Formula One's governing body sought urgent clarification from French motorsport authorities on Thursday after it announced the cancelation of next year's Grand Prix. The French Grand Prix website said on Wednesday that the French Motorsport Federation (FFSA) had scrapped next year's race for economic reasons and would refund all ticket purchases. The FFSA had said earlier that it would no longer promote and fund the race, scheduled for the rural Magny-Cours circuit on June 28. An International Automobile Federation (FIA) spokesman said that the world body had yet to be officially notified, however. “The FIA secretary general has written to the president of the FFSA to seek an urgent clarification of the situation of the French Grand Prix,” he said. “Up until Thursday we have heard nothing and we are gravely concerned.” The 2009 championship has gone from 19 races to 17 in the space of 10 days, with Canada omitted from the calendar drawn up by Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone and published by the FIA on Oct. 7. The absence of both Canada and France next year leaves North America without a race for the first time in 50 years and also strips the calendar of one of the sport's founding nations. Only once since 1950 has France not been on the calendar. Hamilton faces criticism Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton's driving came under further scrutiny at the Chinese Grand Prix on Thursday after continuing complaints about his behavior on the racetrack. Toyota's Jarno Trulli and Red Bull's Mark Webber questioned the McLaren driver's conduct behind the wheel, echoing recent criticism from BMW-Sauber's Robert Kubica. Italian Trulli told the autosport.com website he was unhappy at being held up when trying to lap the 23-year-old Briton, who could become the sport's youngest champion this weekend, in last week's Japanese Grand Prix. “Lewis did not even watch the mirrors because he came back on the track right in front of me and he held me up for two laps,” said Trulli. “I will go in the drivers' briefing (on Friday) and I will say to (race director) Charlie (Whiting), this is what happened and I believe Lewis could have handled it in a different way because it was not fair.” Australian Webber, who last year accused Hamilton of erratic driving behind the safety car at Fuji, said the leader's wild start from pole position in Japan last Sunday had raised concerns. “The braking areas is an issue because you cannot move around in the braking areas like that,” said Webber, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association. “We lost a marshal at Monza when there were guys moving around in the braking areas and it is very hard to change your line if you don't know what is going to come. That is the only thing that we need to look at.” Fire marshal Paolo Ghislimberti was killed by debris after a pile-up at the second chicane in the 2000 Italian Grand Prix at Monza. “The first corner in Fuji was pretty wild,” said Webber. “He was having a crack, but if someone had been sitting on his right rear when he pulled out then that was a crash.”
