French Grand Prix preview: Leclerc looks to maintain pressure on Verstappen

Formula One returns to the Circuit Paul Ricard for the French Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc looking to win back-to-back races after success in Austria last time.

This could be the last French Grand Prix for the foreseeable future as the circuit’s contract is due to expire at the end of the season. Who is most likely to secure a historic success?

We preview the action below.

The frontrunners

Charles Leclerc’s win in the Austria Grand Prix breathed new life into the Drivers’ Championship, as the Monacan driver passed championship rival Max Verstappen three times on course to victory and closed the gap at the top to 38 points.

Leclerc has arguably driven as well as Verstappen so far over the first quarter of the season but has often been let down by reliability issues.

Those certainly remain a problem for Ferrari, after Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz’s car caught fire in Austria with 14 laps remaining, when looking as though he was booked for second place.

If Leclerc’s car remains unhindered in France, he has shown this season that he is capable of pushing Verstappen all the way, and is 6/4 to race to his fourth win of the campaign.

Verstappen will cruise onto the track in France knowing that just holding his level for the rest of the season, amidst the continued troubles of the next biggest threats in the division, should see him comfortably roll over the line to claim a second Drivers’ Championship title.

He will have to drive better than in Austria, where he took advantage of Sainz’s departure to finish second, but the reigning champion has the pace, agility and the cutthroat decision-making needed to bounce straight back. The Dutchman goes into this race as the favourite to record his seventh victory this season at 5/4.

Beginning the season well before being plagued by an array of mechanical failures, slow starts and a bouncing car, Lewis Hamilton has slowly clawed his way back into contention. The seven-time world champion currently lies sixth in the drivers standings, on 109 points, 61 behind Leclerc in second place. After another podium finish in Austria, a win doesn’t look too far away and it might just put him back in contention for a record breaking eight title, with plenty of races left this season.

Finishing in the top four in the last four races with third place at Silverstone and in Austria, at 7/1 to win the race, he is well in the running to produce another good performance and notch some more all-important points.

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Chasing down the leaders

The podium finishers will always get the plaudits in F1 and so far this season there hasn’t been much variety in the top three places. However, several other drivers have shown signs of breaking into the top three when the leaders show any cracks in their armour and they will no doubt continue to pile on the pressure in France.

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Mercedes’ George Russell have been in and out of the podium positions throughout the season and, despite lacking the consistency to claim them week in and week out, they certainly have the ability to pull a winning run out of the bag at any moment. They are both priced at 12/1 to win in France, while their chances of another podium finish are priced at 11/10 and 6/4 respectively.

Another driver who has impressed this term is Carlos Sainz, who was luckless in Austria, but has the ability to figure at 20/1 to grab his second win of the campaign and 9/4 to finish on the podium.

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