# Circuit Paul Ricard

The Circuit Paul Ricard (French pronunciation:) is a French motorsport race track built in 1969 at Le Castellet, Var, near Marseille, with finance from pastis magnate Paul Ricard. Ricard wanted to experience the challenge of building a racetrack. The circuit has hosted the FIA Formula One French Grand Prix intermittently from 1971 to 2022.

## History
### First years (1970–1990)

Opened on 19 April 1970, 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.
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 as Ayrton Senna's huge crash during the 1985 French Grand Prix after the Renault engine in his Lotus 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 his Williams FW10's rear wing. The Honda powered FW10 holds the race lap record for the original circuit when Mansell's teammate Keke Rosberg recorded a time of 1:39.914 during the 1985 French Grand Prix. During qualifying for the 1985 race, Swiss driver Marc 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 aspirated Tyrrell-Ford V8 of Stefan 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; during the 1970s and the 1980s the track developed some of the best French drivers of the time including four time World Drivers' Champion Alain Prost who won the French Grand Prix at the circuit in 1983, 1988, 1989 and 1990. The circuit hosted the Formula One French Grand Prix on many occasions, the first of which was the 1971 French Grand Prix.
The circuit was also extensively used for testing, especially in Formula One. In 1986, Brabham Formula One driver Elio de Angelis was killed in a testing accident at the fast first turn after the rear wing of his Brabham 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's 1990 pole time of 1:04.402 in his V12 Ferrari.
From 1990 the French Grand Prix was moved to Magny-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 and 1989) the winner at Paul Ricard went on to win the World Championship in the same year. Ronnie Peterson (1973 and 1974) and René Arnoux (1982) are the only Ricard winners who never won the championship.

### Recent times (1990–present)

In the 1990s the circuit's use was limited to motorcycle racing and French national racing, most notably until 1999, the Bol d'or 24-hour motorcycle endurance race. The track was also the home of the Oreca F3000 team. After Ricard's death, the track was sold to Excelis, a company owned by Formula One promoter Bernie 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 a Karting Test Track (KTT) that features the same type of abrasive safety zones as the car track. The track has also hosted some races, including the 2006 Paul Ricard 500km, a round of the FIA GT Championship. Other GT championships have run races here, most notably the Ferrari Challenge and races organized by Porsche clubs of France and Italy.
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 since 2008 (last held at Magny-Cours) and the first at Circuit Paul Ricard since 1990. 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 the Red Bull Ring and then the British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit. 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. The track remained on the F1 calendar until the 2022 season, after which it disappeared from the calendar again.
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 with Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and behind Mugello Circuit.

## Track

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 a plateau: 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). 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, including Formula One teams.
The track is known for its distinctive black and blue run-off areas known as the Blue Zone. The runoff surface consists of a mixture of asphalt and tungsten, used instead of gravel traps, as common at other circuits. A second, deeper run-off area is the Red 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.
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).

### Track configurations

* Paul Ricard Original Grand Prix Circuit (1970–2001)
* Paul Ricard Short Grand Prix Circuit (1986–2001)
* Paul Ricard 1D Circuit (2002–present)
* Paul Ricard 3D circuit (2002–present)
* Paul Ricard 1C-V2 Circuit (2005–2018)
* All layouts of Circuit Paul Ricard (2019–present)
* Paul Ricard 1C-V2 Circuit (2019–present)
* Paul Ricard 1A-V2 Circuit (2019–present)

## Events
### Current

* March: Ultimate Cup Series, Fun Cup France
* April: GT World Challenge Europe 3 Hours of Paul Ricard, GT2 European Series, GT4 European Series, Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe, Grand Prix de France historique [fr]
* May: European Le Mans Series 4 Hours of Castellet, Le Mans Cup, Porsche Carrera Cup France, Ligier European Series, Grand Prix Camions du Castellet, Sunday Ride Classic
* June: Eurocup-3, F4 Spanish Championship
* July: International GT Open, Formula Regional European Championship, Euroformula Open Championship, 24H Series, GT Cup Open Europe, Euro 4 Championship
* September: FIM Endurance World Championship Bol d'Or, Classic Endurance Racing Dix Mille Tours
* October: Alpine Elf Cup Series SRO Racing Festival, FFSA GT Championship, Renault Clio Cup Europe, McLaren Trophy Europe
* November: Ultimate Cup Series Ultimate Grand Finals

