What if Max Verstappen, Pierre Gasly, Charles Leclerc, or even Lewis Hamilton zipped through the streets of the capital at 350 km/h? With its narrow streets and millions of daily users, it’s hard to picture Paris as a car racing circuit. However, during the F1 75 ceremony held in London, Flavio Briatore, consultant for the Alpine team, expressed his desire to bring the sport back to France. « Of course, it won't be a Grand Prix in Paris passing under the Eiffel Tower, but that would be magnificent », he stated.
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A long-standing question
The Olympic Games proved that Paris can host major sporting events. But what about the Formula 1 Grand Prix? This question has actually been asked in the past. Back in 2010, it was brought up with the idea of creating a circuit in Marne-la-Vallée, near Disneyland Paris, but the project was abandoned. “The idea is to suggest that France deserves to be back on the calendar, in a more profitable, more central location. I'm not necessarily saying it has to be in Paris itself,” indicates Flavio Briatore.
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Between 2016 and 2019, the capital hosted four editions of Formula E (electric cars). It was Le Castellet, in the Var region, that last had the GP of France between 2019 and 2022. “Today, with all the sponsors behind Formula 1 and all the people working around it, we absolutely need significant hotel capacities, and Le Castellet cannot provide that. Paris, yes,” pointed out the Italian businessman.
The Grand Prix in Paris, a controversial idea
While these comments have revived a long-standing debate, the idea of a GP in Paris has not been warmly welcomed, especially for ecological reasons. D.
For several years now, the capital has been rolling out various initiatives to limit speed and reduce the space allocated to cars. The arrival of the Grand Prix would be somewhat contradictory to the city's policy.The other issue lies in the size of the circuits. With its 4.2 kilometers, the smallest circuit in the Grand Prix is located in Zandvoort, Netherlands, and it will be dropped starting the 2027 season. The circuits of La Ferté-Gaucher in Seine-et-Marne measure 3.6 kilometers. The same goes for the Marcoussis circuit in Essonne and the Jean-Pierre-Beltoise circuit in Trappes, which are significantly smaller than the circuits developed in the Middle East or the United States. Could France join the 24 other Grand Prix held around the world each year? For now, the idea seems quite difficult to visualize. The most frustrated will have to be patient and settle for the <.Monaco Grand Prix that will kick off on May 25th.
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