Max Verstappen reckons tyre degradation and the anticipated hot temperatures will be decisive factors at the upcoming French Grand Prix. Amid a European heatwave, air temperatures are expected to reach 34 degrees Celcius on all three days of track action at the Circuit Paul Ricard. Pirelli also marked 'tyre stress' as four out of five in their race preview, with the Hard C2, Medium C3 and Soft C4 compounds being selected.
Verstappen aiming for two French GP wins in a row
With these considerations in mind, Verstappen will be looking to claim back-to-back wins in France and extend his 38-point lead over Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. He won last season's event after adopting an aggressive two-stop strategy to overhaul Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton with two laps remaining. "We had a good result last year in France as a team," reflected Verstappen. "The track has a lot of technical and high-speed corners towards the end, so it will be important to look after the tyres, especially considering it's going to be a very hot weekend. "I'm looking forward to another race week where we can hopefully improve on our performance from Austria and learn from our result last time out."
Perez targets a smoother weekend
On the other side of the Red Bull garage, Sergio Perez is determined to bounce back from his costly Austrian GP retirement. "After a tough weekend in Austria, it's great to be back racing and have a chance to put things right," he commented. "We have had two DNFs in the past three races and we can't afford that in the championships, so I'm aiming to change that this weekend in France. "I'm still in contention for the Drivers' Championship, so personally it is also important not to lose any more points. "Last year I scored my second podium with the team in France and I am very [much] looking forward to trying to repeat that."
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