Easter this weekend means the return of French F4. After an incredibly tense and thrilling season last year, the centrally-run series is back for its 32nd season of racing, with 27 drivers from eleven different nationalities. Here’s your guide to the season and the drivers you will see on the grid.

By Perceval Wolff

With no teams and all cars run by the French Federation of Sport Automobile (FFSA), the unique format of French F4 has proved its efficiency to reveal motorsport stars throughout the years. Duval, Estre, Vergne andVandoorne were early champions in the 2000s, while Gasly, Hubert, Ye, Martins, Pourchaire, Iwasa and Hadjar have risen through the junior single seater ladder following their strong French F4 campaign.

Since the introduction of the new Gen2 Mygale M21-F4 car in 2022, the championship has produced many FRECA drivers, including 2022 champion and new Williams Driver Academy member Alessandro Giusti and 2023 champion and Giusti’s future teammate Evan Giltaire.

With a record-breaking entry list composed of twenty-seven drivers, including two joining the others later in the season due to age restrictions, French F4 is set to reach new heights this season.

The calendar

Like last year, the championship will have seven rounds, including two abroad at Spa-Francorchamps and the Nürburgring, which is replacing Misano. Surprisingly, this will be the first time since 2010 that the championship, called at that time F4 Eurocup 1.6, is going to Germany.

There will also be a turnover for the French local tracks, with the mythic street track of Pau that will not be returning this year being replaced by the former F1 track of Dijon-Prenois, last used in 2018.

Round 1 – Nogaro (30 March-1 April)

Round 2 – Lédenon (10-12 May)

Round 3 – Spa-Francorchamps (21-23 June)

Round 4 – Nürburgring (26-28 July)

Round 5 – Nevers Magny-Cours (23-25 August)

Round 6 – Dijon-Prenois (13-15 September)

Round 7 – Paul-Ricard (4-6 October)

The format 

The weekend format is unchanged compared to last year. On most of the weekends, there will be several test sessions on Thursday that are not officially part of the round but that all drivers will do in order to discover the track. On Friday, there will be one 30-minute free practice session in the morning, followed by 25 minutes of qualifying in the afternoon.

On Saturday morning, the first race takes place, with the grid being set by the qualifying classification. On Saturday afternoon, as in FIA Formula 2, the top 10 of the qualifying session is reversed to set the starting grid of race two. Finally, on Sunday morning, the grid of the third race of the weekend is decided by taking the second-best lap of each driver in qualifying.

From 2022, all results are counted in the final standings, except if a driver has already raced on a French F4 track earlier during the season in another F4 championship. Like in Formula 1, race one and race three wins award 25 points, 18 for second place, 15 for third, down to one point for the driver in tenth. The reversed-grid race two awards fewer points, with 15 points for the winner, then 12, 10, and down to one for the driver in eighth. Each pole position gives one additional point and so does the fastest lap.

Where to watch

Like last year, all races will be streamed on YouTube (on the FFSA TV channel) and on Facebook (FFSA Academy). However, it may be noted that on some rare occasions the first race of the weekend may not be live streamed, as the broadcasting is often organized by SRO (Stéphane Ratel Organisation), promoter of the GT World and FFSA GT4 series. The first race may take place before SRO has validated the streaming and cameras system. Anyway, all sessions are available on live timing, most of the time on its-live.net.

Teams and drivers

Title favorites

Some drivers are already tipped as title favorites despite their inexperience in single-seaters. This is the case of Jules Caranta (#83). The 15-year-old from Saint-Tropez has already impressed in F4 UAE this winter with R-ace GP, eventually finishing 14th in the standings and as the third-best rookie. Winner of the IAME Euro Series in the X30 Junior category and of the FIA Motorsport Games before a very harsh penalty, the Frenchman is aiming for the title for his maiden French F4 season.

Augustin Bernier (#33) hasn’t raced competitively since 2021, but the French FFSA Junior karting champion is the latest winner of the FEED Racing, the competition organized by Jacques Villeneuve and Patrick Lemarié. Very quick in testing despite a limited mileage and budget, the 16-year-old Frenchman and little brother of former FRECA driver Victor Bernier should be fighting at front.

But several foreigners will be keen to stop the French domination at their local series, with the last non-French champion, Ayumu Iwasa, being crowned in 2020.

Taito Kato (#20) was sent to France by Honda after winning the Honda-Suzuka Racing School. This will not be Kato’s first experience in France, as he participated in the final round of the 2022 FFSA Junior karting championship, finishing second. One of the brightest Japanese rising stars, the 16-year-old will have plenty to learn for his first year in F4 and outside of Japan.

We talked about rookies, but returning drivers will also have a word to say, especially with Yani Stevenheydens (#17), seventh in 2023. The Royal Automobile Club of Belgium protégé has just turned 18 and knows he has to go for the title with his experience. His very promising pace in pre-season testing showed he would at least be in contention for it.

Outsiders

17-year-old Frank Porte Ruiz (#22) from Andorra was a revelation of pre-season testing. 23rd last season, it’s important to remember he didn’t have any competitive karting experience before this year, just doing simracing at an amateur level. Coached by FEED Racing, it seems the emulation with Augustin Bernier has pushed both drivers to the top. 

Reigning French FFSA Junior karting champion Pacôme Weisenburger (#27) is a name to watch. He has delivered interesting drives during his two rounds with Campos Racing at the Formula Winter Series. Before that, he has always been one of the top names in the national French karting scene, taking the Nationale title in 2021 and finishing third in the prestigious IAME World Final in X30 Junior the year after. A member of the VictoryLane, the 15-year-old will hope to follow the path of his mentor Victor Martins.

