OLD hands in Formula One regard Magny-Cours as a bit of a dud. Plonked right in the middle of France — you could spin the country on a top pivoted on the circuit — it seems miles from anywhere, there are few hotels, few personalities in the paddock and the racing is often devoid of incident.

But the place has its defenders, among them Pascal Vasselon, Toyota’s senior general manager, one of only a handful of Frenchmen in a top Formula One job, who said this week that he loves Magny-Cours because of its very remoteness. “You see cows in the fields and everyone is relaxed,” he said. “People are different and it’s a very nice place to go.”

One man who wants to disturb the dairy and beef herds on the banks of the Loire more than most when the French Grand Prix gets under way on Sunday, is Pedro De La Rosa, the Spanish journeyman driver for whom Magny-Cours offers a golden and unexpected opportunity to relaunch a stuttering career.

In the wake of Juan Pablo Montoya’s abrupt exit from Formula One for the American NASCAR circuit, De La Rosa, test driver for McLaren for the past three seasons, has been given the chance to prove what he can do for the Woking-based team and it is a chance the former Arrows and Jaguar driver is determined to take.

“I just want to enjoy myself and drive to the best of the car’s ability and my ability,” he said yesterday, only two days after getting the call from the McLaren team principal, Ron Dennis. “I don’t want to set goals this weekend, I just want to enjoy it.”

But De La Rosa knows that the pressure is very much on as he stakes his claim on McLaren’s vacant second seat next season alongside the world champion and fellow Spaniard, Fernando Alonso, who is moving over from Renault. With the present No 1 driver, Kimi Räikkönen, expected to leave at the end of this season, those in the frame alongside De La Rosa, 34, are two of Britain’s brightest young stars, Gary Paffett and Lewis Hamilton. Unlike the man from Barcelona, however, they have potentially brilliant careers still ahead of them.

Dennis is playing the waiting game with his test driver, giving him a couple of races to nibble at but not confirming him for the remainder of this season. “All I can say is that I’ve been told that I do the next few races,” De La Rosa said. “It’s not my decision. I don’t think the decision is taken and it won’t be taken by me unfortunately. All I have to do is look at it week by week. This is a major opportunity for me and I have to make sure I don’t make any mistakes.”

The former Japanese Formula 3000 champion, who managed only three points in two seasons at Arrows and nothing more during his time at Jaguar, has one recent experience from which to draw strength and inspiration — his one and only race drive for McLaren at last year’s Bahrain Grand Prix when filling in for an injured Montoya. The Spaniard, who counts flying radio-controlled helicopters among his hobbies and is married with two daughters, finished fifth and set the fastest lap.

Even for a man of his experience you sense the excitement in him, the feeling that the moment he has dreamt of for years might finally have arrived. He said he first got a hint that he might drive on Monday morning while he was on his way to join the team for some engine assimilation work and it was confirmed early on Tuesday. “On Wednesday I was at home, trying to handle the situation as calmly as I could with a lot of expectation from the Spanish media and Spanish supporters,” he said.

De La Rosa, by the way, reckons Magny-Cours is not all dull. As he pointed out, you can even overtake. The chance comes as the drivers hurtle along the sweeping Golf straight at up to 185mph into the Adelaide hairpin. “The only real place to do it is by getting good speed along Golf, the stretch between Estoril [corner two] and Adelaide. You need to take Estoril really well behind the car ahead . . . if you get the set-up right, you can then push the limits through the sweeping Estoril and have the speed you need in order to pass,” he said.

HOW THEY STAND

DRIVERS

1, F Alonso (Sp, Renault) 88pts

2, M Schumacher (Ger, Ferrari) 69

3, G Fisichella (It, Renault) 43

4, K Räikkönen (Fin, McLaren Mercedes) 39

5, F Massa (Br, Ferrari) 36

6, J P Montoya (Col, McLaren Mercedes) 26

7, J Button (GB, Honda) 16

= R Barrichello (Br, Honda) 16

9, N Heidfeld (Ger, Sauber-BMW) 12

10, D Coulthard (GB, RedBull-Ferrari) 10

11, R Schumacher (Ger, Toyota) 8
= J Trulli (It, Toyota) 8

13, J Villeneuve (Can, Sauber-BMW) 7

14, M Webber (Aus, Williams) 6

15, N Rosberg (Ger, Williams) 4

16, V Liuzzi (It, Toro Rosso-Cosworth) 1
= C Klien (Austria, RedBull-Ferrari) 1

CONSTRUCTORS

1, Renault 131

2, Ferrari 105

3, McLaren Mercedes 65

4, Honda 32

5, Sauber-BMW 19

6, Toyota 16

7, RedBull-Ferrari 11

8, Williams-Cosworth 10

9, Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1

RACES TO COME

SUNDAY: French GP (Magny-Cours).

JULY 30: German GP (Hockenheim).

AUG 6: Hungarian GP (Budapest).

AUG 27: Turkish GP (Istanbul).

SEPT 10: Italian GP (Monza).

OCT 1: Chinese GP (Shanghai).

OCT 8: Japanese GP (Suzuka).

OCT 22: Brazilian GP (Interlagos).