Circuit Paul Ricard History

The pit building French GP F1/2019

The circuit was built thanks to the finance of an ccentric pastis magnate who’s name was Paul Ricard. Ricard wanted to experience the challenge of building a racetrack. Ricard died in 1997 and the circuit is now owned by Bernie Ecclestone.

It was built in 1969 and was first used as Formula 1 track in 1971. The circuit has been modified to make it safer. The long Mistral straight use to be 1.8 km long. But because of the death of Elio de Angelis in 1986 during testing in the Brabham BT55 the circuit was modified.

The track is known for its distinctive black and blue runoff areas known as the Blue Zone. The runoff surface consists of a mixture of asphalt and tungsten, used instead of gravel traps, as common at other circuits  A second, deeper run-off area is the Red Zone, with a more abrasive surface designed to maximise tyre grip and hence minimise braking distance, although at the cost of extreme tyre wear. The final safeguard consists of Tecpro barriers, a modern improvement on tyre barriers.

Getting to Circuit Paul Ricard

French GP F1/2018

Circuit Paul Ricard is situated in the south of France and lays 8 km from the village Le Castelle in the Var departmenent Provence. The nearest international aiports are Marseille Provence (66 km) , Toulon Hyères (55 km) and Nice Côte d’Azur (176 km).  Le Castellet airport which is located next to the circuit is for private flights only.

By road from Marseille, the circuit can be driven to from the A50 autoroute. Take exit 11 and follow the signs for Le Beausset – Aubagne – Circuit du Castellet.  When your arriving from Toulon, take the A50 north and leave at exit 11 and follow the signs for Le Beausset – Aubagne – Circuit du Castellet. From Nice you can take the A8 towards Aix-en-Provence until you reach exit 35. Take the A52 towards Aubagne and then the A50 towards Toulon. At exit 11, follow the signs for Le Beausset – Aubagne – Circuit du Castellet.

The nearest major train stations (TGV) are at Aix-Provence (50 minutes by car to the circuit), Toulon (30 minutes by car) and Marseille St Charles (45 minutes by car).

F1 Podium Winners on Paul Ricard Circuit

YEAR	RACE	DATE	DRIVER	TEAM	LAPS
2021	2021 French F1 GP	June 20	1th  Max Verstappen 2th  Lewis Hamilton 3th  Sergio Pérez	Red Bull  Mercedes  Red Bull	53 53 53
2019	2019 French F1 GP	June 23	1th  Lewis Hamilton 2th  Valtteri Bottas 3th  Charles Leclerc	Mercedes  Mercedes  Ferrari	53 53 53
2018	2018 French F1 GP	June 24	1th  Lewis Hamilton 2th  Max Verstappen 3th  Kimi Räikkönen	Mercedes  Red Bull  Ferrari	53 53 53
1990	1990 French F1 GP	July 8	1th  Alain Prost 2th  Ivan Capelli 3th  Ayrton Senna	Ferrari  Leyton House  McLaren	80 80 80
1989	1989 French F1 GP	July 9	1th  Alain Prost 2th  Nigel Mansell 3th  Riccardo Patrese	McLaren  Ferrari  Williams	80 80 80
1988	1988 French F1 GP	July 3	1th  Alain Prost 2th  Ayrton Senna 3th  Michele Alboreto	McLaren  McLaren  Ferrari	80 80 80
1987	1987 French F1 GP	July 5	1th  Nigel Mansell 2th  Nelson Piquet 3th  Alain Prost	Williams  Williams  McLaren	80 80 80
1986	1986 French F1 GP	July 6	1th  Nigel Mansell 2th  Alain Prost 3th  Nelson Piquet	Williams  McLaren  Williams	80 80 80
1985	1985 French F1 GP	July 7	1th  Nelson Piquet 2th  Keke Rosberg 3th  Alain Prost	Brabham  Williams  McLaren	53 53 53
1983	1983 French F1 GP	April 17	1th  Alain Prost 2th  Nelson Piquet 3th  Eddie Cheever	Renault  Brabham  Renault	54 54 54
1982	1982 French F1 GP	July 25	1th  René Arnoux 2th  Alain Prost 3th  Didier Pironi	Renault  Renault  Ferrari	54 54 54
1980	1980 French F1 GP	June 29	1th  Alan Jones 2th  Didier Pironi 3th  Jacques Laffite	Williams  Ligier  Ligier	54 54 54
1978	1978 French F1 GP	July 2	1th  Mario Andretti 2th  Ronnie Peterson 3th  James Hunt	Team Lotus  Team Lotus  McLaren	54 54 54
1976	1976 French F1 GP	July 4	1th  James Hunt 2th  Patrick Depailler 3th  John Watson	McLaren  Tyrrell  Penske	54 54 54
1975	1975 French F1 GP	July 6	1th  Niki Lauda 2th  James Hunt 3th  Jochen Mass	Ferrari  Hesketh  McLaren	54 54 54
1973	1973 French F1 GP	July 1	1th  Ronnie Peterson 2th  François Cevert 3th  Carlos Reutemann	Team Lotus  Tyrrell  Brabham	54 54 54
1971	1971 French F1 GP	July 4	1th  Jackie Stewart 2th  François Cevert 3th  Emerson Fittipaldi	Tyrrell  Tyrrell  Team Lotus	55 55 55

