LE CASTELLET, France -- A one-stop strategy is the way to go in France, but to make sure it works you need to start the race on the medium tyre and switch to the hard. That suits the top eight on the grid as they will all start on the medium compound after using it to progress from Q2 to Q3 in qualifying.
Unfortunately, it means there won't be a huge amount of strategy variation at the front of the field, with pit stops expected between lap 22 to 27. The undercut -- pitting earlier than the car in front to gain a pace advantage on fresh tyres -- will be the most effective way to move through the field as the hard tyre, which will be used for the second stint in the race, was working well in Friday practice.