### Former

* Auto GP (2014)
* BOSS GP (2013–2015, 2017, 2022–2024)
* BPR Global GT Series (1994–1996)
* British Formula 3 International Series (1978, 2011)
* Eurocup Clio (2011–2014)
* Eurocup Mégane Trophy (2011–2013)
* European Touring Car Championship (1971–1973)
* European Touring Car Cup (2014–2016)
* European Truck Racing Championship (1985–1999)
* F1 Academy (2023)
* Ferrari Challenge Europe (2006–2010, 2015, 2017, 2022, 2024)
* Ferrari Challenge Italy (2007–2009)
* FIA European Formula 3 Championship (1977)
* FIA European Formula 3 Cup (1985)
* FIA Formula 2 Championship (2018–2019, 2022)
* FIA Formula 3 Championship (2019, 2021)
* FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2016)
* FIA GT Championship (2006, 2009)
* FIA GT1 World Championship (2010–2011)
* FIA GT3 European Championship (2009–2011)
* FIA Motorsport Games (2022)
* FIA Touring Car World Cup (1995)
* Formula 3 Euro Series (2010–2011)
* Formula 750 (1978)
* Formula One
** French Grand Prix (1971, 1973, 1975–1976, 1978, 1980, 1982–1983, 1985–1990, 2018–2019, 2021–2022)
* Formula Renault 2.0 Alps (2011)
* Formula Renault Eurocup (1998, 2011–2014, 2016–2020)
* French F4 Championship (2011–2024)
* French Formula Renault Championship (1971–1972, 1975–1983, 1986–1990, 1992–1998)
* French Formula Three Championship (1971–1973, 1980–1983, 1985–1990, 1992–1998)
* Grand Prix motorcycle racing
** French motorcycle Grand Prix (1973, 1975, 1977, 1980–1981, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1996–1999)
* GT4 Scandinavia (2023)
* International Sports Racing Series (1998)
* Italian F4 Championship (2018, 2021, 2023–2024)
* Italian GT Championship (1998, 2014, 2018)
* Italian Superturismo Championship (2014, 2018)
* JK Racing Asia Series (2012)
* Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux (2016, 2018)
* Porsche Carrera Cup Italia [it] (2014, 2018)
* Porsche Supercup (2022)
* Renault Sport Trophy (2016)
* SEAT León Eurocup (2015–2016)
* Sidecar World Championship (1973, 1975, 1977, 1979–1981, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1991)
* Superbike World Championship (1989)
* Superstars GTSprint Series (2010)
* Superstars Series (2010)
* TCR Europe Series (2018, 2020–2023)
* Trofeo Maserati (2015)
* World Series Formula V8 3.5 (2011–2014, 2016)
* World Sportscar Championship (1974)
* World Touring Car Championship
** FIA WTCC Race of France (2014–2016)
* W Series (2022)

