AU REVOIR TO ALL THAThttp://www.itv-f1.com/Feature.aspx?Type=General&PO_ID=39773This, we are told, is to be the last year Formula 1 visits Magny-Cours – perhaps even the last French Grand Prix for the foreseeable future.
And while few in F1 will miss Nevers, the prospect of France losing its place on the calendar should concern anyone with a feeling for the sportÂ’s history.
Much as we British may brag about hosting the inaugural world championship round at Silverstone in 1950, the French have been staging ‘Grand Prix’ races since 1906, when a two-day marathon over rough roads around Le Mans was won at an average speed of 63mph.
In the intervening century, the French GP has been a mainstay of the international racing scene despite numerous changes of venue.
It has produced some of F1Â’s most noteworthy victories: Giancarlo Baghetti winning on his GP debut in 1961 (a feat yet to be matched); PorscheÂ’s only F1 victory the following year; and the first win for a turbocharged car in 1979, which revolutionised F1 engine technology.
And along with its fair share of processional races, it has also delivered moments of high drama.
None more so than the Â’79 race at Dijon, where Gilles Villeneuve and Rene Arnoux earned an eternal place in F1 folklore with a display of uninhibited wheel-to-wheel combat which has never been equalled for sheer intensity and excitement.
Of the seven F1 venues that France has furnished since the start of the world championship, the public road courses of Reims, Rouen and Clermont-Ferrand were among the sportÂ’s most exhilarating theatres.
Magny-Cours pales by comparison, a contrived modern layout of chicanes and hairpins with no overall theme and little character.
ItÂ’s not exactly a bad circuit, but itÂ’s hard to imagine it kindling any great enthusiasm for F1 among those not already won over by the sport.
That said, in the midst of all the tight complexes and constant radii are three very keen bits of racetrack: the long Estoril right-hander at the start of the lap, and the fast chicanes of Nurburgring and Imola.
These three corners, both in person and through the slow-motion ‘mood’ shots in which TV directors delight, give a fine insight into the racing driver’s art and how well his car is handling.
Which is just as well, for Magny-Cours is not renowned for serving up spectacular entertainment or riveting wheel-to-wheel battles.
Last yearÂ’s race was so gripping that Renault issued a press release about the engine rules in the middle of it.
It is, in short, the sort of place where drivers ‘wait for the pit stops’ rather than attempt an overtaking move.
If one man can break that tradition and turn a potential snooze-fest into a thriller, itÂ’s surely Lewis Hamilton, who has shown an uncanny knack for finding inventive new passing places during his first season of F1.
Recently, of course, Hamilton has had no need to exercise those skills, having dominated the two North American races from the front.
No matter how often they are recited, the 22-year-oldÂ’s achievements in his rookie season still beggar belief: seven podiums in seven races, two accomplished wins, and a 10-point title lead over his double world champion team-mate.
ItÂ’s that remarkable record, rather than any real bad blood between the McLaren stable-mates, that has put Fernando AlonsoÂ’s nose out of joint.
The Spaniard admitted at Indianapolis that, while HamiltonÂ’s winter testing pace showed he would have few problems adapting to F1, he had not expected Lewis to set the world alight in the way he has.
As Pat Symonds has observed, Alonso is an intensely competitive individual who finds being beaten extremely difficult to deal with – like most great champions.
But despite the theatrical swerve towards the pit wall, there were signs at Indy that he has begun to readjust his mindset to the reality of his situation, to accept that there will be days when Hamilton beats him fair and square, and others when he has the upper hand.
Unlike in Montreal, Fernando did not throw his car off the road in his efforts to get the better of Lewis; after a concerted bid to take the lead was foiled, he settled for eight points, and embraced his team-mate on the podium.
Perhaps it was a watershed, the moment when Alonso stopped obsessing about being beaten by an upstart rookie and began to acknowledge Hamilton as simply a formidable rival, to whom he will inevitably lose from time to time.
If Fernando has indeed found a new mental equilibrium, he is likely to prove an even more dangerous opponent for Lewis over the remainder of the season, and their rivalry – which, despite the tensions it gives rise to, McLaren has so far given an admirably free rein – will only intensify.
Will AlonsoÂ’s fightback begin at Magny-Cours, where he won convincingly in 2005 and where Hamilton had one of his few less-than-stellar GP2 outings last year?
Or can Ferrari reverse the trend of the last three races and get in on the act?
Certainly, the Maranello squad has been talking up its chances after an encouraging test at Silverstone last week, where Felipe Massa set the fastest time.
The Brazilian believes Ferrari has hit upon the causes of its recent loss of form, and is confident a revised aerodynamic package and other new parts on the F2007 will bridge the performance gap to McLaren.
The biggest problem the team has faced is an inability to generate enough grip from the tyres to match the first-lap pace of its Mercedes-powered rival, which has kept it off the front row of the grid since the Spanish GP and allowed BMW Sauber to get within striking distance.
Given the difficulty of overtaking in France, its fortunes this weekend are likely to hinge on whether it has successfully addressed that handicap.
The first race at Magny-Cours, in 1991, was arguably the best, featuring an absorbing duel between Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell which the Briton won after a pair of opportunistic passing moves at the hairpin.
It would be fitting if the unloved Nevers track could bookend its F1 history with an equally entertaining contest – before what we hope will be the revival of the French GP at another venue in the not-too-distant future.
They can race on the Ettore Bugatti circuit that is used in MotoGP, if it's up to standard.