Opened on 19 April 1970,[1] the circuit's innovative facilities made it one of the safest motor racing circuits in the world at the time of its opening. The circuit had three track layout permutations, a large industrial park and an airstrip. The combination of modern facilities, mild winter weather and an airstrip made it popular amongst racing teams for car testing during the annual winter off-season.[2]
The original track was dominated by the 1.8 km (1.1 mi) long Mistral Straight that is followed by the high-speed right hand Signes corner. The long main straight and other fast sections made the track very hard on engines as they ran at full revs for extended spells. Engine failures were common, such asAyrton Senna's huge crash during the1985 French Grand Prix after theRenault engine in hisLotus failed and he went off backwards at Signes on his own oil and crashed heavily, with only light bruising to the driver. Nigel Mansell crashed at the same place in the same weekend during practice and suffered a concussion which kept him out of the race. Mansell's crash was the result of a slow puncture in his left rear tyre causing it to explode at over 320 km/h (200 mph), which detached hisWilliams FW10's rear wing. TheHonda powered FW10 holds the race lap record for the original circuit when Mansell's teammateKeke Rosberg recorded a time of 1:39.914 during the1985 French Grand Prix. During qualifying for the 1985 race,Swiss driverMarc Surer clocked what was at the time the highest speed recorded by a Formula One car on the Mistral when he pushed his turbocharged, 1,000 bhp (746 kW; 1,014 PS)Brabham-BMW to 335 km/h (208 mph). This compared to the slowest car in the race, the 550 bhp (410 kW; 558 PS) naturally aspiratedTyrrell-FordV8 ofStefan Bellof which could only manage 277 km/h (172 mph). Bellof qualified 9 seconds slower than Surer and 12 seconds slower than pole winner Rosberg.
Paul Ricard was inaugurated with a 2-litre sports car race;[3] during the 1970s and the 1980s the track developed some of the best French drivers of the time including four time World Drivers' ChampionAlain Prost who won theFrench Grand Prix at the circuit in1983,1988,1989 and1990. The circuit hosted theFormula One French Grand Prix on many occasions, the first of which was the1971 French Grand Prix.
The circuit was also extensively used for testing, especially in Formula One. In 1986,Brabham Formula One driverElio de Angelis was killed in a testing accident at the fast first turn after the rear wing of hisBrabham BT55 had broken off. Although the circuit was not the cause of the crash, it was modified in order to make it safer. The length of the Mistral Straight was reduced from 1.8 km (1.1 mi) in length to just over 1.0 km (0.62 mi), and the fast sweeping Verrerie curves where de Angelis had crashed were bypassed. Effectively, after the start, instead of heading into the left hand Verrerie sweeper, cars now braked hard and turned sharp right into a short run that connected the pit straight to the Mistral. This changed the circuit length for a Grand Prix from 5.809 km (3.610 mi) to just 3.812 km (2.369 mi). This also had the effect of cutting lap times from Keke Rosberg's 1985 pole time of 1:32.462 in his Williams-Honda turbo, to Nigel Mansell's1990 pole time of 1:04.402 in hisV12Ferrari.
From 1990 the French Grand Prix was moved toMagny-Cours where it ran until 2008. Paul Ricard hosted the French Grand Prix on 14 occasions between 1971 and 1990. The Long Circuit was used from 1971 to 1985, with the Club Circuit used from 1986 to 1990. On six occasions (1971,1975,1976,1978,1980 and1989) the winner at Paul Ricard went on to win the World Championship in the same year.Ronnie Peterson (1973 and1974) andRené Arnoux (1982) are the only Ricard winners who never won the championship.
