“Grotesque” corks according to Otmar Szafnauer

He was not the only one since many fans and team members had to wait for hours in traffic jams which blocked traffic around the Var track. An unfortunate situation which gave rise to a spectacle which was just as regrettable since the two free sessions on Friday took place in front of partially empty stands while the enthusiasm ahead of the event was evident.

However, the risks of traffic jams had been mentioned as soon as the return of the F1 in Castellet, in an area where road infrastructure limits access to the circuit. The organizers may have implemented several measures with the aim of streamlining traffic, but it is clear that these have failed.

« It took us two hours to do 15 kilometers, confided Szafnauer in the evening. It was grotesque. One of our guests was supposed to come see us from the airport for a meeting before catching a plane. He never arrived at his destination. He had to turn around. He called me to say: 'Sorry, I did 7 kilometers in 2 hours and my return flight is at 30 p.m., I'll have to turn back'.

For the Force India operations director, the problem must be taken very seriously by F1 decision-makers, at the risk of alienating present and future spectators.

« On a personal level, it's not the end of the world because I was going to come no matter what, he added. But if I were a fan and it took me 2 hours to cover 30 kilometers, I would think twice about it next time, and that's the problem. People always have a choice and they will opt for events where you don't waste 7 hours doing 2 terminals ».

Faced with the scale of the problem and the understandable discontent of ticket holders, the Var prefecture issued a press release at the beginning of the afternoon to announce the solutions taken to improve traffic. Other recommendations followed in the evening (see tweet below) for the rest of the weekend, knowing that even more people are expected. Unless disgusted by the time spent waiting in their car – up to 7 hours according to several testimonies – some people no longer risk coming to the Circuit Paul Ricard.

On the road to #GPFranceF1 this 22/06/2018 at 20 p.m.: State services & the organizer are implementing new measures to facilitate access to the @PaulRicardTrack this week-end pic.twitter.com/orZoc19D5g

— Prefect of Var (@Prefet83) 22th June 2018