The French Grand Prix is expected to be overcast for much of the weekend, with a slight chance of rain showers on race day.
Forecasts indicate Friday will be the sunniest of the three days of running at Paul Ricard. The morning session will see relatively heavy cloud but this should turn sunny by second practice.Saturday will follow a similar pattern of cloud cover, lifting somewhat after third practice but still relatively heavy ahead of the qualifying hour.
Race day will be much as the previous two days – overcast and with temperatures up 31C – but with an increased chance of rain. At present only a slight chance of rain is forecast during the race, and this may well change over the course of the next three days.
Overall temperatures should be relatively high at Paul Ricard.
Wind conditions on Friday will be a little stronger than on Saturday, with speeds up to 30kph and gusts of up to 55kph. It should be calmer for qualifying, with top speeds of 20kph and gusts of 40kph.
From this weekend’s race teams have to comply with new, stringent checks of their tyre temperatures and pressures, and they will have to keep a close watch on changes in the atmospheric conditions.
2021 French Grand Prix weather forecast
FRIDAY, JUNE 18 – FP1 AND FP2 WEATHER
Conditions: Partly cloudy with high-level clouds. Dry all day long. Significant easterly wind with gusts up to 50-55 km/h.
Maximum temperature expected: 29 Celsius
Chance of rain: 0%
SATURDAY, JUNE 19 – FP3 AND QUALIFYING WEATHER
Conditions: A mix of sunny spells and high-level clouds. Dry for the sessions. Gusty easterly wind. Gusts up to 45 km/h.
Maximum temperature expected: 31 Celsius
Chance of rain: <20%
SUNDAY, JUNE 20 – RACE WEATHER
Conditions: Cloudy with a veil of high-level clouds. Slight chance of showers for the Race. Increasing chance of rain in the evening. Gusty southeasterly wind with gusts up to 40-45 km/h for the race.
Maximum temperature expected: 30 Celsius
Chance of rain: 20%
