Stefano Domenicali "open to discussion with" Emmanuel Macron amid future of F1 French GP

France out of Formula 1
After hosting four editions in five years, Le Castellet has been excluded from the 2023 Formula 1 calendar.

The French track suffers from low television ratings, a rather anonymous circuit, and competition from many other iconic venues: last year, it was even competing against Spa-Francorchamps and Monte-Carlo. But does France have a genuine interest in hosting Formula 1? According to Jean Alesi, no.

The former Ferrari driver, now president of Paul Ricard, laments a lack of institutional attention to the circuit: politicians and promoters would be the first to not want to invest time and money into bringing Formula 1 back in France.

Jean Alesi’s comments
“We have never had the honor of having the President of the Republic at the event. Presidents of other countries are honored to have the event on their territory. It would be an honor to sit down with Emmanuel Macron, but I believe he has other priorities,” these are the words of the Frenchman, who then explained his hope to be included in the rotation of the calendar already mentioned several times by former Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali currently the Chief Executive Officer of Formula 1: “Perhaps Spa, Spielberg, or Imola will alternate with us.” – the former Formula 1 driver pointed out.

Stefano Domenicali willing to negotiate
The president of Formula 1, on the other hand, has always been clear: the ideal circuit must bring money to the sport, tradition to the calendar, and also provide services to the public:

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“History is not enough,” he has said several times, referring to Monza, Spa-Francorchamps and Monte-Carlo. The suspicion is that if history is not enough, money is sufficient; otherwise, Formula 1 would not be in Qatar or Saudi Arabia, just to name a few. However, if France were willing to put millions of euros on the table needed to return to Formula 1, the sport would not say no: “If President Macron wants to talk, I’ll be there,” these are Stefano Domenicali’s words in a recent interview for the French newspaper L’Equipe.