Weekend preview (June 22-24): F1, Maini, Daruvala

The Paul Ricard Circuit will host France’s first Formula 1 race in over a decade this weekend.

Sebastian Vettel heads to the 5.842 km track as the new championship leader, having moved one point clear of Lewis Hamilton with victory in the Canadian GP.

With no past data from Paul Ricard, it would be interesting see which team comes out on top in the three-way fight between Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.

Force India could potentially head up the midfield order again, but would face stern competition from Renault, which will be racing on its home turf.

The French GP will be broadcast LIVE on Star Sports Select 2 and Select HD 2 from 7:40 pm on Sunday.

Paul Ricard will also host two Formula 2 races this weekend, with Arjun Maini the sole Indian driver on the grid.

Maini scored a double top-five finish at the previous round in Monaco and would be keen on carrying the momentum to France.

The 20-year-old has tested at Paul Ricard before and as such is well versed with its layout.

The Paul Ricard F2 round can be streamed on Star TV’s OTT service, Hotstar.

Jehan Daruvala will race at the Norisring street circuit in Germany, the venue of his maiden European F3 win last season.

Due to factors largely outside his control, Daruvala hasn’t been able to convert his pace into results in the opening two rounds of the season, but a return to Norisring could potentially put his championship challenge back on track.

With eight rounds still to go, the Force India protege has enough time to live up to the promise of his rookie campaign.

All European F3 races will be streamed LIVE and for free on series’ YouTube channel.

After returning to winning ways in the Czech Republic, India’s NRT team would be aiming for the top spot once again in the World Supersport Championship.

NRT has taken the WSBK-supporting category by storm this year and another victory by star rider Jules Cluzel could propel it to top of the teams’ standing.

The next round of EasyKart Italy Championship will take place at the Circuit of Pomposo this weekend.

India will have a four-strong representation on the grid, led by Ruhaan Alva.

Vivan Chiripal, Rishon Mgehalli and Mihir Suman Avalakki will also be on the grid, and like Alva will be racing for the Birel ART Team.

The weekend of June 22-24 also marks the start of the new MRF F1600 season, one of India’s two top-tier single-seater championships.

The entry list for the series is yet to be revealed, but expect some of India’s best budding racers to fight it out for top honours at Kari Motor Speedway.

The MRF F1600 car is built on space-frame chassis and is powered by a 1.6-litre Ford Duratec engine that churns out 130 bhp. The power is channeled to all four slick tyres via a Hewland 5-speed sequential gearbox.