French Grand Prix Preview
Magny Cours • Nevers • France
by Toby Waller
England

Circuit Length: 2.640 miles / 4.250 km
Race Length: 72 laps (190.139 miles / 306.000km)

If you missed the first half of the season, and only read the tabloid newspapers, you'd think it was all over. Much of the British tabloid press has, amazingly, marked Hill down for definite championship success this season. It could be the current rejuvenation in British sport that has sparked this - after all we have just beaten the much feared Holland in the Euro '96 tournament convincingly, a dominance not usually associated with British soccer. With the Driver's Championship lead standing at only 21 points, there's still plenty to play for in the second half. After all, Michael Schumacher had a twenty-seven point lead at the halfway point in 1994, and look how that turned out. With Jacques Villeneuve constantly breathing down Hill's neck, and the Ferrari team promising new diffusers, suspension, chassis, engine and sidepods for the British Grand Prix, things are still looking far from easy for the Englishman. Despite Schumacher's suggestions to the contrary, the German poses as much a threat to Hill as his Williams team-mate. Frank Williams himself probably said it best: "Schumacher in a pram is dangerous."

Anyway, the French Grand Prix is almost upon us. This time of the year usually sees bright sunshine and cloudless skies so pack your suntan lotion. The French are absolutely bonkers about Formula One, so expect a sell out event. With both Renault and Peugot figuring strongly in recent events, and introducing new evolution engines this weekend, there's plenty for the local fans to cheer. It's going to be a cracker!

Lap Guide
The pits are superb, the circuit is smooth and the runoff areas are immense. Even the weather is invariably hot, so why don't the drivers like Magny Cours? It all comes down to the shape of the circuit itself. There are some good medium-to-fast corners, but there are also a couple of tight hairpins that have no place on a modern race track. So what's a fast lap like then? As the cars cross the start/finish line, the drivers check their pit boards before screaming into the flat out left-hander, Grande Courbe. The course then eases right into a long, fast hairpin, usually taken in fourth, known as the Estoril Bend. The drivers then speed down the main straight and pass through the flat out Golf Course kink before slamming on the brakes for the slowest hairpin on the course, Adelaide. The entry to this corner offers one of the few overtaking manoeuvres, but the actual hairpin can only really be taken in single file. It's flat out down the next straight, however, and the drivers chase each other through the fast Nurburgring bend before attempting to outbrake each other into the next slow hairpin. The cars then accelerate off again and head towards the fast Imola Bend - a superbly challenging corner, taken in fifth, that dips down, right, then up and left again. There is no respite for the drivers, though, as they have to slam on the brakes once more to negotiate the long right hander, Chateau d'Eau. The cars pass through another chicane, before negotiating the tight, first gear Lycee hairpin and beginning another lap.

What Happened Last Year?
Last year's French Grand Prix was a bit of a dull affair. Damon Hill took his customary pole position and kept the lead at the start of the race. Schumacher was close behind though, and constantly challenging the Englishman - the leading pair easily pulling away from Rubens Barrichello and David Coulthard, battling for third. Brundle took advantage of a stop-go for Rubens to be the challenger to Coulthard, continuing his attacks right up to the chequered flag. Hill lost his race in the pits though - Schumacher making his first stop early to avoid traffic that slowed Hill. The war of words between the two championship challengers continued, as Schumacher complained that Hill had been brake testing him along the straights in the early part of the race.

1995 Results
1. Michael Schumacher   Benetton-Renault        1h38m28.429s
2. Damon Hill           Williams-Renault        + 31.309s
3. David Coulthard      Williams-Renault        + 1m2.826s
4. Martin Brundle       Ligier-Mugen Honda      + 1m3.293s
5. Jean Alesi           Ferrari                 + 1m17.869s
6. Rubens Barrichello   Jordan-Peugot           + one lap


Pole Position    Damon Hill          Williams-Renault    1m17.225s
Fastest Lap      Michael Schumacher  Benetton-Renault    1m20.218s

But what of this year? Well, the Williams team finally returned to form at Canada with their sixth win and third one-two finish of the season. If the Constructor's cup is looking destined for the Williams trophy cabinet, the recipient of the Driver's Championship is still wide open. Damon Hill drove a terrific race at Canada last weekend, firmly stamping his authority on the race from the moment the lights went out. Jacques Villeneuve also drove superbly to consolidate his second position in the championship. Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine were putting their Ferraris high on the time sheets, and Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger were showing the Benetton in a reasonable light. It's looking close as we move into the second half of the season.

Ferrari
Making a surprise debut on the Ferrari car was the new high nose - it was rumoured that it was not going to be used until France. Though the revised snout was apparently worth around 0.2s a lap, it was not enough for the Ferrari drivers to be able to overhaul the Williams. Schumacher lined up third, but was closer than usual - only 0.1s behind the Williams pair. The aerodynamic changes were more to Eddie Irvine's liking, helping him to fifth spot - a mere 0.5s behind Schumacher. The race was a disaster though. On the warm-up lap, Schumacher was relegated to the back with apparent electric troubles. Irvine was out on lap two with a suspension failure, and Schumacher was out on lap 41 with a dramatic driveshaft failure following his one and only pitstop. With the new components making their debut on the Ferrari at Britain, it could be a scarlet charger that is dominating the field rather than the knight in shining armour.

