Magny-Cours began as a small circuit in 1960 and was comprehensively rebuilt in the late 1980s after becoming a national motorsport centre. It hosted every French Grand Prix from 1991 to 2008, with revisions in 1992 and a reworked final sector in 2003.
Heinz-Harald Frentzen's one-stop victory in the wet-dry 1999 race revived his title challenge. In 2002 Michael Schumacher won and clinched the championship with six races still to run, then the earliest seasonal title.
Across 4.411 km, its 16 corners create a distinct rhythm between braking, precision and acceleration. As a permanent racing circuit, it asks drivers and teams to adapt setup, tyre management and race strategy to the venue's particular constraints, while its clockwise direction shapes the sequence of its most demanding sectors.
