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Aston Martin reveal how 2022 regulations may change Paul Ricard challenge

Ahead of this weekend's French Grand Prix, Aston Martin drivers Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel explain how the 2022 aero regulations may turn the Circuit Paul Ricard into a different challenge.

Aston Martin drivers Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel say that F1's new aero regulations for 2022 should result in a better spectacle at this weekend's French Grand Prix. Having returned to F1 in 2018, the French Grand Prix has sometimes drawn criticism for the processional nature of races at the Circuit Paul Ricard. However, visitors to last year's event were treated to a thriller, as Max Verstappen caught and passed Lewis Hamilton for the win with just two laps to go, and both Stroll and Vettel believe that the characteristics of Formula 1's new generation of cars should lead to a good show. "Paul Ricard is quite a challenging circuit, with a variety of corners and some long, winding sections towards the end of the lap," said Stroll. "The ground-effect cars we have this year appear to be producing better racing, so I hope we can put on a good show for the fans here."

Vettel keen on 2022 cars tackling high-speed turns

Despite not having much in the way of heavy braking zones, Paul Ricard contains a variety of low- and high-speed corners for the drivers to tackle, and Vettel noted the extra challenge the 2022 aero regs would provide. "Paul Ricard's high-speed corners should gain an added dimension with these ground-effect cars, and the lower-speed corners will provide a challenge for everybody," he explained. "The previous weekends have not always been kind to us for one reason or another, so it would be nice to pick up some momentum before the summer break." Vettel currently lies 14th in the Drivers' Championship with 15 points, while Stroll is five places further back and has just three points. In the Constructors' Championship, a disappointing season for Aston Martin sees the Silverstone-based outfit down in ninth place with 18 points, nine points behind eighth-placed AlphaTauri.

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