Keen to draw a line under suggestions that he will let his own personal situation affect his role as FIA President, newly elected Frenchman Jean Todt has said that he would make it his aim to return the French GP to the F1 schedule.
The first ever Grand Prix took place in France back in 1906, but the French round of the F1 championship vanished from the calendar this season when the Magny-Cours track lost it's spot for economic reasons. There is no French round on the provisional 2010 calendar, and efforts to rekindle the race have been unsuccessful.
But Todt, who won the election to replace Max Mosley as the head of the governing body last week, has said that he will support the efforts of French authorities to see the race return to the calendar.
Nicolas Deschaux, the president of the Federation Francaise du Sport Automobile and new member of the World Motor Sports Council, said prior to the election that should his compatriot Todt win the election, it "could make our job easier" when it came to reviving the French GP.
And Todt has already said in an interview with AFP that discussions are taking place with the FFSA, saying that: "I hope that France again has a grand prix."
Bernie Ecclestone has said that he would like to see a street race in Paris, while the new Flins-Les Mureaux circuit on the outskirts of the capital would be a more likely venue once it is completed. Paul Ricard has also been suggested as a potential venue for any future French race.
But Ecclestone said in a recent interview with Le Parisien newspaper that the chances of the French race returning in the near future were becoming slimmer by the day.
"I've sent a contract to them and it hasn't been sent back," Ecclestone whined, "It's a shame, because it's going to get harder to find a spot on the calendar. They need to act quickly because time is short."
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