29 Oct 2012

France could return to F1 calendar next year

4:34 pm on 29 October 2012

The French Grand Prix could be back on the Formula One calendar next year for the first time since 2008.

On his 82nd birthday at the Indiian Grand Prix, the sport's supremo Bernie Ecclestone suggested that France could fill a slot vacated by a postponed New Jersey race and return the championship to 20 rounds in 2013.

Le Castellet in the south of France looks the favoured venue, given that it is owned by an Ecclestone family trust.