## Lap records

The official lap record for the current F1 circuit layout (1C-V2) is 1:32.740, set by Sebastian Vettel during the 2019 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) |||||
| F1 | 1:32.740 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari SF90 | 2019 French Grand Prix |
| FIA F2 | 1:44.584 | Nyck de Vries | Dallara F2 2018 | 2019 Le Castellet Formula 2 round |
| Formula Renault 3.5 | 1:50.855 | Pierre Gasly | Dallara T12 | 2014 Le Castellet Formula Renault 3.5 Series round |
| FIA F3 | 1:52.171 | Marcus Armstrong | Dallara F3 2019 | 2019 Le Castellet Formula 3 round |
| GP3 | 1:52.551 | Anthoine Hubert | Dallara GP3/16 | 2018 Le Castellet GP3 Series round |
| Euroformula Open | 1:54.281 | Yifei Ye | Dallara 320 | 2020 Le Castellet Euroformula Open round |
| FTwo (2009–2012) | 1:55.837 | Christopher Zanella | Williams JPH1 | 2012 Le Castellet FTwo round |
| LMP3 | 1:54.745 | Manuel Espírito Santo | Ligier JS P320 | 2023 2nd Le Castellet Ultimate Cup round |
| Formula Regional | 1:57.596 | Gianluca Petecof | Tatuus F3 T-318 | 2020 Le Castellet FREC round |
| Silhouette racing car | 1:58.627 | Hugo Chevalier | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 2024 2nd Le Castellet Ultimate Cup Series GT-Sprint round |
| GT3 | 1:59.319 | Christoph Lenz | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo | 2019 Le Castellet International GT Open round |
| CN | 2:01.338 | Steven Kane | Ligier JS49 | 2011 Le Castellet Speed Euroseries round |
| Formula Renault 2.0 | 2:02.549 | Yifei Ye | Tatuus FR2.0/13 | 2018 Le Castellet Formula Renault Eurocup round |
| Lamborghini Super Trofeo | 2:02.613 | Loris Spinelli | Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo2 | 2022 Le Castellet Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe round |
| Ferrari Challenge | 2:02.617 | Giacomo Altoè | Ferrari 296 Challenge | 2024 Le Castellet Ferrari Challenge Europe round |
| GT1 (GTS) | 2:02.659 | Enrique Bernoldi | Chevrolet Corvette C6.R | 2009 FIA GT Paul Ricard 2 Hours |
| Renault Sport Trophy | 2:03.447 | Pieter Schothorst [nl] | Renault Sport R.S. 01 | 2016 Le Castellet Renault Sport Trophy round |
| SRO GT2 | 2:04.614 | Reinhard Kofler [pl] | KTM X-Bow GT2 | 2024 Le Castellet GT2 European Series round |
| Formula 4 | 2:04.878 | Kirill Smal | Tatuus F4-T014 | 2021 Le Castellet Italian F4 round |
| Porsche Carrera Cup | 2:05.504 | Florian Latorre | Porsche 911 (992) GT3 Cup | 2021 Le Castellet Porsche Carrera Cup France round |
| GT2 | 2:09.245 | Nicola Cadei [fr] | Ferrari F430 GTC | 2010 Paul Ricard GTSprint round |
| GT4 | 2:09.541 | Nico Verdonck | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 | 2021 Le Castellet GT Cup Open Europe round |
| Eurocup Mégane Trophy | 2:12.210 | Albert Costa | Renault Mégane Renault Sport II | 2012 Le Castellet Eurocup Mégane Trophy round |
| TCR Touring Car | 2:13.334 | Gilles Magnus | Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2021) | 2022 FIA Motorsport Games Touring Car Cup |
| Alpine Elf Europa Cup | 2:15.056 | Léo Jousset | Alpine A110 Cup | 2024 Le Castellet Alpine Elf Europa Cup round |
| Formula BMW | 2:15.532 | Aston Hare | Mygale FB02 | 2012 Le Castellet JK Racing Asia Series round |
