Another complaint from Mercedes! What’s wrong with them this time and how did the opening practice sessions go?

In addition to the Moto GP race, this weekend will also see the French Formula 1 Grand Prix. We return to the Paul Ricard circuit after a year’s hiatus and things were already happening at the start of the race weekend. At least at the Mercedes stable…

After a year’s hiatus, we return to the very famous Paul Ricard circuit. Last season, as we all know, the French Grand Prix was not held due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

But now we’ve had two opening practice sessions. The first one was dominated by both Mercedes monoblocs, with Valtteri Bottas on the top step, beating his teammate Lewis Hamilton by three tenths of a second.

Even so, Mercedes decided to lodge a complaint directly with the FIA. This time, however, it is not a case of any misstep in the rules, which the German stable says was committed by Red Bull with its flexi-wings.

In fact, Bottas drove his car over the kerb at turn two, causing damage to his monoposto. Mercedes subsequently estimated the damage at around tens to hundreds of thousands of pounds. This prompted a complaint about the overly aggressive kerb at the incriminating second corner of the circuit.

However, we also witnessed some dramatic moments on the track at the start of the first practice session, when Mick Schumacher and Yukio Tsunoda spun. Sebastian Vettel then skidded at turn 11 and ended up in the barrier with the rear of the car.

Red Bull drivers took third and fourth place after FP1 (Friday Practice 1 – ed.) ahead of Esteban Ocon, Daniel Ricciardo and Fernando Alonso.

So far, the French team has produced some great results during the race weekend. In their home Grand Prix, they ended their FP2 run in fourth and sixth positions. This time, however, in a swapped order.

As usual, we didn’t witness any dazzling performances in practice at McLaren. Ricciardo ended the second practice session in position number 14, with his teammate Lando Norris just rounding out the top ten. The Ferrari cars were fifth and eighth.

We’ll see what the French Grand Prix brings next, but once McLaren gets their performance up to speed, we can expect a solid battle in the middle of the field. At the front, Red Bull and Mercedes will, unsurprisingly, duke it out.

Finnish driver Bottas was second in FP2, with his teammate Hamilton finishing third. Max Verstappen dominated the second practice session at the French circuit in his Red Bull, but he suffered similar problems to Bottas in the opening session.

The Dutch driver also drove over the aggressive yellow kerbs and also suffered damage to his monoposto. A virtual safety car was even declared due to debris on the track. Subsequently, Red Bull’s sporting director Jonathan Wheatley also joined Mercedes and asked Michael Masi to have the problematic kerbs at least partially removed.

There’s still a final third practice session on Saturday, which starts at 12pm. Three hours later, however, we will have a sharp qualifying session for Sunday’s French Grand Prix, in which we can expect not only a terrific battle for pole position, but also for the important midfield starting positions.

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