This whole thing is fishy to me. The stories I saw yesterday and today said that the car was providing "technical support" to French TV.
I can't claim that I've read all the detail, but this smells fishy to me -- I suspect it was some bigwigs (either TV execs or some of their big money sponsors) getting a VIP tour of the race. The ultimate perk - getting a "close up" view of the tour in a "tech support" car.
I have no proof, just doesn't smell right to me.