Episode 1:
1971: MR. RICARD’S VISION
Grand Prix de France Historique
With France being the first home of motor racing, it’s no surprise the French Grand Prix was part of the Formula 1 World Championship calendar right from its beginning, back in 1950. The country, however, didn’t have any real permanent circuits, so Reims and Rouen shared the Grand Prix until 1964 and for the following six years the race was hosted by Reims, Clermont-Ferrand and Le Mans’ short circuit, Bugatti.
In the South of France, though, a man was thinking big and being a man of action, industrialist Paul Ricard put together a plan to create the most modern circuit in the world. By the middle of 1970, the Circuit Paul Ricard opened its doors and one year later hosted its first Formula 1 race. The facilities had no match anywhere in the world, large run-off areas added a level of safety few circuits could match and from then on, only once the French Grand Prix was held in a temporary facility, for Formula 1 had found its home in France.
The fifth round of the season, the first French Grand Prix in the Circuit Paul Ricard took place in the first weekend of July, with glorious weather helping. That was a huge relief for all Goodyear tyre teams, for two weeks earlier, in Zandvoort, the Firestone-shod drivers had trounced the opposition in terrible weather conditions, to the point championship leader Jackie Stewart was lapped five times (!) by race winner and title rival Jacky Ickx.
In warm conditions, though, the Scot set pole position from both Ferrari drivers by a very comfortable margin and in the race, he simply ran away with it, winning by nearly half a minute. The long Mistral straight proved a challenge for the engines, as Ickx’s V12 expired after four laps, leaving Clay Regazzoni on his own to defend the Scuderia’s colors. The Swiss, however, went off after being caught out by oil left from another broken engine and in the end it was Stewart’s young team mate, François Cévert, who finished second, to the delight of the French crowd. For Tyrrel, heavily sponsored by Elf, it was a dream result that helped Stewart extend his championship lead over Ickx to 14 points – at the time winning a Grand Prix gave you just nine points – while the team moved to the lead of the Constructors’ Championship ahead of Ferrari.
In his first full season, Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi completed the podium after a battle with veterans Jo Siffert (BRM) and Matra driver Chris Amon. Fittipaldi’s Lotus team mate, Reine Wisell scored the final point, as back then only the top six finishers gained points in Grand Prix racing.
Crucially, France had now the most modern circuit in the world and with its three variants and favorable weather even in the winter, the Circuit Paul Ricard became the center of Formula 1 testing for the next 15 years.
Episode 2:
1973: PETERSON’S FIRST WIN
Grand Prix de France Historique
After a final visit to Clermont-Ferrand, the French Grand Prix was back to the Circuit Paul Ricard in 1973, in a season that was shaping up as a two-men battle between reigning champion Emerson Fittipaldi and his friend and rival Jackie Stewart. There were just two points between them as they arrived in the South of France, but another man had shown tremendous speed since the start of the year: Ronnie Peterson.
The Swedish driver had been runner-up to Stewart in 1971 but had yet to win a Grand Prix. Four pole positions in the first seven races of the season – a couple of them by huge margins – showed his speed but luck had not been on his side, as demonstrated in his home Grand Prix, the previous round of the championship. There, the home hero led for 78 of the 80 laps only to be passed by Hulme with less than two laps to go.
Surprisingly, Peterson was off the pace in the Paul Ricard, qualifying only fifth, with Stewart on pole. But it was McLaren’s third driver Jody Scheckter who led from Fittipaldi for 40 laps that were proving frustrating for the World Champion. The South African was making a name for himself as a quick but over-aggressive driver, as he hoped to secure a full-time seat for 1974, and his defensive driving eventually got to Fittipaldi’s nerves.
A move on lap 41 ended up in disaster, as the McLaren and the Lotus clashed, leading to retirement for both drivers and suddenly Peterson found himself in the lead, miles ahead of anybody else. While Fittipaldi and Scheckter traded accusations, each one of them blaming the other for the crash, everyone was expecting Peterson’s notorious back luck to strike again. Never one to drive conservatively, the Swede continued to extend his lead and eventually won by more than 40 seconds, finally breaking his duck!
