Situated in central France, Magny-Cours is the smoothest of all the circuits, boasting top-class pit facilities. It is full of slow turns, and hairpins, but many fans find little to get excited about, as it holds very little in the way of challenge.

The first Grand Prix held here was in 1991, when Nigel Mansell won for Williams, after a long battle with the Ferrari of Alain Prost. He won again in 92, in a wet/dry race, and in 93, Alain Prost made it three in a row for the Williams team.

Mansell had returned to Formula One briefly, and was there for the 94 race. Although he qualified on the front row of the grid, he failed to complete the race, and Michael Schumacher raced to victory, as he did again in 95. He wasn’t lucky a third time, as his Ferrari blew up on the parade lap in 96, and Damon Hill took the win.

In 1997, Michael Schumacher raced the Ferrari home once again, with Heinz-Harald Frentzen coming in second. The following year saw the first Ferrari one-two victory in eight years as Michael Schumacher won again, followed home by teammate Eddie Irvine.

1999 saw Jordan driver, Heinz-Harald Frentzen take the victory in one of the best races at the French circuit. In constantly changing weather conditions, the German drove to victory, still unaware that he was actually driving with a broken kneecap due to an incident in the Canadian Grand Prix two weeks earlier.

McLaren driver David Coulthard got the best of the track and the other 21 competitors in 2000, the Scot taking victory ahead of teammate Mika Hakkinen and Ferrari driver, Rubens Barrichello.