Paul Ricard hosted what is expected to be his last French Grand Prix last Sunday, as the race has failed to find a slot on next year’s calendar amid the rush of new venues.
Qatar, which debuted last year and hasn’t had a grand prix this season, and Las Vegas have already been announced as additions to next year’s calendar, while Formula 1 officials are still working on a possible deal for South Africa also be part of the 2023 season.
To this must be added the possibility of the return of the Chinese Grand Prix , absent in recent years but with a contract until 2025, if the restrictions in force due to COVID-19 allow it.
All this has caused France to find itself face to face with the possibility of not having a gap, although the promoters of the race at the Paul Ricard circuit remain hopeful of a return, especially if F1 chooses the path of event rotation.
France’s presence on the top-flight grid has increased a lot in recent years. Alpine is part of this growth as it has played up its French connection a lot since Renault ‘s name change in 2021, and one of its drivers, Esteban Ocon, is French.
For his part, his compatriot Pierre Gasly arrived in 2017, and both have won a race in the last two years.
Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi said he would be “very disappointed” if Paul Ricard does not feature on next year’s calendar, given the country’s importance to F1 and motorsport.
“I’m not talking about it as a manager of a French team, not even as a French citizen,” Rossi said.
Laurent Rossi, the CEO of Alpine F1, at the team bosses press conference
“It’s more that I think France is a stronghold of motorsport. It has given a lot to the sport. It has a huge audience, a huge fan base.”
“It would be a bit unfair, I would say, to remove a major event like the French Grand Prix from the calendar.”
“I think it would be weird, but I hope it sticks.”
In Sunday’s pre-race festivities, Gasly and Ocon stood in front of the rest of the drivers during the national anthem performance, while fans in the grandstands were given French flags to wave.
Gasly said he wanted to “enjoy every second” of the weekend, knowing it could be his last home race for a while, and found it “quite emotional to see all the French flags there”.
“It’s the first time for me that I see a French Grand Prix like this,” said Gasly, who managed to finish 12th.
“It’s the first time I’ve been able to experience it properly since I won at Monza. There’s more support, and you can really see that people are excited about Formula 1 in this country.”
“It made the day a bit better, but yeah, hopefully we can keep the French Grand Prix. If not next year, then next year, because I think it clearly deserves its place on the calendar.”
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