French Grand Prix confirmed

The decision to reinstate the race was confirmed at a meeting between the team bosses, F1 tsar Bernie Ecclestone and FIA president Max Mosley at an undisclosed location in London today.

The race, which has been held at Magny Cours since 1991, had been called into doubt because of financial problems. Ecclestone annulled the organiser's original contract for 2004 late last year because of unpaid fees from previous years.

The FIA World Council then only gave the race a provisional spot on the schedule because of its financial troubles. The race has now been secured after event organisers, with help from the French government, were able to secure the funding necessary to pay for the event.



But the unanimous approval of F1 team bosses was still required, which was likely given at today's meeting. It is believed that the F1 teams received compensation worth a total of $20m for agreeing to expand the F1 schedule to 18 events.

The race will be held on July 4, one week before the British Grand Prix. The decision means that the F1 calendar will stretch to 18 events for the first time.