Preview - French Grand Prix 2001.

Just a week after the Formula One circus shipped up in Germany for the European Grand Prix, it returns to action in the heart of the French countryside, where Magny-Cours will again ring to the sound of wailing V10 engines.

The only back-to-back grands prix of the season presents the teams with the unusual task of having pack up what remains of its cars after the Nurburgring and transport them across the continent to work on them in France, without the chance to return to base for a full rebuild. This reduces the time available for preparation from six days to two and will place a premium, not only on the mechanics' ability to perform under pressure, but also the data acquired in testing more than three weeks ago.

Michael Schumacher comes into the tenth round of the season having extended his series lead over the rest of the field - and David Coulthard in particular - to 24 points, the equivalent of three podium finishes. Schumacher's display at the Nurburgring last weekend may not have been crushing - he had brother Ralf for company after all - but said enough to warn his rivals that another title double for Ferrari was very much on the cards.

The smooth surface at Magny-Cours is as likely to pose a problem for the F2001 as the bumps and ripples of circuits visited previously this season, and so the likes of Coulthard and co will being facing another uphill task to overhaul Schumacher and his points advantage. The German may not have things all his own way, but it is entirely possible that another ten points and, at worst, a 28-point gap will be his by Monday morning.

Despite his recent woes, however, it should be remembered that Coulthard stood on top of the podium at Magny-Cours twelve months ago, having battled wheel-to-wheel with Schumacher until the German's engine cried enough. The event is better remembered, perhaps, for the single-digit salute David proffered his rival in the heat of battle, but also signalled that McLaren was not about to roll over in the title fight.

Schumacher's retirement mark a run of poor fortune for the Ferrari man, with non-finishes in Austria and Germany following hot on the heels of his French engine failure and allowing Coulthard and team-mate Mika Hakkinen back into the championship hunt. A similar run of misfortune for the German - who, like Coulthard, has only failed to finish once in nine races this year - could again open the door for the Scot.

Retirement in Canada and a lonely race to third in Germany have not done much to endear the current MP4-16 to Coulthard, as he sees his title aspirations diminish, but McLaren will not have been sitting back between Nurburgring and Magny-Cours and will hope to back on the pace this weekend.

Someone else who will hope that that is the case is Hakkinen, who still languishes behind the top five in the points race - having yet to break into double figures for the season. Another seemingly lacklustre showing at the Nurburgring scored the Finn just one more mark to his total, but he refuses to allow that his chances of landing a third title are over. While the rest of the paddock is crying out for Hakkinen to back his team-mate's challenge, Hakkinen says that he will not yield to Coulthard while he believes he can overhaul Schumacher himself.

Both silver cars will have to watch out for drivers other than the German this weekend, however, as both the second Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello and the two Williams cars will be right up there. Barrichello will always be in Schumacher's shadow, but is entirely capable of playing the team game to McLaren's detriment, while Williams has rapidly emerged as a genuine threat for honours at almost every race.

Ralf Schumacher has two wins under his belt in 2001, and would have run his brother close at home had it not been for a harsh white line penalty incurred at his first pit-stop. With a new deal securing his future at Williams, the German will continue on a high at Magny-Cours, where the smooth surface an expected hot temperatures are expected to favour the Williams/BMW/Michelin combination.

Michelin proved to have the upper hand at last month's Magny-Cours test, topping the timesheets with Williams on each of the three days of running. This will also be good news for team-mate Juan Montoya, who showed improved form at the Nurburgring with a mature drive to the runners-up spot. If the Colombian can curb his natural attacking tendencies until the right moment, there is no reason why he cannot open his victory account in France this weekend.

The rest of the field distilled into two divisions at the Nurburgring, and there is little reason to doubt that it will be much the same as Magny-Cours tricky circuit poses its own set-up problems. Sauber and the two Honda-powered teams formed the 'best of the rest' category, with Jaguar, Arrows and Prost all making occasional inroads into the hierarchy. Benetton and Minardi remain firmly rooted at the back of the pack.

France could be a better race for the Enstone team, however, and all concerned sincerely hope that developments due on the B201 and its Renault engine have the desired effect. Both Giancarlo Fisichella and, in particular, Jenson Button have struggled to pull the team into the thick of the midfield battle, and the Briton, especially, is in need of some good results to re-establish himself as a genuine contender for the future.

The weather, as always, could play a big part in proceedings at Magny-Cours for, while temperatures regularly hit the highs while the sun is out, the circuit is also prone to torrential rain. Forecasts for 2001 predict rain for qualifying, but sun for the race. Last year's event was run in hot conditions, and benefited the McLarens, but it was Heinz-Harald Frentzen's Jordan which triumphed in the tactical wet-weather battle of 1999.

The German is unlikely to repeat that feat on the strength of recent showings, but there is another in the pack who may just relish the thought of a rain dance on the podium come Sunday....