All that remains is to heat the gums and set off for an hour and a half of happiness.
Canceled in 2020 due to a pandemic, the French Grand Prix will finally find its way back to fervor, Sunday, June 20 (3 p.m.) on the Paul-Ricard circuit in Le Castellet (Var).
Pierre Gasly, as well as Esteban Ocon, who shares the wheel of the Alpine with the two-time Spanish world champion Fernando Alonso, are expected at the turn on their land.
The pilots arrived this morning 🇫🇷.
They start their weekend with a reconnaissance lap of the circuit 🚶!
The drivers arrived this morning 🇫🇷.
They start their weekend with the track walk 🚶! # F1 #FrenchGP #SummerRace # GPFranceF1 pic.twitter.com/MGG7vYgHPZ
- French F1 Grand Prix (@ GPFranceF1) June 17, 2021
Upstream, the organizers have already had to overcome multiple obstacles to make this sporting event the most important in terms of spectators since the start of the pandemic.
While the management of numbers and health precautions were brought under control, they did not expect a late change in schedule, which greatly embarrassed them and the public.
Impact on the public
Barely a month ago, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) decided to bring the Castellet meeting forward by one week in order to free up a weekend for a race in Austria. “We had to bounce back very quickly,” explains Éric Boullier, director of the French Grand Prix. This change had enormous consequences for the entire organization. Externally, with all providers, and of course internally. My close team is only about 20 people, but nearly 1,200 were affected, and all had to change their initial plan
.
We are not in charge of the schedule, but we are obliged to accept it. "
This change also had an impact on the public.
“Between the reservations of transport and accommodation, everything was turned upside down,” continues the former Renault F1 team manager.
After the cancellation last year, we worked on the profiles of our spectators.
They are mainly French, but around 15% come from abroad.
With the attraction of the south, they stay on average five to six days.
Here again, we had to think a lot and find solutions.
"
Track marshals, thank you for making this weekend possible 🇫🇷🙏👏!
Track marshals, thank you for making this weekend possible 🇫🇷🙏👏!
#FrenchGP # F1 #Motorsport # GPFranceF1 @PaulRicardTrack pic.twitter.com/srCOJBY4Dx
- French F1 Grand Prix (@ GPFranceF1) June 17, 2021
Of the 15,000 spectators who had reserved their entrance tickets, around 20% of them were forced to cancel for lack of an alternative.
The relaunch of the ticket office made it possible to fill their absence.
As expected, they will be grouped into three bubbles of 5,000 totally independent of each other.
From June 11 to 13, the Grand Prix de France Historique, which brought together 5,000 people, verified one of the biggest challenges that the organization has had to overcome.
"There are a lot of obligations to respect"
Even if, since June 9, the trend is to reopen, no question of treating the health aspect over the leg. "It is easy to imagine all the difficulties we were confronted with," smiles Éric Boullier. There are a lot of obligations to respect, but when everyone's health and safety are at stake, we do everything to respect them. After discussions, the stables and staff from the United Kingdom have obtained permission to come to Le Castellet. For spectators, the validity of the PCR test was increased from 72 to 48 hours.
Despite all these obstacles, Éric Boullier has confidence in the good performance of his Grand Prix: “It's a year of work, in special conditions. Last year, it was complicated in terms of emotion, we are extremely happy to have spectators. It is also a privilege to be on the calendar and to be able to manage this great international event, which will be seen by more than 100 million viewers. And, above all, it is our passion. "