going into the turn. During the winter, major changes were actually made to turn 10, a very heavy braking point where it was easy to lock up
Charles Leclerc has the slogan 'MISSION WINNOW' stitched into his Ferrari hat.It’s on his flame red jacket, the baseball caps, the rear wing of the famous Maranello machines, and a range of promotional goods from backers PMI.Their marketeers define the catchword as “learning from past mistakes to shape the future”; others simply see it as ‘Win Now’.The dictionary describes winnowing as a method of refining the best from the rest. Whichever way you look at it Maranello’s baby-faced assassin is living it to a tee. In 20 races Leclerc's electrifying pace has transformed him from little known rookie to Ferrari’s, and maybe even the sport’s, future alongside Max Verstappen.He has ripped up the form book and arrives in Abu Dhabi this week in the eye of a storm caused by speed that has put the prominence of four-time champion Sebastian Vettel on the line at Ferrari and maybe even his long-term participation in the sport in doubt.
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