Signes curve at Paul Ricard won't be for the faint of heart

French GP organisers will be adding a chicane on the Circuit Paul Ricard's Mistral straight but the Signes curve will still remain a daunting proposition.

After a 10-year absence from the Grand Prix calendar, the French GP will return next year at the Paul Ricard venue.

The track's configuration will use the full 5.8km layout but organisers will add a chicane half-way down the long Mistral straight.

"The FIA did some research and the speed before the chicane will be 343km/h, so the chicane is useful," the French Grand Prix's managing director Gilles Dufeigneux told Motorsport.com.

"The chicane has been added to prevent the engines from running at full speed on a straight uphill line of 1.8km. We also wanted to facilitate the creation of an additional overtaking area.

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"It will provide three straight lines where the cars can go at full speed before two massive decelerations - Turn 1 and Turn 8 and a flat out turn - Signes.

"According to the FIA, cars will reach 343km/h before the chicane and 343km/h at the apex of Signes.

"The drivers have told us the chicane will probably be an opportunity for non-DRS overtakes during the race.

"We presented the new configuration of the circuit during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend to several drivers including Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.," added Dufeigneux.

"They liked it and said the 5.8km configuration was a nice option."

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