| Trofeo Maserati | 2:16.580 | Patrick Zamparini | Maserati Trofeo | 2015 Le Castellet Trofeo Maserati Corse World Series round |
| Formula Renault 1.6 | 2:16.838 | Victor Martins | Signatech FR 1.6 | 2017 Le Castellet French F4 round |
| SEAT León Supercopa | 2:17.872 | Mikel Azcona | SEAT León Cup Racer | 2016 Le Castellet SEAT León Eurocup round |
| Renault Clio Cup | 2:26.045 | David Pajot | Renault Clio R.S. IV | 2019 Le Castellet Renault Clio Cup France round |
| Current Bike Layout without Mistral Chicane (1A-V2 Bike): 5.673 km (2018–present) |||||
| Superbike | 1:52.517 | Markus Reiterberger | BMW M1000RR | 2024 Bol d'Or |
| Current Layout without Mistral Chicane (1A-V2): 5.770 km (2005–present) |||||
| LMP2 | 1:40.139 | Nyck de Vries | Aurus 01 | 2020 4 Hours of Le Castellet |
| LMP1 | 1:42.541 | Rinaldo Capello | Audi R15 TDI plus | 2010 8 Hours of Le Castellet |
| LMP3 | 1:48.988 | Ben Barnicoat | Ligier JS P320 | 2020 1st Le Castellet Le Mans Cup round |
| Group C | 1:49.126 | Ralf Kelleners | Porsche 962C | 2022 Dix Mille Tours |
| LM GTE | 1:52.098 | Andrea Piccini | Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | 2020 4 Hours of Le Castellet |
| Formula 3 | 1:52.828 | Daniel Abt | Dallara F308 | 2011 Le Castellet F3 Euro Series round |
| GT1 (GTS) | 1:53.343 | Jean-Philippe Belloc | Chevrolet Corvette C6.R | 2006 FIA GT Paul Ricard 500km |
| GT3 | 1:53.750 | Jake Dennis | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 | 2019 1000 km of Paul Ricard |
| LMPC | 1:54.627 | Paul-Loup Chatin | Oreca FLM09 | 2013 3 Hours of Le Castellet |
| Porsche Carrera Cup | 1:57.292 | Alessandro Ghiretti | Porsche 911 (992) GT3 Cup | 2024 Le Castellet Porsche Carrera Cup France round |
| Superbike | 1:58.386 | Randy de Puniet | Kawasaki ZX-10R | 2017 Bol d'Or |
| JS P4 | 1:58.922 | Theo Micouris | Ligier JS P4 | 2024 Le Castellet Ligier European Series round |
| CN | 1:59.002 | Ivan Bellarosa [nl] | Wolf GB08 | 2012 Le Castellet Speed Euroseries round |
| GT2 | 2:00.943 | Marino Franchitti | Ferrari F430 GT2 | 2006 FIA GT Paul Ricard 500km |
| JS2 R | 2:05.678 | Viktor Shaytar | Ligier JS2 R | 2020 1st Le Castellet Ligier European Series round |
| FIA GT Group 2 | 2:07.456 | Bas Leinders | Gillet Vertigo Streiff | 2006 FIA GT Paul Ricard 500km |
| FIA GT Group 3 | 2:08.902 | Benjamin Dessange | Chevrolet Corvette Z06-R | 2006 FIA GT Paul Ricard 500km |
| Short Circuit with Mistral chicane (3C): 3.841 km (2002–present) |||||
| Auto GP | 1:18.347 | Kimiya Sato | Lola B05/52 | 2014 Le Castellet Auto GP round |
| Formula 3 | 1:21.740 | Joel Eriksson | Dallara F315 | 2016 Le Castellet F3 round |
| Formula 4 | 1:26.970 | Nerea Martí | Tatuus F4-T421 | 2023 Le Castellet F1 Academy round |
| Porsche Carrera Cup | 1:29.839 | Mathieu Jaminet | Porsche 911 (991 I) GT3 Cup | 2016 Le Castellet Porsche Carrera Cup France round |
| TC1 | 1:30.455 | Robert Huff | Honda Civic WTCC | 2016 FIA WTCC Race of France |
| GT4 | 1:31.906 | Adrien Tambay | Audi R8 LMS GT4 Evo | 2020 2nd Le Castellet French GT4 Cup round |
| Formula Renault 1.6 | 1:32.995 | Sacha Fenestraz | Signatech FR 1.6 | 2015 Le Castellet French F4 round |
