Since the summer, there was not much doubt left. Nor hope. Formula 1 has never appreciated the Paul Ricard circuit and extending the contract initiated by Bernie Ecclestone just before he sold his discipline to the Americans extended was unlikely to happen.
Alas, the publication of the 2023 Formula 1 calendar and the words of its president Stefano Domenicali a few weeks ago marked the end of the French Grand Prix. Christian Estrosi, its president, and Eric Boullier, its managing director, nevertheless tried everything to save the event which they helped bring back in 2018, after ten years of absence. Even the alternation, discussed with the FOM, would have been accepted by the France GP organizers.
This week, during a final general meeting on the Paul Ricard circuit, the dissolution of the GIP du Grand Prix de France, the company in charge of promoting the event, will be voted on.
“It’s the end of a story” – concludes a sad Eric Boullier when asked about the future of the event – “Too bad it ends despite all the efforts made to ensure that this last edition went perfectly. For five years, the South region has allowed this event to return to the calendar and allow our country to appear again at the highest level of motor racing.”
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
His statements are way of pressing discreetly on the lack of support received from the Government when negotiating a contract extension last spring. With the GIP dissolved, its twenty permanent employees laid off, there is no longer any promoter to ensure the existence of a French Grand Prix.
Leave a Reply