In the wake of the announcement by Euro Disney and Lagardere Sports earlier this week, that plans for a Grand Prix in the Val d'Europe region, on the outskirts of Paris, have been scrapped, Bernie Ecclestone has admitted that France is unlikely to return to the calendar before 2011 at the earliest.

With a race on the streets of Paris - Ecclestone's preferred option - unlikely, the Euro Disney proposal was his second choice, however, that avenue appears to be closed to the sport, mainly for financial reasons.

"I've always thought it was the right spot for us, that it was the new location that suited the French Grand Prix," he told L'Equipe. "However, I think it is quite sure there will be no race in 2010.

"We went to Magny-Cours for the wrong reasons, for political reasons," he continued, referring to the track which has hosted the French Grand Prix since 1991. "Let's try and avoid a repeat. What we want is to find the right spot because the French GP has to be long-lasting."

There remain two other possibilities, one in Sarcelles, just 17.5km from Paris, the other in Flins, 43km from the French capital.

"The first thing now is that I want to go there myself and see by myself how it looks like," said Ecclestone.