The Circuit Paul Ricard is a French motorsport race track built in 1969 at Le Castellet, Var, near Marseille. The circuit has hosted the FIA Formula One French Grand Prix since 2018. 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 maximise tyre grip and hence minimise braking distance, although at the cost of extreme tyre wear!