That was the first of Peterson’s ten Grand Prix wins but the Swede’s dry run from the start of the season left him with no chance of fighting for the title. Home hero Cévert scored another second place and closed the gap to the championship contenders, while Carlos Reutemann completed the podium, for Brabham, a first for the Argentinian driver and also the first for his country since the great Juan Manuel Fangio had retired at the start of 1958!
For Sweden this was only the second Grand Prix win, 14 years after Jo Bonnier scored a surprising victory in the Dutch Grand Prix – also the first for the historic BRM team – and there was another landmark for Formula 1 history made in the Paul Ricard: driving for new team Ensign, Ricky Von Opel became the first – and first until now – native of Liechtenstein to start a round of the Formula 1 World Championship.
Episode 3:
1982: RENAULT’S CIVIL WAR BREAKS OUT
Grand Prix de France Historique
Sharing the French Grand Prix with Dijon-Prenois, the Paul Ricard was hosting the World Championship event every two years and when the 1982 race came, the sport was in the middle of one of its most traumatic seasons ever. At the height of the first era of ground effect cars, lap times were tumbling quickly but active and passive safety measures hadn’t moved as quickly as chassis technology and accidents became far more lethal than in the recent past.
The great Gilles Villeneuve had been killed in an accident in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix, in May, and just one month later, in Canada, rookie Riccardo Paletti had also lost his life after s start-line collision with the stalled Ferrari of Didier Pironi. The Frenchman, however, arrived in his home race leading the championship by five points from McLaren veteran John Watson, but the quickest cars from the start of the year had been the Renault of Alain Prost and René Arnoux.
The yellow cars were, however, quite fragile, leading too many retirements. Winning the first two races of the season, Prost had no other points to show by the time the circus arrived in the Paul Ricard, sitting 17 points behind Pironi in the table. Arnoux’s luck had been even worse, for he had one third place and no other points scored after ten rounds, meaning Renault’s only hope for championship glory – flimsy as it might be – rested on Prost’s shoulders.
As usual Renault set the pace in qualifying, Arnoux beating Prost for pole position by 0,282s, with the rest of the field more than one second behind! The positions remained the same throughout the 54 laps of the race, but Arnoux’s win was clouded by a lot of controversy. Renault’s management had instructed the duo to avoid racing each other, weary of the lack of reliability of its cars, with Prost set to win the race if they were leading comfortably, as he was the only of the two drivers who could still dream of winning the championship.
Arnoux slowly pulled away from his team mate but opted against slowing and allowing Prost to win the race, much to his team mate’s surprise and disappointment. The relationship between the two is broken for good, Arnoux quickly signing a contract to move to Ferrari at the end of the year. There he was supposed to partner Pironi, who extended his championship lead to nine points after finishing a distant third in the Paul Ricard, but everything changed two weeks later. Another accident in qualifying for the German Grand Prix leaves the Ferrari driver fighting for his life, Pironi never returning to Formula 1 even after recovering the full use of his badly hurt legs.
If Prost clearly became Renault’s number one driver for the future, the team was split as many believed Arnoux deserved a win to payback for all his bad luck but, in the end, it was not the three points lost in the Circuit Paul Ricard than prevented Prost from winning that year’s championship, as reliability continued to be an issue for his car until the end of the year.
Le grand Gilles Villeneuve avait été tué dans un accident lors des qualifications du Grand Prix de Belgique, en mai, et un mois plus tard, au Canada, le débutant Riccardo Paletti avait également perdu la vie après une collision sur la ligne de départ avec la Ferrari de Didier Pironi, qui avait calé.
Le Français arrive pourtant dans sa ville natale en tête du championnat avec cinq points d'avance sur John Watson, le vétéran de McLaren, mais les voitures les plus rapides depuis le début de l'année sont les Renault d'Alain Prost et de René Arnoux.
