After a welcome weekend off, Formula One returns to action with its second visit of the season to the French-speaking portion of Europe. But, not this time the tight confines of glamorous Monaco, replaced instead by the wide-open countryside of Nevers and Magny-Cours.
Like Canada, the French Grand Prix started the season as an uncertainty on the calendar, first appearing to make way for Montreal when its own funding appeared in doubt, then joining its linguistic cousin in the heart of the schedule having been secured by local politicians and the agreement of all ten team bosses. The inclusion of the race took the calendar to a record 18 events for the first time.
Fittingly, perhaps, Magny-Cours can be found in the heart of France, and this year stages its 14th French Grand Prix. Noted for its ultra-smooth tarmac, the circuit often divides driver opinions, with many coming down on the side of 'boring' and 'bland'. A revised final section failed to satisfy the critics at the 2003 event, but continued the perception that the circuit was one where Williams tended to shine, with five wins and eight poles in 13 years being maintained by a clean sweep for Ralf Schumacher and Juan Montoya.
Ferrari Bridgestone 142 points
The scarlet steamroller continued on its unrelenting path towards complete domination of 2004, taking the front row and a 1-2 finish last time out at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Breaking up the monotony a little, Rubens Barrichello took his first pole on the year, but had to give best to team-mate Michael Schumacher on race day, the German diving through at the lifting of a safety car period and then easing away over the remaining distance.
Tyres were the team's only concern at Indy - although Schumacher was naturally worried about his brother's health - but this did not prevent the team from coming home almost ten seconds clear of third-placed Takuma Sato. Barrichello also appeared to be back on form, building on the strong showing he put up in Canada, so both red cars could be a threat to the rest this weekend.
Michael Schumacher 80 points
Rubens Barrichello 62 points
Renault Michelin 66 points
After the disappointment of Canada, when both cars failed to make half-distance, there were mixed results for the regie after crossing the border into the USA. A hard to handle R24 caused much head-scratching on Friday - and saw Fernando Alonso spin out of free practice - before overnight amendments to the set-up allowed both the Spaniard and team-mate Jarno Trulli to get closer to the pace on Saturday.
Qualifying and the race saw a reversal of fortune between the two drivers, with Trulli being restricted to the back of the grid after a gearbox glitch foiled his timed run. The fast-starting Alonso then crashed out of the race following a puncture, but his Italian team-mate climbed through the field to claim fourth.
Renault celebrates the 25th anniversary of its first F1 win - also on French soil - this week, and will be looking for a return to its previous ultra-reliable form to mark the occasion at Magny-Cours. Technical director Bob Bell sees the venue as 'a standard circuit - with the usual expectation of challenging for podium positions'.
Jarno Trulli 41 points
Fernando Alonso 25 points
BAR - Honda Michelin 58 points
Despite Jenson Button's first retirement of the season at Indianapolis - Rubens Barrichello is now the only driver to have finished in the points each time out - Takuma Sato ensured that BAR-Honda continued to pose the biggest challenge to Ferrari. The Japanese driver qualified a strong third behind the two red cars, and then replicated the result in the race to claim his maiden podium finish in F1. An unseemly tangle with Felipe Massa soured an otherwise good weekend, however.
Button was naturally disappointed to have had to retire, but the early exit summed up his weekend. An early qualifying run saw the Briton fail to get the best from the track and his race was also compromised when the team failed to take advantage of the safety car to make a fuel and tyre stop. The Briton later reported that his car had 'felt fantastic' while running on Sunday, and will be hoping that national pride and work in the wind tunnel help Michelin and the team's latest aero package to get him back to the front this weekend.
Jenson Button 44 points
Takuma Sato 14 points
WilliamsF1 Michelin 36 points
If Canada was bad for the Grove team, Indianapolis was little better. This time, neither car saw the chequered flag, but there was more on the minds of the hierarchy than mere disqualifications following Ralf Schumacher's horrendous shunt early in the race. The German's immediate condition was quickly established to put minds at rest, but the team has only just confirmed that he will be sidelined long-term following the diagnosis of spinal fractures. Expect Marc Gene to deputise at Magny-Cours and, most likely, Silverstone too, but the rest of the season could see a 'more experienced' candidate in car #4.
Juan Montoya's USGP also came to a premature end and, again, the Colombian found himself on the wrong end of officialdom. This time, the stewards ruled - too late in the day for JPM's liking - that he had transgressed while running for the spare car at the start and showed him the black flag.
Montoya will take heart from Williams' recent record in France, and from the fact that Indy demonstrated a significant improvement in terms of the FW26's competitiveness. Two upgraded versions of the car - featuring revised aerodynamics - will be present at Magny-Cours.
Juan Pablo Montoya 24 points
Ralf Schumacher 12 points (not racing)
Marc Gene 0 points
McLaren Michelin 17 points
While Williams' revisited FW26 will catch a few eyes, more than most will be cast in the direction of McLaren, which has confirmed that it will be running its reworked MP4-19B for the first time at Magny-Cours. Originally thought to be on track for the German or Hungarian grands prix, the team has been sufficiently impressed with the car's performance in testing, and will run one for both Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard.
The MP4-19B features revised aerodynamics among its most obvious features, and has boasted better handling and reliability in tests at Silverstone and Jerez. Magny-Cours technical nature will also help the team nurse its fragile Mercedes V10s.
For the second race in succession, both drivers scored points in America, this time taking advantage of unreliability elsewhere rather than benefiting from exclusions further up the order. Raikkonen - who claimed sixth despite five pit-stops at the USGP - and Coulthard have both tried the new car and feel that it is a definite step forward over the unloved MP4-19, but whether it will be good enough to allow DC to reclaim his fastest lap crown at Magny-Cours remains to be seen.
