Autoblog

The French are getting screwed out of their Formula One fix. A little over a week after French Canadians began mourning the Canadian Grand Prix's cancellation from the 2009 F1 calendar, word comes that the French Grand Prix has also been nixed. The GP's promoter, the Federation du Sport Automobile (FFSA), announced the race's cancellation yesterday and blamed it on finances, though we find it hard to believe that even an F1 race in Europe can't make money in these tough economic times. With the race at Circut de Nevers Magny-Cours scrapped, the 2009 F1 calendar has now been whittled down to just 17 races.

The French GP began in 1906, and has run continuously since 1950 except for 1955 when it was cancelled after a horrible accident at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This year's cancellation is not expected to be permanent, however, as the FFSA loses its promotion rights in 2010, and F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone has expressed his wish to see it moved from the Magny-Cours track, where it's been held since 1991, to somewhere closer to Paris.

[Source: Telegraph.co.uk, Photo by JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK/AFP/Getty]

Click above for a high-res gallery from the 2008 French Grand Prix.

The 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship had its standings mixed up yet again as the world's best duked it out for victory at the French Grand Prix at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours.

This year's race could, however, prove the last to be held at the historic track which has hosted the event for the past 17 years. With the facilities falling below the standard demanded of F1 circuits, discussions will now begin on whether the race will continue there next year, move to an alternative location (possibly at EuroDisney near Paris or Bernie Ecclestone's Paul Ricard circuit in the south), or ultimately be removed from the calendar entirely to make room for another race in Asia.

Follow the jump to read how the swan song played out.

The FIA has gone ahead and banned BMW-Sauber's controversial vertical nose fins that first appeared on the team's F1 car two weekends ago at Magny-Cours for the French Grand Prix. The team claims that the vertical wings, nicknamed the "Twin Towers" after the Petronas Towers – the world's tallest buildings – in Malaysia, aid downforce at the front of the car, but the FIA cited safety concerns for their decision to toss them from the track. The governing body claimed the wings could impair drivers' visibility, though both of BMW's drivers who raced in the French GP say they don't. Regardless, BMW has decided to accept the FIA's decision, though it's understandably irked since there's nothing in the rulebooks preventing the fins and the cars passed a pre-race inspection before the French GP.

Both Ferrari and Williams were suspected of studying the new design with plans to copy it on their own cars, so perhaps we should praise the FIA for its preemptive move to uphold the aesthetic of F1 racing.

[Source: SPEEDTV]