The French Grand Prix will be held at Magny-Cours for the last time this year but Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone said he hoped it could return to a new circuit in Paris in 2010.

"We agreed that there would be a French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours in 2008 but not in 2009," Ecclestone told the French sports daily L'Equipe yesterday.

"(French) Prime Minister Francois Fillon told me we would then see if we could have a Grand Prix in Paris or just outside but that would not necessarily be for 2009, rather for 2010.

"In any case, 2008 will be the last time we continue like this."

The Magny-Cours circuit, near Nevers in the heart of rural France, has suffered from weak attendances due in part to poor access and insufficient accommodation.

The French GP could be dropped from the calendar in 2009 unless a new venue is available by then, but Ecclestone was hopeful of eventually staging a race in the French capital.

"I would really love a French Grand Prix in the streets of Paris", he said.

This year's race is on June 22.

Meanwhile, Formula One title contender McLaren left Turkey with its confidence up despite being beaten for the fourth race in a row by champion Ferrari.

Lewis Hamilton finished second at Istanbul Park but the 23-year-old Briton described Sunday's race as the best of his career after having to make an extra pitstop to ensure his tyres lasted safely.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa had won from pole in Turkey for the past two years so there was no surprise in the Brazilian completing his hat-trick.

If anything, Massa, despite being ahead of Hamilton on race wins and seven points behind Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen, is doing worse than last year when he won in Bahrain, Spain and Turkey.

The re-jigged calendar flatters him, with the circuits where he won last year lined up in a row in 2008, but this year Massa has won only in Bahrain and Turkey, losing to Raikkonen in Spain.

The next two races are Monaco, the glamour highlight of the season, and Canada. McLaren dominated both of them last year.

(Agencies via Shanghai Daily May 13, 2008)