Prost: Holding a French Grand Prix in 2013 is impossible

While not long ago, France seemed well-positioned to see Formula 1 return to its territory to compensate for the absence of the Grand Prix of the Americas, which was supposed to take place in 2013 but has ultimately been postponed by an additional year.

Alain Prost was present in Abu Dhabi to advocate for the project with Bernie Ecclestone. The four-time world champion seemed rather optimistic after the weekend in the Middle East.

Things seem to have changed, however, as Prost recently told RMC Sport that organizing a Formula 1 Grand Prix in France in 2013 was impossible: “No, 2013 is impossible. We’ve missed the deadline. There was a window. Now, it’s technically impossible for 2013.”

Prost admitted that the financial aspect was still a complicated issue, adding to the fact that Bernie Ecclestone doesn’t seem more interested in bringing F1 back to France: « There are two things missing. A genuine desire from Bernie Ecclestone to return, to host a Grand Prix in Europe. And then, naturally, on the financial side. A Grand Prix in France cannot accommodate as many spectators as in some countries. We must manage this with an automatically lower entry fee, which is not easy. »

Alain Prost, however, stated that the project was still on track and that discussions could begin to include the French Grand Prix in the world championship calendar for 2014, even though the competition is fierce: “We are trying to see what we can do for 2014. Will it be possible for 2014? Will we face even more competition, considering there is talk of Mexico and Thailand? It’s a complicated issue.”