Evan Giltaire was one of the biggest stars in karting last year. Leader of French F4 in his rookie season, the 16-year-old Frenchman showed how quickly he could adapt to any unfamiliar machinery despite very limited testing. Evan Giltaire talked about his season, the title fight against his former teammate Enzo Peugeot, his potential future in FRECA and much more with Feeder Series.

By Perceval Wolff

“I didn’t expect it at all!” Evan Giltaire said regarding the heaps of success he has achieved in his rookie campaign.

Championship leader with five wins and six pole positions, Evan Giltaire has been the star driver of the French F4 season so far with two rounds now remaining. Live-interviewed on Twitch and YouTube, the Frenchman talked about this dream start to his single-seater career.

“I couldn’t expect to score a double pole and my first win at my maiden round in Nogaro, it was totally unexpected,” Giltaire told Feeder Series. “A podium wouldn’t have been that surprising, but that weekend… it gave me an incredible self-confidence boost for the rounds after. It may sound surprising, but what gave me the most confidence was the reversed-grid races with fourth place in Nogaro and third place at Magny-Cours, while starting from P10.”

Success despite inexperience

Though Giltaire has much less testing experience in comparison to the rest of the grid, he believes that it hasn’t been much of a hindrance.

“At the start of the year, I had only eight days of testing, if we include the day with the Richard Mille Young Talent Academy [using Tatuus F4, unlike French F4]. What helped a lot is that I worked a lot on the videos, on the data, etc.

“I don’t think relentless testing is the best solution to perform. If you directly understand how the car works, how to brake efficiently, you can progress very quickly. That braking part is the most important thing to understand coming from karting. It’s so different.

“To understand everything about the mechanical parts of the car is vital. In French F4, we can simply touch the wings, but I’m still trying to learn all what I can on this car. It’s a good basis to allow drivers to understand how a single-seater works.”

A fierce title fight

The 2023 French F4 season has been the host of an amazing battle in the standings between rookie Evan Giltaire and sophomore Enzo Peugeot. 

They have had several fierce battles, especially in Magny-Cours where the pair collided and Giltaire received a very heavy and controversial 30-second time penalty, and in Misano on the last lap of the final race.

“Race 3 in Magny-Cours, Enzo was having a very big defense, and in the last lap at the Lycée turn, we didn’t understand each other. For me, it was a racing incident. But as he lost several positions with our contact, it was fair to give me a penalty, but 30 seconds… I wasn’t expecting that.

“I just shot myself in the foot, but I have learned a lot from that action. It was only my sixth race in single-seaters, I didn’t have much experience, and well, my head overheated a little!”

Out of the two collisions, however, their collision in Misano still holds consequences, even two months after the fact.

“In Race 3 in Misano, the last lap was really spectacular, that was an amazing battle. But in the penultimate turn, he overtook me outside of the track limits. Race stewards hadn’t seen it so I lodged a protest and they decided to exchange our positions. But Enzo lodged another protest to say their decision is incorrect….”

Friends off the track, rivals on the track

Enzo Peugeot is not any random driver in the eyes of Evan Giltaire, as both have been racing together for a long time in karting. How has their relationship evolved with this title fight?

“I know him very well, we were even teammates in karting. We have been friends for a long time now. Of course, with this fight, our relationship is more complicated, it’s not the fault of anybody. The stakes are so high. He has the pressure of the returning driver who absolutely needs to win, and I have the pressure of winning as a rookie and have a very, very high reputation.

“We are both in a situation where we don’t have a lot of budget to go any further, and we need to show what we are capable of. We are a bit in the same case, and that’s what makes our friendship more complicated currently. You know what we say: there are no more friends when you put the visor down.”

Moreover, French F4 is one of the rare feeder series to give a scholarship, with €100,000 on offer for the championship winner.

“It can be a very good help. But I think Enzo and myself are not that much looking at the financial side of the title. The target is the title, to get detected by some teams in higher categories. It’s more important than €100,000. But I can’t lie, it will help with the budget for FRECA.

“FRECA is the absolute goal for next year. It’s the next step on the way to Formula 1. We are having some talks, and things are going in the right direction, I really hope to do FRECA next year. It’s the biggest championship below FIA F3, other series are not really an option for me.”

What lies ahead?

With two rounds left at Lédenon and Paul-Ricard, the year is far from over for Evan Giltaire. Before the next round in one week, the Frenchman will stay busy.

“After going to the GP Explorer 2 at Le Mans, I will have a lot of physical preparation with my new coach. I will also work a lot on English and on communication. It’s a 100% motorsport program. I give my absolute best on these three subjects because all three are so important in this world.”

“I’ve never driven at Lédenon so that will be a real discovery for me. But as was Pau or Spa-Francorchamps! Before the start of the year, I had only driven at Magny-Cours and Nogaro in the calendar. But I have already driven at Paul-Ricard in July during the collective tests with the FFSA. I can’t wait to be at Lédenon, this seems like a real rollercoaster, very exciting.”

The Lédenon round will take place from 22-24 September while the season finale at Le Castellet will run two weeks later.

Header photo credit: Jason Vian / VictoryLane