KEY POINTS:
PARIS - Formula One statistics for Sunday's French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours:
Lewis Hamilton
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton will be chasing his third win in a row, McLaren's fourth consecutive victory and fifth of the season.
The last British driver to win two races in a row was Eddie Irvine for Ferrari in 1999.
The last Briton to win three successively was Damon Hill with Williams in 1996, the year he won the title.
Hamilton has led every race he has started and is the first rookie winner since Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya with Williams in 2001. He is also the first black driver to win a grand prix.
Wins
Hamilton's U.S. Grand Prix win at Indianapolis was McLaren's 152nd in Formula One.
Ferrari have won 195 races, Williams 113 and Renault 33.
Podium
Hamilton has finished his first seven races on the podium, an unprecedented feat for a rookie in Formula One.
Only one Briton has previously racked up eight successive podium finishes - the late Jim Clark with nine in 1963.Ferrari's retired seven-times champion Michael Schumacher holds the record with 19 consecutive podiums in 2001/02.
The U.S. Grand Prix handed McLaren their third one-two finish of the season and 43rd in Formula One.
Ferrari have the most one-twos, with 72 since 1951.
Points
Germany's Sebastian Vettel became Formula One's youngest point scorer, with an eighth place for BMW Sauber on his race debut in the U.S. Grand Prix.
The 19-year-old is unlikely to race at Magny-Cours with Poland's Robert Kubica hoping to return after his crash in Montreal.
France
The last time McLaren won at Magny-Cours, it was with a British driver - David Coulthard in 2000.
Their last pole position at the circuit was with Mika Hakkinen in 1998. There are no French drivers in Sunday's race.
Toyota's Ralf Schumacher, winner at Magny-Cours with Williams in 2003, celebrates his 32nd birthday on Saturday.
- REUTERS
