And so to the French Grand Prix. Perhaps for the last time (although we thought that last year), the F1 circus makes its way out into the French countryside to the unloved circuit of Magny Cours.
Magny Cours
With Bernie Ecclestone wanting a GP in or near Paris, Magny Cours has been under threat for a few years now and few have spoken up in its favor. With its lack of passing places, it has been notorious for producing processional races and its inaccessibility also has counted against it. Traditionally, too, it has been a Ferrari circuit and so would not be mourned by those who want to see close racing.
But perhaps we should not be too hasty in wishing it farewell. There is a danger of losing the French GP altogether if the Nevers track is summarily cut from the calendar. Dreams of a street race through Paris are never going to come to fruition, since there is insufficient will and money to make that happen, and the idea of a new circuit to be built in Disneyland near the French capital is no nearer fruition. Would it not be foolish to allow one circuit to disappear from the schedule before another is ready to take its place?
The fans can suggest all sorts of alternative venues dredged from France's rich motor racing history, such places as Reims, Le Mans and Paul Ricard springing to mind instantly. But there are problems associated with all of these, not least of which is that Bernie seems totally uninterested in a return to older tracks. He wants something new and glitzy and the F1 world is going to have to live with that fact.
For the moment, therefore, Magny Cours remains the only viable circuit for a French GP. Its distance from major urban centers does not seem a problem in this age of televised races, as I have pointed out before, and it does at least meet current standards of safety. Rather than risk losing the French GP to yet another characterless Tilkedrome in Asia, an idea that I suspect is at the heart of Bernie's annual threats to put an end to Magny Cours' event, we should be hanging on to what we have got.
The French GP is one of F1's great traditions, after all, the first GP of all and a race in the heart of European motor racing. We should not allow it to disappear, even for a year or two while some fancy showpiece is built in Paris. Let Bernie get on with his wheeling and dealing, let him have a confirmed agreement for a new circuit in his back pocket and work begun, that is the time to call a halt to the Magny Cours GP.
That may sound as though I don't trust the little man. And I would have to admit that I do not; this is the guy who deprived us of the glories of Spa for a year in the not so distant past, remember. I had better not mention the United States GP or this could turn into a rant. Bernie's priorities are very different from those of the F1 enthusiast and he is much too eager to sell F1's heritage for a quick buck. Let him sort out a decent alternative venure before he starts threatening those we have.