| TCR Touring Car | 1:35.370 | Kris Richard | Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK2) | 2016 Le Castellet ETC round |
| Super 2000 | 1:35.578 | Gabriele Tarquini | SEAT León Cup Racer | 2016 Le Castellet ETC round |
| Renault Clio Cup | 1:43.715 | Nicolas Milan | Renault Clio R.S. V | 2020 2nd Le Castellet Renault Clio Cup France round |
| Super 1600 | 1:46.740 | Ulrike Krafft [de] | Ford Fiesta 1.6 16V | 2016 Le Castellet ETC round |
| Short Circuit (3C): 3.792 km (2002–present) |||||
| Porsche Carrera Cup | 1:23.427 | Tom Dillmann | Porsche 911 (991 I) GT3 Cup | 2014 Le Castellet Porsche Carrera Cup France round |
| Formula Renault 1.6 | 1:26.681 | Matevos Isaakyan | Signatech FR 1.6 | 2013 Le Castellet French F4 round |
| Original Short Grand Prix Circuit: 3.812 km (1986–2001) |||||
| F1 | 1:08.012 | Nigel Mansell | Ferrari 641 | 1990 French Grand Prix |
| WSC | 1:16.870 | Emmanuel Collard | Ferrari 333 SP | 1998 International Sports Racing Series Paul Ricard |
| 500cc | 1:21.487 | Kenny Roberts Jr. | Suzuki RGV500 | 1999 French motorcycle Grand Prix |
| Formula 3 | 1:21.770 | Didier Cottaz | Dallara F393 | 1993 Le Castellet French F3 round |
| 250cc | 1:23.559 | Loris Capirossi | Aprilia RSV 250 | 1997 French motorcycle Grand Prix |
| GT2 | 1:24.447 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Porsche 911 GT2 | 1998 4 Hours of Le Castellet |
| Super Touring | 1:26.698 | Steve Soper | BMW 318is | 1995 FIA Touring Car World Cup |
| 125cc | 1:28.383 | Tomomi Manako | Honda RS125R | 1997 French motorcycle Grand Prix |
| Formula Renault 2.0 | 1:30.480 | Jean-Philippe Belloc | Martini MK63 | 1992 Le Castellet French Formula Renault round |
| Original Long Grand Prix Circuit: 5.809 km (1970–2001) |||||
| F1 | 1:39.914 | Keke Rosberg | Williams FW10 | 1985 French Grand Prix |
| Group 5 | 1:50.600 | Jean-Pierre Beltoise | Matra-Simca MS670C | 1974 1000 km of Castellet |
| GT1 | 1:52.653 | Anders Olofsson | Ferrari F40 GTE | 1996 BPR 4 Hours of Le Castellet |
| 500cc | 1:59.027 | Wayne Gardner | Honda NSR500 | 1988 French motorcycle Grand Prix |
| Formula 3 | 1:59.459 | Olivier Grouillard | Martini MK39 | 1983 Le Castellet French F3 round |
| 250cc | 2:03.370 | Joan Garriga | Yamaha TZ 250 | 1988 French motorcycle Grand Prix |
| Group 2 | 2:09.900 | Chris Amon Henri Pescarolo | BMW 3.0 CSL | 1973 Le Castellet ETCC round |
| Formula Renault 2.0 | 2:10.650 | Jean-Michel Neyrial | Martini MK26 | 1979 Le Castellet French Formula Renault round |
| 125cc | 2:13.350 | Luca Cadalora | Garelli 125 GP | 1986 French motorcycle Grand Prix |
| Original National Circuit: 3.263 km (1970–2001) |||||
| Group 5 (Sports 2000) | 1:15.800 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Alpine A441 | 1974 Trophée d'Europe Paul Ricard |
| Formula 3 | 1:17.060 | Alex Caffi | Martini MK45 | 1985 FIA European Formula 3 Cup |
| Group 6 | 1:17.300 | Vittorio Brambilla | Alfa Romeo T33/SC/12 | 1977 500 km Le Castellet |
| Formula Renault 2.0 | 1:21.520 | Patrick Gonin | Martini MK33 | 1981 Le Castellet French Formula Renault round |
| World SBK | 1:21.890 | Giancarlo Falappa | Bimota YB4 | 1989 Le Castellet World SBK round |