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F1 French Grand Prix schedule: TV, streaming, odds, picks and results as Max Verstappen eyes Paul Ricard repeat

By John Parker

F1 Grand Prix of France LE CASTELLET, FRANCE - JUNE 23: Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving the (16) Scuderia Ferrari SF90 leads Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (33) Aston Martin Red Bull Racing RB15 on track during the F1 Grand Prix of France at Circuit Paul Ricard on June 23, 2019 in Le Castellet, France. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

By John Parker

After the standard fortnight break, F1 begins the second half of its season at Circuit Paul Ricard for the French Grand Prix. Here's everything you need to know about the 12th round of the 2022 Formula 1 world championship:

French Grand Prix TV schedule

Fans in the United States can watch practices, qualifying and the race on TV via the ABC/ESPN family of networks or stream it via ESPN or F1TV Pro.

(All times ET)

Friday, July 22

Free Practice 1: 7:55 - 9 a.m. (ESPNU)

Free Practice 2: 10:55 a.m. - Noon. (ESPN2)

Saturday, July 23

Free Practice 3: 6:55 - 8 a.m. (ESPN2)

Qualifying: 9:55 - 11 a.m. (ESPN2)

Sunday, July 24

Pre-show: 7:30 - 8:55 a.m. (ESPN)

French Grand Prix: 8:55 - 11 a.m. (ESPN)

Top drivers and best bets for the French Grand Prix

It's Max Verstappen on repeat. According to BetMGM, Red Bull's defending series champion and current points leader shares the best odds to capture pole with 2022 title rival Charles LeClerc of Ferrari with both at +125 as of Thursday. Verstappen has the better odds for the race win at +120 compared with LeClerc's +160. The next best moneyline belongs to 2018 and 2019 French Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton — making his 300th career start — at +650.

As far as props go, Yahoo Sports' Nick Bromberg likes Hamilton to finish on the podium at +110 and is bullish on AlphaTauri to finish ahead of Alfa Romeo (+125) and for AlphaTauri veteran Pierre Gasly to post a top 10 (+160).

Circuit Paul Ricard layout, what to expect

The first thing you notice about Paul Ricard are the blue and red striped run-off areas and myriad different configurations as it serves primarily as a test track. As such, it is quite artificial, not using the natural contours of the land the way more popular circuits like Silverstone and Suzuka do. It features three long straights – two of which are broken up by a quick chicane – two DRS zones and mostly medium-speed corners. With wide racing surface and acres of run-off, there are not typically long safety car periods with just two for seven total laps in the last three trips there.

Since F1 returned to Paul Ricard in 2018 the racing has been lackluster, to the point of public outcry after an incredibly uneventful 2019 edition which Hamilton led every lap and five of the top six finished in the position they started the race. The pole sitter has won each of the three French Grands Prix since it returned to the calendar.

That bodes well for whoever nabs P1 on Saturday and, despite the odds, the long straights and medium-speed corners of Paul Ricard seem to favor the 2022 Ferrari, which has a straight-line speed advantage over Ferrari and Mercedes and allows LeClerc and teammate Carlos Sainz to apply more throttle exiting corners.

Forecast for the French Grand Prix

Hot with a chance of thunderstorms on Saturday. Highs between 88 and 91 degrees Fahrenheit are forecast, which will likely chew up tires. Verstappen's win in 2021 came on a two-stop strategy as he overtook Hamilton – on a one-stop strategy – on the penultimate lap on softer, fresher tires. A two-stop strategy seems to be the most likely and the only thing that figures to stop this from being a parade is mixed conditions during qualifying to mix up the starting grid.

This article originally appeared on Yahoo Sports at https://sports.yahoo.com/f-1-french-grand-prix-schedule-tv-streaming-odds-picks-and-results-as-max-verstappen-eyes-paul-ricard-repeat-110055061.html

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