France’s return to the 2013 formula one calendar is not quite at the finish-line.

Many expected prime minister Francois Fillon’s visit to the Paul Ricard circuit last Friday to coincide with an announcement about the revival of the French grand prix next year.

Some think that was indeed the intention, but ultimately a couple of details were missing at the last hurdle.

The first was the identity of the host circuit that will annually alternate the race date, amid reports Belgium’s Spa Francorchamps is not yet ready or able to agree.

“The formula one management has approved the plan without indicating who would be the other country,” Fillon is quoted as saying in local reports.

Another problem is on the financial side, with Fillon admitting that – politically – there can be no direct government subsidy other than a mere “bond”.

The difference between a deal and no deal between Bernie Ecclestone and the Le Castellet organisers, then, is “about two million euros”, Fillon revealed.

“The formula one organisers’ proposal is reasonable enough,” he said, “but we have to make them remove the ‘enough’,” he added.

“Symbolically it would not be acceptable (for the government) to subsidise a grand prix,” he insisted, “as was the case in the past with Magny Cours.”

Magny Cours, the former French GP venue, reacted with shock and anger, accusing the prime minister of “bias in favour of Le Castellet”, where temporary grandstands will have to be erected to host spectators.

On the other hand, Magny Cours has “all the facilities, infrastructure and expertise needed to organise such an event”, insisted Patrice Joly, president of the conseil general of the Nievre department.

“Contrary to what you would expect from the head of government, the prime minister strives to implement a solution based on partisan considerations and personal issues away from the general interest,” he added.

Ferrari had a tough race at Spa-Francorchamps but could be set for a stronger showing this weekend, according to team boss Stefano Domenicali.

The Italian team, whilst trying to recover its championship deficit, brought updates for its F10 car to Belgium two weeks ago that resulted in a backwards step in terms of competitiveness.

Domenicali has made it clear that one more bad result will mean Ferrari switching its focus to 2011, but he also told Corriere dello Sport that he is hopeful of a strong outing on home territory this weekend at Monza.

“Winning at Monza is not unthinkable, because we have understood where we went wrong with the improvements in Spa.

“We know now how to get the best from these parts,” he said.

As part of the last-ditch push for 2010, test driver Giancarlo Fisichella did an astonishing 700 kilometres of straight-line running with the new parts last week at Vairano.

Fernando Alonso, 41 points behind the title leader, admits the situation will mean additional “pressure” in front of the tifosi this weekend.

“It is obvious that this race is very important for us.  There will be some pressure,” admitted the Spaniard.

Domenicali concedes that Alonso has been feeling the pressure all season.

“If Fernando has done some mistakes, it is because he wants to show who he is.  Wearing red overalls is very heavy and a lot heavier than what is seen from the outside,” said the Italian.

Domenicali is also supportive of the other half of Ferrari’s driver lineup, albeit acknowledging that Felipe Massa has things to work on.

“Felipe needs to find the right balance in his relationship with Fernando, and this will happen over time.

“He has grown a lot with Ferrari,” added Domenicali.  “He is a driver whose best comes out at crucial times, when the pressure is the highest.”

Stefano Domenicali has raised the possibility that the ban on spare cars may be overturned.

Fernando Alonso had to sit out qualifying for last weekend’s Monaco grand prix because his chassis was written off in a practice crash.

It meant he started the race from last place in the pitlane.

The availability of complete spare cars was banned a few years ago as a cost-saving measure.

Now, teams may transport spare monocoques to races and build up a new car in the event that one is damaged.  But in Alonso’s situation, there simply was not enough time.

Ferrari team boss Domenicali said he agrees with cutting costs, but argues that in the case of banning spare cars, “you lose value in other ways”.

“You cannot leave the spectators without the possibility of enjoying one of the biggest stars in qualifying,” he is quoted by Spain’s Diario AS newspaper.

“We will discuss it with the other teams to see if we can change it (the rule),” said the Italian

Quoted by Italy’s Tuttosport, Domenicali added: “Nothing has been decided, but I hope it happens soon.”

(GMM)

There are people who are putting a lot of pressure on only one man, namely, Dale Earnhardt Jr., suggesting that if he won several races during 2010, NASCAR’s difficult situation would improve significantly.

Regarding this, Felix Sebates -minority owner of the Earnhardt Ganassi cars of Montoya and Jamie McMurray-, said “I think Dale Earnhardt’s lack of winning the last two years have really hurt the sport overall, because everyone expected him to be the leader.”  “He has not been the leader. I hope he wins a bunch of races [in 2010] because if he wins a bunch of races, he’ll bring fans back to the race track. He’s good for everybody. I hope we win our fare share, but I want Junior to win a bunch of races. I really do.”

On his part, Kyle Petty, former driver and current television analyst said, “You’re putting too much pressure on one guy.” “If our sport depends on Dale Jr., then this sport is hurting, period.

Humpy Wheeler seems to agree. The consultant and longtime race track promoter doesn’t believe Earnhardt winning again would be enough to foster a NASCAR revival by itself. “It’s going to take more than that,” he said. “If Earnhardt Jr. could win a couple of races and battle maybe [Juan] Montoya, and trade some paint doing it, and let Tony Stewart get in the mix too, that’s what’s going to pep things up and move the needle and get the phones to ring. Junior by himself winning a race passively — by passively, I mean fuel mileage or something like that — that’s not going to click the meter.”

So maybe multiple trips to Victory Lane by the No. 88 car wouldn’t be enough to raise NASCAR back to its early-2000s height. But clearly, they wouldn’t hurt. Anyone who has ever been to a race track when Earnhardt takes the lead has heard the roar, powerful enough to be noticed over the sound of 43 engines. So a complete turnaround? No, maybe that’s too much to ask of Earnhardt. But a spark? That’s something else altogether.

Jeff Behnke, executive producer and senior vice president at Turner Sports — the parent company of NASCAR broadcast partner TNT, and, in the interest of full disclosure, NASCAR.COM — believes an Earnhardt comeback would also be reflected in television ratings.  “I think the ratings would go up. Our job is to talk about all 43 drivers, which we do. But the answer is, yeah, he’s been the most popular driver for however many years running now, and there are reasons for that. You just see it when he takes the lead in a race. You see the grandstands, and they go berserk.”

Look, nobody wants to get back to where he was as a very, very high-performing driver more than Dale Jr. I met with him [in January], and he wants to return and so does Rick Hendrick, and if it does, it will help NASCAR, no question about that. But that’s sports. We’ll have to let it play out,” explained NASCAR chariman.  “Even someone of his status has a relatively limited reach. It’s likely a gross overstatement to say that a revival of Dale Earnhardt Jr. would translate into a revival for NASCAR itself.”

“I get a really good feeling from Dale Jr. this year. I really do, no joke,” said Petty, who spoke with Earnhardt. “I think he’s excited about this year. He’s excited like he was when he was 16 and going to run Caraway and going to run Concord. He has a little of that spark when you talk to him. If he turns it around, it’s going to be huge for the sport. It’s going to be big for his fans, it’s going to be big for the sport, it’s going to be big for everybody, because the tide will rise and the ships will float with him.”

We’ll see what happens.  For the time being, Dale will be starting second –behind teammate Mark Martin-, in the Feb. 14 Daytona 500, at the Daytona International Speedway, his best qualifying position since starting second last year at Kansas. It’s the first time he’s been on the front row for a restrictor-plate race, where seven of his 18 career wins have come, since 2003.