Marseille to Hold F1 Festival During the French Grand Prix Weekend

France makes its return to the F1 calendar after a gap of ten years. Though most races have been held at Magny-Cours, this time the race will be held at the Paul Ricard Circuit.

It will be third time that such an event will be held before a Grand Prix, with them previously taking place in Shanghai and London. It will be free to attend and will include an F1 Live Car run on 22 June, Friday.

Franck Montagny, a French former driver and F1’s very own David Coulthard will take the wheels of a Renault E20 and the Red Bull RB7 respectively. It will also celebrate Renault’s 120 anniversary with the Renault Passion Parade.

14 Renault cars will take to the streets of Marseille, each from a different historic era to showcase the models and progress of Renault through the years.

The event will be held at Marseille’s waterfront, Sport Beach and will be called the F1 park. The entertainment will be provided by as many as six DJ’s spread over 3 days, a live stream of each stage of the Grand Prix and other F1 experiences.

The 2018 grid consists of 3 French drivers, namely Romain Grosjean (Haas), Esteban Ocon (Force India) and Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso). The nation has a long history with the sport, with Alain Prost being their most successful driver with 4 world titles.

Jean Alesi has been another popular French driver associated with the sport. Michael Schumacher holds the record for most victories in a single Grand Prix event (at France) with eight overall. Home hero, Alain Prost comes in second with 6 victories at the French Grand Prix.

Renault is the most successful French team in F1, with their two title wins in 2005 and 2006. Fernando Alonso was the winning driver on both occasions for the team.