Driver Ranking Paul Ricard Circuit

	DRIVER	GP	1ST	2ND	3RD	POD	POLE	FL	AVG GRID	AVG POS	POINTS
1	Alain Prost	9	4	2	2	8	3	2	3.0	3.9	56
2	Lewis Hamilton	3	2	1	0	3	2	0	1.3	1.3	68
3	Nigel Mansell	6	2	1	0	3	2	2	5.7	11.2	24
4	Nelson Piquet	9	1	2	1	4	0	1	7.6	5.2	33
5	James Hunt	4	1	1	1	3	1	0	5.5	3.0	20
6	Max Verstappen	3	1	1	0	2	1	1	3.0	2.3	56
7	Ronnie Peterson	5	1	1	0	2	0	0	9.0	10.4	15
8	Mario Andretti	4	1	0	0	1	0	0	9.0	7.3	13
9	René Arnoux	7	1	0	0	1	1	0	8.6	10.6	13
10	Jackie Stewart	2	1	0	0	1	2	1	1.0	2.5	12
11	Alan Jones	5	1	0	0	1	0	1	15.2	13.6	11
12	Niki Lauda	7	1	0	0	1	1	1	7.1	14.3	9
13	François Cevert	2	0	2	0	2	0	0	5.5	2.0	12
14	Ayrton Senna	6	0	1	1	2	1	0	2.2	12.5	13
15	Didier Pironi	3	0	1	1	2	0	0	7.3	5.0	10
16	Valtteri Bottas	3	0	1	0	1	0	1	2.3	4.3	36
17	Keke Rosberg	6	0	1	0	1	1	1	13.8	8.5	13
18	Patrick Depailler	4	0	1	0	1	0	0	9.8	12.3	7
19	Ivan Capelli	4	0	1	0	1	0	0	12.8	11.0	6
20	Kimi Räikkönen	3	0	0	1	1	0	0	11.7	9.0	21
21	Charles Leclerc	3	0	0	1	1	0	0	6.0	9.7	16
22	Sergio Pérez	3	0	0	1	1	0	0	10.3	11.0	15
23	John Watson	6	0	0	1	1	1	0	10.3	12.2	7
24	Emerson Fittipaldi	6	0	0	1	1	0	0	15.0	13.3	7
25	Jacques Laffite	8	0	0	1	1	1	0	12.6	10.8	6
26	Carlos Reutemann	5	0	0	1	1	0	1	8.4	10.4	5
27	Michele Alboreto	7	0	0	1	1	0	0	10.3	10.0	5
28	Riccardo Patrese	10	0	0	1	1	0	1	11.1	13.5	5
29	Jochen Mass	5	0	0	1	1	0	1	17.4	12.4	4
30	Eddie Cheever	7	0	0	1	1	0	0	16.0	12.6	4
31	Sebastian Vettel	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	7.3	6.3	23
32	Daniel Ricciardo	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	7.7	7.0	20
33	Lando Norris	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	6.0	7.0	12
34	Carlos Sainz	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	6.0	8.3	12
35	Kevin Magnussen	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	12.0	11.5	8
36	Pierre Gasly	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	9.7	12.3	7
37	Patrick Tambay	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	9.0	7.2	7
38	Nico Hülkenberg	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	12.5	8.5	6
39	Stefan Johansson	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	12.0	9.5	5
40	Gerhard Berger	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	5.7	13.3	5
41	Fernando Alonso	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	12.5	12.0	4
42	Jo Siffert	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	6.0	4.0	3
43	Jean Alesi	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	14.5	13.5	3
44	Carlos Pace	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	9.3	12.0	3
45	Chris Amon	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	9.0	5.0	2
46	Teo Fabi	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	13.3	16.3	2
47	Elio de Angelis	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	9.8	17.0	2
48	Jacky Ickx	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	13.3	14.3	2
49	Jody Scheckter	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	7.8	10.0	2
50	Olivier Grouillard	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	17.0	6.0	1
51	Reine Wisell	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	18.5	13.5	1
52	Lance Stroll	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	18.3	13.3	1
53	Philippe Streiff	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	19.7	15.7	1
54	Alessandro Nannini	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	9.8	17.2	1
55	Stoffel Vandoorne	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	17.0	12.0	0
56	Tim Schenken	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	14.0	12.0	0
57	Mark Donohue	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	18.0	24.0	0
58	Rupert Keegan	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	23.0	21.0	0
59	Ricardo Zunino	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	22.0	24.0	0
60	David Brabham	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	25.0	15.0	0
61	Johnny Cecotto	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	17.0	11.0	0
62	Roberto Guerrero	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	22.0	20.0	0
63	Brendon Hartley	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	20.0	14.0	0
64	Nicholas Latifi	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	16.0	18.0	0
65	Johnny Dumfries	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	12.0	14.0	0
66	Bertrand Gachot	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	11.0	13.0	0
67	Adrián Campos	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	21.0	16.0	0
68	Guy Edwards	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	25.0	17.0	0
69	George Follmer	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	20.0	22.0	0
70	Bob Evans	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	25.0	17.0	0
71	Pedro Rodríguez	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	5.0	18.0	0
72	Corrado Fabi	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	23.0	15.0	0
73	Marcus Ericsson	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	15.0	13.0	0
74	Alexander Albon	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	11.0	15.0	0
75	Huub Rothengatter	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	24.0	17.0	0
76	Alex Soler-Roig	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	21.0	23.0	0
77	Harald Ertl	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	29.0	27.0	0
78	Tony Brise	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	12.0	7.0	0
79	Sergey Sirotkin	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	18.0	15.0	0
80	Brian Henton	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	23.0	10.0	0
81	François Mazet	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	23.0	13.0	0
82	Luis Perez-Sala	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	25.0	16.0	0
83	Rikky von Opel	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	25.0	15.0	0
84	Danny Sullivan	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	24.0	21.0	0
85	Eliseo Salazar	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	22.0	24.0	0
86	Nikita Mazepin	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	18.0	20.0	0
87	John Surtees	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	13.0	8.0	0
88	Gabriele Tarquini	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	21.0	22.0	0
89	Patrick Nève	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	26.0	18.0	0
90	Bernd Schneider	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	21.0	19.0	0
91	Jackie Oliver	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	21.0	25.0	0
92	Lella Lombardi	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	26.0	18.0	0
93	Robert Kubica	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	18.0	18.0	0
94	Allen Berg	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	26.0	18.0	0
95	Pascal Fabre	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	26.0	9.0	0
96	Stefan Bellof	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	26.0	13.0	0
97	Chico Serra	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	26.0	19.0	0
98	Geoff Lees	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	24.0	12.0	0
99	Mick Schumacher	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	15.0	19.0	0
100	Max Jean	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	22.0	14.0	0