David Coulthard 9 points
Kimi Raikkonen 8 points
Sauber Bridgestone 15 points
McLaren's recent points run has edged Sauber back out of the top five, and the end of the Swiss team's own run at Indianapolis broke the streak at four. In fairness, Giancarlo Fisichella would have beaten Minardi's Zsolt Baumgartner to the final point if a puncture-related hydraulic failure had not stopped him five laps short of full distance, while Felipe Massa never got the chance to show after being taken out at the first corner.
The team conducted a three-day test in Barcelona last week, as much to sort the handling problem that arose from fitting beefed-up rear suspension following Massa's accident in Canada. The new parts caused grip and tyre wear problems at Indianapolis, but Sauber is hopeful that the test and a chance to work with Bridgestone will have cured the problems for this weekend. A new front wing, the latest product of the team's new windtunnel, is also being taken to Magny-Cours.
Giancarlo Fisichella 10 points
Felipe Massa 5 points
Toyota Michelin 8 points
Olivier Panis' celebratory fifth place at Indianapolis - on the occasion of his 150th grand prix - returned Toyota above the upstart Jordan team in time for the resumption of European hostilities. The Frenchman qualified in the top ten at IMS and ran solidly to collect his second points haul of the season. Being the only French driver on the grid, Panis will have more reason than most to want more success this weekend, while team-mate Cristiano da Matta will be hoping for a morale-boosting finish after adding an early retirement - courtesy of the first corner incident - to disqualification from the points in Canada.
Neither driver is expecting great things from Magny-Cours, despite the recent upturn in form, but have said that they are hoping to continue to make progress with the current-spec TF104 ahead of the next generation car's introduction at Hockenheim at the end of July. No new developments are expected in France.
Oliver Panis 5 points
Cristiano da Matta 3 points
Jordan Bridgestone 5 points
After the unexpected double points haul in Montreal, it was back to business as usual for Jordan at Indianapolis, with neither car seeing the chequered flag despite Nick Heidfeld's best efforts. The German, who qualified 16th, was heading for another potential points finish before his engine expired, and Olivier Panis' fifth place was enough to elevate Toyota back ahead of EJ's squad.
Giorgio Pantano returned to the line-up after his enforced absence in Canada, but was unable to repeat Timo Glock's debut performance in the second EJ14 when he was unceremoniously dumped out of the race by the first corner skirmish. The Italian, under fire for most of the season, qualified within two-tenths of his team-mate, which ought to give him a confidence boost before returning to familiar surroundings. He won the F3000 encounter at Magny-Cours last season and should have the team's latest aero ideas, plus the new-spec Ford V10, to help him make his mark on his return.
Nick Heidfeld 3 points
Giorgio Pantano 0 points
(Timo Glock 2 points)
Jaguar Michelin 3 points
Jaguar continues to be the biggest disappointment of the season, with another double retirement in America all but confirming that it will also lose its star turn for 2005. Mark Webber now cannot help the team achieve the minimum requirement to keep him on board for next season and, given Ralf Schumacher's medical condition, each race may yet by the Aussie's last with Jaguar before heading to Williams.
A fault in the latest-spec Cosworth powerplant triggered Webber's demise at the USGP, while team-mate Christian Klien was his own worst enemy with another first corner exit that also accounted for three of his rivals. A freak accident while testing in Spain last week - albeit in the garage rather than on track - briefly threatened the Austrian's participation, but he will be present at a venue where he ran in last year's F3 Euroseries. The team concentrated on aero and engine development, as well as suspension work and tyre testing prior to the first race of the season's second half.
Mark Webber 3 points
Christian Klien 0 points
Minardi Bridgestone 1 points
After eight races of trying hard without reward, Minardi finally achieved some measure of payback with eighth place and one point for Zsolt Baumgartner at a USGP beset with incident and unreliability. The score was particularly important as it helps the team's end-of-year payout, but also showed that plugging away in adversity can occasionally reap benefits.
The very opposite of that belief has apparently led the team's 'lead' driver, Gianmaria Bruni, into conflict with head honcho Paul Stoddart, who allegedly berated the Italian for not doing more to get his battered car back to the pits after it was assaulted in the first corner. Bruni remains the more unlucky of the two drivers, having had more enforced retirements this year, and will be looking for a change of fortune in France to help restore his potential in the eyes of both his current boss and others who may have considered employing him on early season showings.
Zsolt Baumgartner 1 point
Giamaria Bruni 0 points
Tyres
It's Michelin's home Grand Prix of course so expect the stops to be pulled out from the French. They're talking in bullish terms too. “Circumstances might have denied us victory in the United States GP two weeks ago, but I was pleased to read so many post-race reports acknowledging that Michelin's tyres gave its partners a technical edge," says the company's motorsport boss, Pierre Dupasquier. "I am confident we will enjoy the same level of performance and consistency at Magny-Cours this weekend.”
Bridgestone, however, have won all bar one of the GPs this season, so can rightfully elude a degree of confidence heading to France. “We expect to be competitive and after missing out in 2003, we are determined to resume our winning ways in France this weekend," says Bridgestone's technical manager, Hisao Suganuma.
The Track
Kinda located in the middle of no-where and no-one favourite venue. WilliamsF1's Sam Michael explains all: "The track at Magny-Cours includes a high speed section, two high speed chicanes and a couple of slow and medium speed corners. Traditionally, it is a very smooth circuit, which was changed last year to extend the last sector before the pitlane. Strategy should be fairly straightforward due to the length of the pitlane and the typical tyre degradation that we see at Magny-Cours."
Predictions
He drives a red car and beats everyone. Guess who? For entertainment however, watch those BARs again. For an outside chance of a good result, Olivier Panis in the Toyota set the fourth fastest race lap in the US GP and he knows Magny Cours rather well, could be quick again this weekend.