Arthur Dorison (#10) has been theFFSA “golden boy” for two years now since he won the FFSA Junior karting title in 2022 and most importantly, the FIA Academy Trophy, being the first French driver to take this international title after Anthoine Hubert and Macéo Capietto finished second in 2010 and 2020. Last year, the protégé of Pierre Gasly didn’t race but tested F4 in order to prepare for 2024. His performance in FWS with Jenzer have been rather underwhelming but given his karting record, it would probably be a mistake to not include him in the list of drivers that will race in front.

Often unlucky in karting, Chester Kieffer (#4) has shown a very solid pace in pre-season testing. Coached by the prestigious Winfield Racing School, the 17-year-old from Luxemburg started karting at 15 years old only, much later than most of his rivals.

Several returning drivers have shown some great progression and should be eyeing for higher positions. This includes Leonardo Megna (#3), who will be one of Winfield’s five engaged drivers. Winner of the ROK Euro Trophy in 2021 and 2022, the 16-year-old Italian will hope to find more consistency.

British-French driver Gabriel Doyle-Parfait (#46) came from racing in Citroën Saxo to Formula 4 last year and first had difficulties to adapt but has kept on progressing.

The son of French racing legend Jean-Louis, Louis Schlesser (#61), finished 15th last year but seemed to be closing the gap to the top eight during pre-season testing.

Little-brother of 2006 champion Kevin Estre, who went on becoming an endurance and GT star, Dylan Estre (#23) doesn’t have much karting experience, as his family preferred to focus on F4 cars. Quarter-finalist of the FEED Racing, the 15-year-old will surely be one to watch this year.

Some other surprises

Édouard Borgna (#2) started his F4 career last year without any prior racing experience. Last in the standings in 2023, he will be aiming for a big progression to enter into the top 10. Like Dorison, the 19-year-old did the Formula Winter Series with Jenzer but finished behind his teammates. 

Ninth in the FFSA Junior karting championship, 15-year-old Roméo Leurs (#5) from Gironde will be one of the youngest drivers of the grid, born in November 2008.

Reigning champion of the French National Series Karting (NSK) in the Rotax Max category, 17-year-old Jules Roussel (#7) has always been one of the frontrunners of the national karting scene.

Unlike Leurs or Roussel, 16-year-old from Lorraine Karel Schulz (#9) will be doing his sophomore season in F4, after several points finishes last year.

Born in May 2009, Alexandre Munoz (#11) will not participate in the opening round at Nogaro and will join the rest of the field starting from Lédenon. Fourth in the FFSA Junior karting championship last year, his progression throughout the year will be interesting to follow.

Third in this same championship despite leading the series until the final round, Lisa Billard (#12) will be encountering the same problem of age restrictions, as she will be starting her F4 campaign from round five in Magny-Cours. A member of the Alpine Rac(H)er program, the 14-year-old is probably one of the brightest French talents of her generation. Seventh in the FIA Academy Trophy with one podium at the final round, she will participate in all the collective testing days before the official start of her campaign.

However, she won’t be the only female driver, as Mathilda Paatz (#18) will enter the championship right from the start. The 15-year-old German driver is supported by the ADAC Formel Junior Team and the Winfield Racing School. Third in the ADAC Kart Masters earlier in her career, she was one of the four finalists of the FIA Girls on Track competition last year. Her pre-season testing is rather discrete for the moment.

Former BMX rising star Tom Le Brech (#24) has an original background. After participating in the European and the World BMX championships in 2022, he only discovered karting for the first time in 2023 by testing. Supported by Esteban Ocon who comes from the same city in Normandy (Évreux), he will hope to catch up.

French-Thai driver Rayan Caretti (#26) has built his karting career in Asia, taking multiple titles in Thailand and being an IAME Asia champion last year. In 2022, he reached the semi-finals of FEED Racing at only 14 years of age. During pre-season testing, he had a good pace in the midfield, and he could grab some points very quickly.

Enzo Caldaras (#29) was a finalist last year at FEED Racing. Rotax Max NSK champion in 2021, the protégé of Renaud Derlot didn’t race last year. His limited budget and mileage meant he could need a bit of time before getting up to speed in the races, despite some good qualifying pace.

19-year-old Paul Roques (#30) also participated in FEED Racing but was unable to qualify for quarter finals. 

Arjun Chheda (#36) was born in October 2008 but has already done a partial campaign in Indian F4, finishing tenth overall with a best race result of fifth. He was included in the selection of the Asia-Pacific and Oceania program of the Ferrari Driver Academy but didn’t progress further in the selection process.

Alex O’Grady (#87) is one of Ireland’s brightest talents. Winner of the IAME World Final in 2019 in the Minime-Cadet category, he finished sixth in the same competition in the X30 Junior Category, notably behind Weisenburger in third. He was the youngest finalist of FEED Racing last year, finishing fourth overall. A raw talent that could progress quickly if he finds a click.

Jason Leung (#89) will be returning for a second F4 season after finishing 18th last year. The Canadian-Hong Kongese driver has followed Megna’s path by joining the Winfield Racing School.As Paatz, Montego Maassen (#99) will be making his first full campaign in single-seaters with the support of ADAC and Winfield. The son of double category winner at the 24 hours of Le Mans, Sascha Maassen, participated in the non-championship Trophy Event of F4 Saudi Arabian, clinching three top five finishes.

Header photo credit: Perceval Wolff