Team Ranking Paul Ricard Circuit

	TEAM	GP	1ST	2ND	3RD	POD	POLE	FL	AVG GRID	AVG POS	POINTS
1	McLaren	17	3	2	5	10	3	3	8.3	10.0	95
2	Williams	14	3	2	2	7	2	4	10.5	9.9	56
3	Mercedes	3	2	2	0	4	2	1	1.8	2.8	104
4	Ferrari	17	2	1	4	7	2	4	6.6	10.8	97
5	Renault	7	2	1	1	4	2	1	6.6	8.5	41
6	Team Lotus	14	2	1	1	4	1	0	11.3	12.3	38
7	Tyrrell	14	1	3	0	4	2	1	14.5	10.5	37
8	Red Bull	3	1	1	1	3	1	1	4.5	4.0	84
9	Brabham	13	1	1	1	3	1	1	10.8	13.5	28
10	Ligier	11	0	1	1	2	1	0	13.7	12.8	14
11	Leyton House	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	8.5	11.5	6
12	Hesketh	2	0	1	0	1	0	0	19.0	15.3	6
13	Penske	2	0	0	1	1	0	0	13.0	13.5	4
14	Haas	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	13.8	15.5	8
15	AlphaTauri	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	13.0	10.0	6
16	Benetton	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	7.9	14.0	6
17	Alfa Romeo	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	11.3	14.1	6
18	Alpine	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	10.0	11.0	4
19	Aston Martin	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	15.5	9.5	3
20	BRM	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	13.3	11.6	3
21	Parnelli	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	15.0	5.0	2
22	Matra	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	8.5	6.0	2
23	Onyx	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	12.0	9.0	2
24	Sauber	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	11.5	11.5	1
25	Wolf	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	7.0	6.0	1
26	March	8	0	0	0	0	0	1	16.3	15.9	1
27	Hill	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	16.0	11.5	0
28	Wolf-Williams	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	20.5	11.5	0
29	Iso Marlboro	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	23.5	18.5	0
30	Martini	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	18.0	14.0	0
31	Force India	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	12.0	18.5	0
32	Lola	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	16.5	19.5	0
33	Racing Point	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	15.5	12.5	0
34	Toro Rosso	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	16.0	15.8	0
35	Theodore	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	19.5	15.5	0
36	Rial	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	12.0	10.0	0
37	RAM	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	21.5	16.5	0
38	Dallara	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	21.3	20.3	0
39	Toleman	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	15.2	18.4	0
40	Euro Brun	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	23.0	15.5	0
41	Fittipaldi	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	21.2	19.0	0
42	ATS	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	18.7	16.0	0
43	AGS	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	22.5	18.3	0
44	Larrousse	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	15.3	13.6	0
45	Zakspeed	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	18.0	20.9	0
46	Surtees	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	17.3	16.1	0
47	Shadow	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	15.0	16.2	0
48	Ensign	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	24.3	16.0	0
49	Minardi	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	21.8	19.9	0
50	Osella	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	22.5	19.1	0
51	Arrows	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	17.3	14.3	0