French Grand Prix 2019 — Weekend Preview

Round 8 of the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship takes the field to Le Castellet, France. Lewis Hamilton leads the championship with 162 points, 29 points ahead of Valtteri Bottas.

Driver Championship (entering R8):
P1: Lewis Hamilton — 162 pts (5W, 7P)
P2: Valtteri Bottas — 133 pts (2W, 6P)
P3: Sebastian Vettel — 100 pts (0W, 4P)
P4: Max Verstappen — 88 pts (0W, 2P)
P5: Charles Leclerc — 72 pts (0W, 2P)

Constructor Championship:
P1: Mercedes — 295 pts
P2: Ferrari — 172 pts
P3: Red Bull Racing — 124 pts
P4: McLaren — 30 pts
P5: Renault — 28 pts

Le Castellet is a balanced challenge.

Recent winners at Le Castellet:
- 2022: Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
- 2019: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- 2018: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

Tyre strategy data will be available after practice sessions provide degradation information.

Battles to watch:

Championship battle: Lewis Hamilton vs Valtteri Bottas — 29 points separate them.

P3 vs P4: Sebastian Vettel (100) vs Max Verstappen (88) — just 12 points apart.