Benetton-Renault
On Saturday afternoon things were looking shaky for the Benetton duo. Both drivers had spun out during qualifying, Jean Alesi with a particularly dramatic brake failure that saw him pummel the tyre walls. The fact that Gerhard Berger lined up seventh and Alesi fourth probably stopped team boss Flavio Briatore from reaching for the pink slip. The pair had a terrific tussle during the race but only Alesi managed to finish, in third place, after Berger spun off. This was a fairly promising weekend, but expect even better things in front of the Renault top brass at Magny Cours.

Williams-Renault
The Canadian Grand Prix was really just a battle between the Williams drivers, such is the team's dominance this season. Although Schumacher was closer to the pair than usual, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve dominated the session. For much of qualifying it looked as though Villeneuve would take the top honours. Hill reached deep into his personal reserves, though, and denied the Canadian his home pole with a time just two hundredths of a second quicker. The race was just as close, with the pair finishing the distance a mere 4s apart despite different pitstop strategies. It was debatable whether the one stop or two stop strategy was best, but it was certainly the Williams team that were kings of the pit road with unusually slick and rapid pit work. The Williams cars traditionally do well in qualifying at Magny Cours - Damon has held the pole there at every visit, but Jacques has not tested here and the team are usually poor come race day. It could be a chance for the other teams to catch up if recent history repeats itself.

McLaren-Mercedes
The battle between Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard continues. This time, though, it was the Finn who won the weekend war. He eventually lined up sixth, but was disappointed to be 0.8s behind the pole time. Disappointed! Half the teams would be ecstatic to be less than a second behind the Williams. Coulthard had an unlucky session, just about to go for a quick lap when the qualifying was stopped after Berger's shunt. He eventually lined up tenth. The pair had an eventful race, ducking and diving around each other and the traffic, before finishing fourth and fifth in Coulthard's favour. The McLaren renaissance appears to be progressing - expect them to be there, or thereabouts, on Sunday.

Ligier-Mugen Honda
Ligier returned to their season of woe at Canada. A new evolution Mugen Honda engine held much promise, but the car failed to do it justice. The pair lined up eleventh and eighteenth on the grid after troubled qualifying sessions. The race fared little better, both cars retiring with engine failures at half distance. There was one high point to their race, though, as Panis actually overtook - yes, that says overtook - Schumacher, fair and square on lap 39. The frowns soon returned, though, as Panis retired on the next lap and it emerged that Schumacher's engine had been running a little rough. The French team have their base at Magny Cours and do most of their testing there, so expect them to be strong runners.

Jordan-Peugot
Jordan were also in a bit of a slump last weekend, as their changing fortunes continued. Martin Brundle had found a setup more to his liking during testing, and he was comparatively happy to line up ninth. Barrichello was disappointed to line up eighth though. In the race, Brundle made a cracker of a start and was looking good for a points finish until he collided with a Minardi whilst exiting the pits. Barrichello had clutch problems that eventually caused his retirement on lap 23. With a new evolution engine for France, the team's fortunes could soon be in their favour.

Sauber-Ford
The Sauber team also had an unusually disappointing Saturday. The drivers, Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Johnny Herbert, were only split by 0.3s in qualifying, but were in twelfth and fifteenth places - the desired airbox and setup changes made in recent testing having little effect. The pair ran strongly in the race, though, until Frentzen retired with gearbox failure. Johnny Herbert saved face for the team by finishing seventh, albeit hampered by brake problems.

Footwork-Hart
The TWR team seem to be getting the hang of their new charge - Jos Verstappen using revised front suspension to good effect, eventually taking thirteenth on the grid. The Dutchman eventually retired from the race on lap 10 with engine trouble. Riccardo Rosset had a disastrous weekend - lining up with the Fortis in twenty-first, and retiring after colliding with Ukyo Katayama in the race. Must do better next time.

Tyrrell-Yamaha
Yet another team that had a bad Canadian trip. Gearbox failures hampered Mika Salo on his way to ninth on the grid, and an engine failure meant Katayama was forced to use the spare car once again. If there were ever any accusations of the Japanese Yamaha engine company favouring a home driver, then they would surely be laughed away by now. The race was little better - Katayama crashing out with Rosset, and Salo blowing the engine after starting the race in the T-car.

Minardi-Ford
A new evolution of the Ford ED V8 engine promised much but delivered little. There was apparently a notable improvement, and the cars were handling well, but Pedro Lamy and Giancarlo Fisichella were still at the rear end of the grid come Sunday. Fisichella finished, just out of the points, but Lamy was to eventually retire after colliding with Brundle.

Forti-Ford
Congratulations! Once again, both Fortis made the grid - Luca Badoer even beating Rosset's Arrows. Both cars were not to finish the race though. Luca Badoer with gearbox gremlins, and Montermini with loose ballast that was distracting him in the cockpit. Better luck in France perhaps?