Les voitures jaunes étaient cependant assez fragiles, entraînant trop d'abandons. Vainqueur des deux premières courses de la saison, Prost n'avait pas d'autres points à faire valoir au moment où le cirque arrivait au Paul Ricard, avec 17 points de retard sur Pironi au classement.
La chance d'Arnoux est encore plus mauvaise, puisqu'il n'a obtenu qu'une seule troisième place et n'a marqué aucun autre point après dix courses, ce qui signifie que le seul espoir de Renault de remporter le championnat - aussi mince soit-il - repose sur les épaules de Prost.
Comme d'habitude, Renault a donné le ton en qualifications, Arnoux battant Prost pour la pole position de 0,282s, avec le reste du peloton à plus d'une seconde !
Les positions sont restées inchangées pendant les 54 tours de la course, mais la victoire d'Arnoux a été entachée de nombreuses controverses.
La direction de Renault avait demandé aux deux pilotes d'éviter de se battre l'un contre l'autre, lassés par le manque de fiabilité de leurs voitures. Prost était prêt à gagner la course s'ils menaient confortablement, car il était le seul des deux pilotes à pouvoir encore rêver de remporter le championnat.
Arnoux s'éloigne lentement de son coéquipier mais choisit de ne pas ralentir et de laisser Prost gagner la course, à la grande surprise et à la déception de son coéquipier.
La relation entre les deux est définitivement rompue, Arnoux signant rapidement un contrat pour passer chez Ferrari à la fin de l'année.
Il est censé y faire équipe avec Pironi, qui a porté son avance au championnat à neuf points après avoir terminé à une lointaine troisième place au Paul Ricard, mais tout change deux semaines plus tard.
Un nouvel accident lors des qualifications du Grand Prix d'Allemagne laisse le pilote Ferrari se battre pour sa vie, Pironi ne revenant jamais en Formule 1 même après avoir retrouvé l'usage complet de ses jambes gravement blessées.
Si Prost devient clairement le pilote numéro un de Renault pour l'avenir, l'équipe est divisée car beaucoup pensent qu'Arnoux mérite une victoire pour se venger de sa malchance mais, en fin de compte, ce ne sont pas les trois points perdus sur le circuit Paul Ricard qui empêchent Prost de remporter le championnat cette année-là, car la fiabilité continue d'être un problème pour sa voiture jusqu'à la fin de l'année.
Episode 4:
1988 : PROST BEATS SENNA
Grand Prix de France Historique
McLaren and Honda had built such a perfect machine for 1988 season that no other team harbored any hopes of fighting for the title right from the first race. The innovative MP4/4 was so many miles ahead of the competition that in the second round of the season, in Imola, Senna’s pole position was over three seconds faster than third placed Piquet had managed! This was clearly going to be a Prost vs. Senna affair the whole season and only Ferrari, on occasions, taking the fight to this fantastic driving pair.
Senna’s mistake in Monaco and poorer reliability on his car put the Brazilian 12 points behind his rival at the start of the European summer, when the World Championship headed to the Paul Ricard. The trend, from the start of the year, was that Senna was quicker than Prost in qualifying, but they were evenly matched on Sundays, when the points were handed.
On home ground, the Frenchman handed a psychological blow to his rival by setting pole position by almost half a second and proceeded to lead the race from the start, with Senna not too far behind. Legend has it that both ignored Honda’s instructions about fuel consumption and were risking running dry before the end of the 80 laps of the race – the Grand Prix had been held in the short circuit since 1986 – and they continued to push until the pit stops.
Stopping three laps before his rival Senna found himself in the lead, helped by a slow tyre change for Prost, but there was little to separate them until lap 61, when backmarkers got in the way. Catching Pierluigi Martini’s Minardi as he entered the Signes corner, Senna was forced to back off and Prost made the most out of it, passing both in one go before the next right-hander, Le Beausset’s double corner.
