By Phil Huff
June 28 2007

The Circuit de Nevers is located in Burgundy, the geographic heartland of France, and has been home to the French Grand Prix since 1991. The twelve-turn circuit is blessed with a smooth surface and boasts generous run-off areas, although its twisty layout means that overtaking possibilities are usually limited to the slow Adelaide hairpin.

The race organisers tried to answer that criticism in 2004 by replacing the final chicane and increasing the run off area at the final Lycee turn, but the alterations have met with limited success.

Lap times vary noticeably at Magny-Cours depending on the ambient temperature. In common with other tight circuits, Formula One cars are set up to race with high levels of downforce, without completely compromising straight-line speed.

Around 69% of the lap is spent on full throttle, yet it's also one of the more economical circuits of the year, with the Honda RA107 sipping about 2.1kg of fuel each lap. Critical to strategies, the penalty for carrying fuel is high here, with each 10kg adding just over 0.4s to each lap. That penalty allowed Michael Schumacher to win here using a four stop strategy back in 2004.

Honda-powered drivers dominated the French Grand Prix for four years, Nigel Mansell taking victory in 1986/1987 and Alain Prost in 1988/1989. Honda has been on the podium in France a total of 11 times. Last years event wasn't a success for Honda, with both Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello retiring from the race following a poor qualifying session.