Grapevine: News from the Paddock - French GP

Heinz's Can Of Worms

Heinz-Harald Frentzen has opened a can of worms after giving his consent to Jordan to request that the FIA let him drive for them following his failure to qualify for Arrows. He was sacked by Jordan a year ago, and is still in delicate legal proceedings over the dismissal so how this will affect those dealings is not clear. The FIA insisted he could only race if it did not conflict contractually, but it is difficult to see how it would not. But it also remains to be seen how his decision will affect the FIA's "observers report" into whether Arrows truly made an effort to qualify their cars.

Before Jordan snapped Frentzen up to fill the space of injured Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, the German's official website ran a story on Saturday afternoon labelled 'Qualifying - French GP'. But it was not particularly revealing as Frentzen, who is normally very fluent on his personal homepage, appeared lost for words and left a simple statement which read: "Unfortunately, we didn't qualify. I am very disappointed." Now it seems clear that he was too busy to even talk to his fans as he rushed to arrange a surprise return to the team.

Get Outa My House

Renault kindly invited journalists to sample champagne and 'a taste of gastronomic art' at their team motorhome in the Magny-Cours paddock on Friday evening in a one-hour cocktail party, which began at 5:30pm. Chefs from top Paris restaurant Le Grand Vefour, which has attained a rating of three Michelin stars, created finger-licking treats for the visiting guests, with unusual concoctions from their range of unique ideas.

The party was in full swing as it headed towards 6:30pm, with most guests keen to carry on. But a barking grey-haired team boss, who is also a nightclub owner, wanted his motorhome back and, as the clock hit the half-hour mark, he seemed amused as he demanded: "Right, out. Time is over." Of course, nobody dared to outstay their welcome.

Michelin Munchies

French tyre company Michelin made the most of their beautiful wood-clad motorhome to invite guests and members of the media to a special treat of local delicacies on Friday evening. The annual 'food party' has become a tradition since the rubber manufacturers joined the sport last year, and it created quite a gathering this year even though Renault's champagne and 'gastronomic art' was on at a similar time.

Birth at BAR

British American Racing chief mechanic Alistair Gibson was a happy man as he headed to Magny-Cours this weekend - not because his team had scored five points for fourth and fifth places in the last race at Silverstone, but because his wife Caroline had successfully given birth to a baby boy. Gibson had been flying from his work to his wife during the Grand Prix weekend, which took place on the doorstep of BAR's Brackley base, but it was not until after the race that his new son, William Alistair, came into the world and he will not be whizzing back and forth to change the nappies this weekend.