That was the first time the Frenchman had beaten his younger team mate in wheel-to-wheel battle since the start of the year and with Senna fighting increasing gearbox issues, both slowed down enough to recover from excessive fuel consumption, Prost eventually winning by more than 30 seconds. Leaving his home Grand Prix with a lead of 15 seconds in the championship, the Frenchman had every reason to feel confident about his title chances, but four consecutive wins for Senna and a DNF for Prost in Silverstone changed all that before the end of the summer.
Episode 5:
1990: NEWEY’S FIRST SIGN OF GREATNESS
Grand Prix de France Historique
Alain Prost’s successes had raised Formula 1’s popularity in France and, eventually, other regions eyed the Grand Prix as an economic opportunity they didn’t want to miss. When the World Championship arrived at the Circuit Paul Ricard for the 1990 Grand Prix, it had already been announced the expanded Magny-Cours track was going to host the even from 1991 onwards.
The 1990 Grand Prix was, however, a classic race and the first indication that a young English engineer was destined to great things in motor racing: Adrian Newey. The genial designer had been around for almost a decade, first as an intern at the struggling Fittipaldi team, then in IndyCars as a race engineer, before being hired by Leyton House to design a new Formula 1 chassis. The 1988 and 1989 cars were quite different from anything the other teams had come up with and youngsters Ivan Capelli and Mauricio Gugelmin had been on the podium on a few occasions, even if their cars were massively underpowered compared to the opposition.
The CG901 started off as a difficult car, impossible to handle over bumps and a run of non-qualifications – including a double one in Mexico – led to Newey’s departure from the scene. Mind you, he wasn’t unemployed for long, as Williams had shown an interest in his services and hired him instantly. Therefore, when Leyton House arrived in the Paul Ricard, the car’s designer was no longer part of the team, but the quality of his work was about to be proven on track.
Unlike the Mexican Grand Prix track and others, the French circuit boasted a tarmac that was the smoothest of the season, with a billiard table-like surface that put a premium on the aerodynamic qualities of a car.
Even after they qualified inside the top ten, no one was expecting Capelli or Gugelmin to feature highly in the race, as a battle between Ferrari and McLaren was dominating the season, Prost and Senna, again, fighting for the title. But after settling in and looking after their tyres, the Leyton House duo started to slowly moving up the order and when all front-runners stopped for the new tyres, they kept on going and going and going…
Soon it downed on Alain Prost, who was leading the charge behind the Miami blue cars, that Capelli and Gugelmin had planned to run non-stop to the flag. By having more downforce than the other cars, the CG901 were also saving their tyres as they were not sliding, allowing the unexpected strategy to work.
The Brazilian was passed for second and then retired with yet another engine failure, but Capelli was holding his own well. The Italian, though, knew he was in trouble, for the oil light had been flashing for a few laps, forcing him to try and preserve the engine as much as possible.
With just three laps to go he had to let Prost go but still coasted to the line in second place ahead of Senna, repeating his best ever Grand Prix result but feeling rightly frustrated after seeing a nearly certain win slip through his fingers. The rest of the Formula 1, though, took note of how good his car was, started to look at Adrian Newey with a lot more interest and what the designer has done in the last 35 years has shown that the CG901 was just the first sign of the great things that were to come from his formidable creative mind.
