F1 French GP: Why Paul Ricard Outshines Paris
Feb.24 - A key official of the defunct French GP has poured cold water on suggestions the sport should return to the country with a race in Paris.
Flavio Briatore, the powerful advisor to Renault's Formula 1 team Alpine, triggered headlines last week by suggesting a race in the French capital would be "magnificent".
"Not at Le Castellet (Paul Ricard) and not at Magny Cours either, where there is nothing," said the Italian. "In Paris.
"Castellet was impossible for traffic. No, Formula 1 deserves a grand prix in Paris."
The last French GP was held at Paul Ricard in 2022, and Christian Estrosi played a key role. He is also the mayor of Nice, and there were moves to set up a project for a grand prix in that French city.
However, Estrosi told Le Parisien newspaper that both Paris and Nice are ideas that do not "seem feasible or opportune".
When asked what the other options are, he answered: "Le Mans, but the Bugatti circuit requires major work.
"Magny Cours is handicapped by its lack of accessibility and an insufficient hotel offering," Estrosi added.
He says Paul Ricard, at Le Castellet about an hour's drive from Marseille, is still the most logical French GP location.
"This is still the best opportunity today to host the French GP again," said Estrosi.
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F1 won't return to Circuit Paul Ricard, or it wouldn't have been dropped in the first place.
I point out the same thing as previously that any new GP location in Europe would effectively need to be a city circuit or thereabouts due to F1 clearly steering more & more away from circuits on isolated regions with difficult accessibility, & Circuit Paul Ricard is precisely one of such circuits, so thinking F1 would be interested to return there is unrealistic.
Circuits with difficult locations far away from any big or semi-big cities are simply a past thing except for the likes of Silverstone & Spa-Francorchamps.
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