The conclusions: Red Bull can win at any circuit, Ferrari's road is long

Red Bull has a chance on every circuit

It seems that there are no real 'Mercedes circuits' anymore. Circuit Paul Ricard was one of the tracks where Mercedes always did well, but Red Bull Racing was able to challenge the team and even win. Confirmation came from Sergio Perez who also drove a strong race and kept the pressure on Mercedes with his tyre management. A double podium for Red Bull at a track where Mercedes dominated in recent years shows that they can win races at any track in 2021.

Perez is the right choice for Red Bull

Perez revealed prior to the season that he would need about five races to understand the car. In his sixth race, with a bit of luck, he took his first win. In France, as in Azerbaijan, the Mexican put in another good performance. Perez is the perfect backstop for Verstappen, as Valtteri Bottas is for Hamilton. Take points away from the competition and win when you have the chance.

Ferrari are on their way back, but there's still a long way to go

Ferrari's season started with a lot of ups and few downs, but in France, the Scuderia had to face the facts. In qualifying, things were looking up for them, with fifth and seventh places on the grid being about where they expected to be. But the race was a complete disgrace. Carlos Sainz dropped from fifth to P11 and Charles Leclerc finished as low as P16, even though the Monegasque had made an extra pit stop.

Ferrari knows where their weaknesses lie, but with the rule changes of 2022 on the horizon, it doesn't look like they'll be making many adjustments. For example, the Grands Prix at similar circuits such as Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps could yet become very painful weekends for Ferrari.

All teams should consider Gasly as a driver

The relationship between Red Bull and Pierre Gasly is not a strong one. The sister team of AlphaTauri is happy with the Frenchman, but it is Helmut Marko who is in charge of the seats. With up-and-coming talent like Liam Lawson, Juri Vips and Jehan Daruvala in Formula 2, Gasly's seat at AlphaTauri could be in jeopardy despite good results.

Gasly rises above the car week in, week out. In France, he showed his class in front of his home crowd by finishing seventh after a sixth-place start. If he continues in this way in F1 he could become the most interesting driver on the market, should Red Bull let him go.

Paul Ricard is not a bad circuit

Often Circuit Paul Ricard is not well received by the media. The circuit would be boring and not enough happens. However, this is not true. Fans were treated to a beautiful race full of overtaking actions on Sunday. Turn 8 is a perfect moment for drivers to strike, and if they don't succeed they often get a second chance in turn 10. The only problem with Paul Ricard is that it doesn't penalise drivers much for mistakes, because if there was a grassy area or a gravel pit, the track would be perfect.