Monday produced a dramatic stage of the 2025 Tour de France with Simon Yates coming out on top on Bastille Day, and Ben Healy wrestling the yellow jersey from three-time general classification winner Tadej Pogacar. For F1 fans, though, the day’s riding marked another special occasion. Indeed, stage 10 of cycling’s magnum opus featured a trip around the Circuit de Charade, which hosted the French Grand Prix in 1965, 1969, 1970 and 1972.
Three of those events were won by British drivers, with Jim Clark triumphing on its debut before Sir Jackie Stewart added a further two trophies. However, Charade’s most notable moment revolved around Helmut Marko. Now an advisor for Red Bull and a key figure in Max Verstappen’s rise to prominence, the Austrian was a racing prodigy in the early 1970s. He recorded back-to-back class victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans as he executed a transition into the F1 paddock.
After making a handful of starts with BRM in 1971, Marko stepped into a full-time ride in 1972, but at Charade’s French GP, disaster struck. A stone kicked up by Ronnie Peterson’s March car hit the Austrian directly in the visor.
The stone then broke through and struck Marko in the left eye. The impact left him permanently blinded in one eye and forced him to retire from motorsport aged just 29. He then ventured into management, sparking a journey that led him to the pinnacle of F1 with Red Bull.
Speaking about the accident decades later, Marko said: “I was in the hospital for two months. One night, I recognised that it’s over. I have to look forward. Either I’m complaining for the rest of my life or [I move on] to something else. I moved forward.”
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Charade’s F1 journey also came to an end after 1972. The French GP moved back to Paul Ricard the following year, where it rotated on an annual basis with the Circuit Dijon-Prenois. Despite counting Alpine as a home team, France is currently without a Grand Prix in 2025.
With no F1 races, the Circuit de Charade, which also hosted the French motorsport Grand Prix 10 times, was forced to adapt. It was refurbished at the start of the millennium with an overhauled pit lane, and it now hosts track days, driving courses and historic motorsport events.
On Monday, Charade’s transformation was put on show for the world to see as Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, and cycling’s other stars ripped around the tarmac on which F1 cars once danced.