The month of February 2023 started with some great news for Jean Alesi: the former Scuderia Ferrari driver was appointed General Manager of the ‘Paul Ricard’ circuit, located in the town of Le Castellet. However, while the 58-year-old from Avignon is enjoying the prestige of this new job on the one hand, the winner of the 1995 Canadian GP is already facing significant problems on the other. Among the most important issue, for example, is the exclusion of the track from this year’s Formula 1 calendar, contrary to what happened last season.
Returning in 2018 after eighteen years of absence, i.e. since Magny-Cours became the venue of the French GP in 1991, for Jean Alesi there is a clear responsible factor for the the Paul Ricard race track losing its place on the Formula 1 calendar, which means the exclusion of another historical European GP like the French one:
“The problem with Formula 1 in France is not with the circuit, it’s with the politics,” the former Ferrari driver said in an interview for Motorsport.com. “It’s probably the only F1 Grand Prix that’s never had a president come to watch it – except for at Magny-Cours once, when [Francois] Mitterrand attended as part of his political wish for the race to be there. Since then, it’s never happened. The problem is not with the circuit; the problem is the wish of the country. My other job is a Formula 1 Ambassador, so my link to F1 is direct – with no bullshit – and they are very clear about that. Formula 1 has probably 32 countries in the world right now asking to host F1 races. The last Grand Prix we had here, last year, was very, very popular with the people. So it’s a shame to lose it.” – Jean Alesi pointed out.
Moreover, the French Grand Prix still holds the record for the oldest motorsport event in the world. Even before the existence of Formula 1, the event was held for the first time in 1906, also recognized by this title. With the arrival of F1, the race was not held in 1955 following the tragedy of the 24 Hours of Le Mans that year, and from 2009 to 2017:
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“Having a French GP looks good on the Formula 1 calendar, but if we don’t have the possibility to do it, then that’s because the country is not interested in motorsport, and that is a big shame,” Jean Alesi added. “It’s not a problem for Formula 1 to have a Grand Prix in France, the blame is on France. Of course, part of my new role will be to send a letter, to request a meeting with the president of France, but I don’t know if this will happen. If it happens, and we can get the French GP back, I would be the happiest man in the world! With Alpine and Renault, they are very strong in Formula 1 right now. But it’s not because of France, it’s because F1 is very strong. If I go to Elysee and speak with Macron, it would be much more useful than lobbying anyone else.”
“The spotlight was on me in 1989, that was an amazing day in my life, but it was already a place that was very special for me, that increased my desire to be part of the sport and to be around Formula 1. We have 280 days of track activity booked for this year. It’s a very, very wealthy circuit with lots of revenue coming in, and we host sportscars, motorbikes, national racing – even some Italian championships come to us. We are very busy, but Formula 1 is very glamorous for us – so to have a Grand Prix again would be great. We have a lot of Formula 1 teams coming to Paul Ricard for testing – it’s a very useful circuit for these cars with long straights, lots of runoff area, the possibility to test wet tyres when you want with our sprinkler system. And, of course, the weather is always very good here.” – the ex-Ferrari F1 driver concluded.
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