Kennol Grand Prix de France Historique 2025 Results
Hot Laps 26/04/25 1.T.Zeltner2.G.Brenier3.F.Thomas4.JC.Peyre5.P.Todenhaupt6.C.Bouchut7.M.GrosseAschhoff8.F.GrosseAschhoff9.M.Bini10.C.Perrier
Hot Laps 27/04/25 1.C.Bouchut2.T.Zeltner3.G.Brenier4.M.Bini5.M.GrosseAschhoff6.JC.Peyre7.P.Harmuth8.F.Thomas
1.THOMAS ZELTNER
Race winner Thomas Zeltner had a perfect weekend in the Circuit Paul Ricard, setting pole position and winning Formula GP’s first ever event. Speaking at the end of race, Zeltner praised the event, saying that, “the entire weekend was fantastic. We had a lot of fans around, which made the event unforgettable.” The GP2 Dallara driver was also impressed with the structure that was put in place, saying that, “the way things were organized in the paddock, with the entire setup, including the lounge, it really worked pretty well. And, actually, just seeing all these fast cars on track is amazing. “
The choice of the Circuit Paul Ricard as host of the first Formula GP event was also praised by Zeltner, who said that, “the circuit and the atmosphere were also lovely. The Paul Ricars is very nice, proper and modern track. It’s a fast one and a safe one, so we could take some risks and push to the limit, which was fun.”
For someone who always dreamed of driving racing cars, being part of this series is a dream come true for Zeltner. The German driver admits he’s always been a big fan of “the speed” of the cars, revealing that, “this was just the childhood dream that everyone has as a little boy. I was watching Formula 1 together with my father, and back then it seemed impossible to sit in one of these cars at some point. But now, I’m driving these cars, racing them and even driving Hot Laps in them, so is a dream coming true.”
Having secured pole position and then following it up with a race win, there’s plenty Zeltner will remember for this first outing in the Formula GP series, as he admitted: “Getting the first pole position of Formula GP was fun and also winning the first race of the series. These two landmarks have definitely been the highlight of a fantastic weekend.”
2.GILLES BRENIER
Driving a Superleague Panoz DP09, Gilles Brenier finished Formula GP’s first ever race in second place, beating much younger opposition to get to the podium. The Swiss driver was full of praise for the organisation and had no hesitation in stating that, “this was a very nice event, I think one of the best ones that are organized in France and we could see some marvelous cars around. Take away organizing a round of the Formula 1 World Championship, and I’d say this is one of the best events we can have in France or even in Europe.”
With a long track record behind him, Brenier explained that, “when I was young, I did karting and then graduated to Formula Renault, so I’ve always been passionate about racing and now, at the age of 63, I come racing just for fun, not as a main job.”
A big fan of motor racing, the veteran admitted that, “
I’m very happy when I’m racing, so the entire weekend was very enjoyable. Obviously, it’s nicer when it’s sunnier than this, but this time we could work in the circuit’s garages, not in temporary structures, so everything was perfect, from my point of view. Everything was extremely well organized, and I had no problems at all.”
Having shown good speed, Brenier joked the hardest part of his weekend was to find his way to the podium, where he celebrated his second place: “Finishing on the podium was amazing, but I took the wrong route to get up there! Anyway, for next year’s event I’ll know where to go at the end of the race!
3.FRANCK THOMAS
Third placed Franck Thomas was surprised by the magnitude of this event but clearly delighted to take part in it. The GP2 Dallara driver stated that, “the entire event was extraordinary. Being Belgian I was astonished by the huge number of fans of motor racing in France, because I really had no idea it was like this.”
Racing on a track with a lot of history in the Formula 1 World Championship was clearly a highlight for Thomas, who said that, “the Circuit Paul Ricard is an historic and mythical circuit, it has been part of the Formula 1 World Championship calendar, so it’s always interesting even to watch when they are racing here, because we know the feeling, we know the track, so we can relate to what the professional drivers are going through. It’s also a tremendously safe circuit, as it is mandatory for Grand Prix circuits, so when we come to a circuit like this, we have no safety concerns, we know everything is done to the top level, the entire event is organized to a very high standard.”
Making his passion for racing quite clear, Thomas explained that, “I really love the speed, racing these cars, the battle with the other drivers on track, with my colleagues. I’m not interest in the show aspect of the races, what I really enjoy is racing the cars, competing against the other drivers.”
In conclusion, the Belgian driver admitted that, “finishing on the podium was a bit unexpected, so that made it even more enjoyable” and then praised the new series, adding that, “being part of this event was very good for Formula GP, so it was a good start for the series.”