Bottas puts his money on Ferrari in France

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Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas reckons Ferrari should be considered the outright favourite for this weekend's French Grand Prix.

The Scuderia has raked in three wins this season, courtesy of championship leader Sebastian Vettel, who triumphed last time out in Canada.

While it's a tight battle up front among the usual suspects - Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull - Bottas sees the Italian outfit sustaining its recent form at Paul Ricard.

"Ferrari are the favourites, based on what we saw in Montreal both in raw pace, in qualifying, and in the race," he said.

"In theory [our car] should be OK [at Paul Ricard], but in theory Montreal was going to be good for us but Ferrari was quicker than us.

"It’s going to be tricky with possibly three teams fighting for the win. But we’ll learn more on Friday."

Vettel confident Ferrari can sustain its momentum at Paul Ricard

Lewis Hamilton and Bottas are hoping to benefit from an engine upgrade at Mercedes, a development initially scheduled for Montreal but which was delayed because of "quality issues".

"For sure we need to take some kind of new engine, because the other one is already seven races old," said Bottas.

"We are very much wanting to run the new spec, but we need to confirm on Friday if we can or not.

"It is extremely close between the top three teams in every race weekend, so any gain we can make will be very important if we want to win the title.

"For sure we’re looking forward to having the new one and that’s our plan, so let’s hope we can use it.

"We need some improvements if we want to fight for the wins, so we hope we can have it, but we also need to improve the car."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.