There has been a lot of news recently about several circuits leaving the sport of Formula One, so it’s great news to here at there is one circuit looking to return to Formula One in the near future. The French Grand Prix will be making a return to the Formula One calendar in 2018.
The race will be held at the Circuit Paul Ricard as part of five-year contract with the sport of Formula One to host the French Grand Prix from 2018 to 2022. The racing director of McLaren, Eric Boullier, and the CEO of Renault F1, Cyril Abiteboul, were among the people instrumental to the return of the event.
The French Grand Prix was one of the seven races listed on the calendar of Formula One’s inaugural season in 1950. The race was held at the Circuit de Reims-Gueux and was won by Juan Manuel Fangio in the Alfa Romeo. The race was held every season until its removal in 2008, with the exception of the 1955 event, which was cancelled following the 1955 Le Mans disaster.
It wasn’t until 1971 that the Circuit Paul Ricard made its Formula One appearance. From 1971 to 1985, the circuit shared the French Grand Prix with the Circuit de Dijon-Prenois. In 1986, the Circuit de Paul Ricard was shortened. This was the layout which was used for five seasons, after which the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours took over the event. Despite appearing on the 2009 provisional calendar, the event was removed after the French Motorsports Federation refused to finance the event. Plans to host a French Grand Prix at the street circuit in Paris were also unsuccessful.
The Circuit Paul Ricard appeared in Formula One prior to the start of the 2016, but it was as a test track rather than a race. The circuit was used to conduct some wet weather tyre tests for Pirelli, using the circuit’s sprinkler system which had been added to the circuit.
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