France - long on history, short on success

Formula 1 might be dominated by British teams, but grand prix motor racing has its roots in the octagon that is France. Racing from Paris to Bordeaux was already taking place at the end of the nineteenth century and the Le Mans circuit claims the honour of hosting the first ever grand prix in 1906. The Hungarian Ferenc Szisz won, driving a massive 13 litre Renault. The French car manufacturer would wait another 73 years for its next win, when Jean-Pierre Jabouille took the flag at Dijon-Prenois.

Including these two venues, the French race in modern times has been held at eight different circuits, only the USA GP moving house more often. No doubt this can be put down to the Gallic love of gastronomy as the race shifted from one centre of haute cuisine to another. Even travelling to the much maligned current location of Magny Cours, involves a journey through some of France's best wine producing areas!

The French can claim to have invented motor racing, staging a round of the F1 world championship for 49 of its 50 years and great manufacturers like Bugatti, Renault, Peugeot and Matra have all left an indelible mark on the sport. This year's event will actually be France's 86th grand prix.
However, their success in Formula 1 has not been proportional to their participation, with Alain Prost their only world champion; on no less than four occasions mind you. On just one of those, in 1993, was national honour satisfied, as Prost's last title was taken at the wheel of a Renault-powered Williams. "A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country and in his own home," so the saying goes and it is an apt epitaph to Prost's time as a Renault driver. Alain devoted three years to the national team, but when the title slipped from his grasp in the very last race of 1983, he was blamed and vilified. Disgusted and disillusioned he moved house to Switzerland and switched teams to McLaren.

Prost now drives a desk, running his own team, which rose from the ashes of Guy Ligier's equipe. Ligier is a typical example of France's eclectic approach to sport, enjoying a distinguished career as a Rugby Union international, before turning to racing in 1963. Endurance events and Formula 2 eventually led to Formula 1 in 1966, when he raced a Cooper-Maserati. Two pole positions and a sixth place in the 1967 German GP were the high points of his driving career, before he became a constructor in 1976. The team scored nine wins, but for most of the time, "Les Bleus" as the patriotically liveried cars were known, simply made up the numbers.

While Renault will be best remembered for the five titles it won as an engine supplier, perhaps its greatest achievement was daring to join the ranks of Ferrari and Honda in building its own engine as well as the chassis. The Regie can also claim to have launched the turbo era at the 1977 British GP, when it wheeled out a car fitted with a 1500 cc turbocharged engine. It was soon dubbed the "Yellow Teapot" because it was always boiling over. France now waits for a successor to Prost and all eyes are on Renault's official return, scheduled for 2002.

Formula 1: 1999 World Championship Yearbook
by Roberto Boccafogli, Bryn Williams, Paolo D'Alessio
Hardcover (1999)

Beckett Racing & Motorsports
Coverage of the world of NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula One and drag racing.
Cover Price: $47.40
Your Price: $29.99
12 Issues Published: Monthly

2001 French Formula One Grand Prix

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