Formula One: The Lingering Death of Magny-Cours

I experienced an odd phenomenon last weekend. Gone was the majesty of the United States Grand Prix whose presence, despite being somewhat undervalued over the pond, always added a certain spice and excitement to the midseason.

It can be argued that some of the last races have been the most exciting in years, yet the French Grand Prix often bucks the trend and I fear it may do this year also.

The combination of searing heat, the billiard-table track and an altogether too placid crowd makes the Magny-Cours weekend lack the spice of many other race weekends.

In all fairness, this particular race should have been dropped many moons ago. Since the 1999 one-off rain extravaganza, French Grands Prix have been far too tepid. How about the 2001 or 2006 races? Does anyone remember anything spectacular happening?

It can be argued that the Spanish Grand Prix has the same problem, but at least at Catalunya, the crowd are enthusiastic. The sun-induced stupour of Magny-Cours really does detract from what is building up to be a scintillating second half of the season.

Yes, France deserves a race as much as Britain does. Men such as Alain Prost have proven France to be potent at breeding quick drivers. However since the halcyon days of Jean Alesi in the mid-90s, France has not had a successful Formula One driver.

Sebastian Bourdais has been hindered by being located at the back of the grid this year and Olivier Panis fluked his way to a victory in 1996, along with a couple of podiums in 1997, before unwisely breaking his legs in a smash at the Canadian Grand Prix of that year.

The only shining light is Renault, whose form has been comparatively woeful since the departure and return of their Spanish two-time World Champion, Fernando Alonso.

Surely there is somewhere else to run the French Grand Prix? The Paul Ricard circuit could come under this banner. That said, races from the late 1980s do not prove modern day excitement, especially with the heavily amended track and safety regulations (step forward Hockenheim, Spa Francorchamps) and the butchery of Hermann Tilke (Hockenheim again, please). Running a race throughout the streets of Paris seems as probable as the furore of a London Grand Prix back in 2004.

It seems Bernie Ecclestone's decision to finally remove Grand Prix status from Magny-Cours is justified, if a few years too late.