United Autosports Audi at the 2010 FIA GT3 European Championship Paul Ricard roundDaniel Ricciardo at Paul Ricard during the 2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Series Paul Ricard round
In the 1990s the circuit's use was limited to motorcycle racing and French national racing, most notably until 1999, theBol d'or 24-hour motorcycle endurance race. The track was also the home of theOrecaF3000 team. After Ricard's death, the track was sold to Excelis, a company owned by Formula One promoterBernie Ecclestone, in 1999. The track was rebuilt into an advanced test track, and was for a time known as the Paul Ricard High Tech Test Track (Paul Ricard HTTT) before changing its name back to Circuit Paul Ricard.
An aircraft landing strip suitable for private jets is amongst the circuit's facilities. There is aKarting Test Track (KTT) that features the same type of abrasive safety zones as the car track. The track has also hosted some races, including the2006 Paul Ricard 500km, a round of theFIA GT Championship. Other GT championships have run races here, most notably theFerrari Challenge and races organized byPorsche clubs ofFrance andItaly.
On 5 December 2016, it was announced that the French Grand Prix would return to the Formula 1 calendar for the 2018 season at Paul Ricard. It was the first French Grand Prix since2008 (last held at Magny-Cours) and the first at Circuit Paul Ricard since 1990.[4][5] On 19 June 2017, the FIA's World Motor Sport Council in Geneva published its 2018 provisional calendar with the French Grand Prix scheduled for 24 June at Circuit Paul Ricard with the race itself followed immediately by the Austrian Grand Prix at theRed Bull Ring and then the British Grand Prix atSilverstone Circuit.[6]Pirelli Motorsport has planned for a two-day tyre testing for its 2018 Formula 1 tyres at Circuit Paul Ricard in the months of May, June and September 2017.[7] The track remained on the F1 calendar until the 2022 season, after which it disappeared from the calendar again.[8]
Paul Ricard has the 3-star FIA Environmental Accreditation. In a 2021 report, it was ranked the second most sustainable racetrack in the world, together withCircuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and behindMugello Circuit.[9]
The track is characterised by its 1.8 km (1.1 mi) long Mistral straight and elongated track design. The track is also unusual in that it is built on aplateau: it is very flat. In 1986 the track was modified to shorten the circuit, by adding shortcut through to the middle of the Mistral Straight. This shorter circuit was also known as the GP short circuit and was 3.812 km (2.369 mi) long. After the modifications in 2000–2005, the track offers 247 possible configurations from 0.828 km (0.514 mi) to the full 5.858 km (3.640 mi).[10][11] The track's elevation ranges from 408 to 441 m (1,339 to 1,447 ft) above sea level. Its flexibility and mild winter weather mean that it is used for testing by several motorsport teams, includingFormula One teams.
The track is known for its distinctive black and bluerun-off areas known as theBlue Zone. The runoff surface consists of a mixture ofasphalt andtungsten, used instead of gravel traps, as common at other circuits.[12] A second, deeper run-off area is theRed Zone, with a more abrasive surface designed to maximize tyre grip and hence minimize braking distance, although at the cost of extreme tyre wear. The final safeguard consists of Tecpro barriers, a modern improvement on tyre barriers.[12]
In 2019 the pitlane entry was moved following safety concerns. The entry, which was previously accessed via the main straight, is now situated between the final two corners (turns 14 and 15).[13]
The official lap record for the currentF1 circuit layout (1C-V2) is 1:32.740, set by Sebastian Vettel during the2019 French Grand Prix. While the unofficial all-time track record is 1:28.319, set by Lewis Hamilton during final qualifying for the aforementioned 2019 race. As of November 2024, the fastest official race lap records at the Circuit Paul Ricard are listed as:
Category
Time
Driver
Vehicle
Event
Current Layout with Mistral Chicane (1C-V2): 5.842 km (2005–present)
Sebastian Vettel,Ferrari SF90,2019,F1)
Nyck de Vries,Aurus 01,2020,LMP2)
Kimiya Sato,Lola B05/52,2014,Auto GP)
Nigel Mansell,Ferrari 641,1990,F1)
Keke Rosberg,Williams FW10,1985,F1)
Jean-Pierre Jabouille,Alpine A441,1974,Group 5).jpg)
