Nyck de Vries to replace Hamilton in FP1 — what to watch for at the French GP

But those results don’t tell the whole picture; Ferrari missed various race-winning opportunities during Red Bull’s streak, while Verstappen would have likely won the British GP had he not ran over some debris.

Hopes for a third victory in a row at Paul Ricard may also depend on some Red Bull misfortune: the circuit’s high-speed corners connected by long straights are likely to give the RB18 the edge.

Don’t forget Mercedes either after impressive pace at Silverstone, masked by a poor qualifying performance and the first-lap crash involving George Russell.

The team has had a driver on the podium in each of the past four races, and continued development could push this year’s car closer to the front.

This could have a decisive impact on the title picture, with Hamilton – who has won twice at Paul Ricard – or Russell potentially in a position to take points from Ferrari and Red Bull.

Paul Ricard weather: sweltering conditions forecast as heatwave continues

Forecasts for the coming weekend predict temperatures as high as 36C on Sunday — more than 10C higher than the July average for the region.

As well as making racing uncomfortable for drivers, the continuing European heatwave is set to have implications for tyre management: Pirelli is bringing the C2, C3 and C4 compounds, omitting the very hardest and very softest options.

Most teams have suffered some issues with temperature regulation during the season, and the forecase temperatures will be a test of how effectively they can cool the power unit and brakes: expect to see plenty of vents being opened up.

Expect more problems with track limits this weekend 

There were 43 reported breaches of track limits at the Red Bull Ring and if you were looking for a circuit to exceed that figure, then Paul Ricard wold probably be it.

With its distinct lack of grass or gravel traps, the temptation for drivers to go as close to the white line as possible is as high as any track on the calendar.

This has paved way for penalties in the past – Daniel Ricciardo in 2019 for example – and there could well be more again this weekend, given the advantage to be gained by crossing the white line.

Christian Horner predicts the situation will be more severe this weekend. “The problem is the nature of the circuit invites the drivers to use the track limits,” said Red Bull’s team principal.

“And of course, there were many, many drivers that were infringing that over the [last] weekend.

“I think my concern isn’t so much [Austria], I think Ricard will be a bigger issue in that there is  a genuine time gain to be had. And obviously, you’ve got acres of tarmac there, so it’s just inviting you to run offline.”

Of those 43 incidents in Austria, four drivers – Vettel, Gasly, Lando Norris and Zhou Guanyu – were given a time penalty for exceeding the three permitted breaches. The threat of a race-changing sanction for off-track excursions hangs over the again in France.

The driver silly season has begun 

A lot has happened to fuel driver market rumours the Austrian GP.

IndyCar star Colton Herta tested a 2021 car for McLaren at Portimao, while the Woking-based outfit also announced the signing of reigning IndyCar champion, Alex Palou.

Palou’s future is up in the air, with Chip Ganassi Racing also claiming a contract with the driver, but a Formula 1 future with McLaren has been mooted.

This has piled more pressure onto Ricciardo, who has struggled to find his form since joining McLaren in 2021, and was already thought to be under threat from Alex Albon and Oscar Piastri who have been linked with his seat.

Ricciardo insists that he is committed to the team and has a contract for 2023.

As F1 heads towards its summer break, expect driver rumours for 2023 to intensify with Fernando Alonso also yet to confirm his seat at Alpine.