In his first two weeks back in Italian F4 and E4 following a multi-round absence, Reno Francot clinched two podiums and one win – the best results in the series for PHM Racing in their history. Feeder Series sat down with the Dutch driver to discuss the key factors behind his impressive comeback and how he achieved what he did. 

By Francesca Brusa

Some young drivers embark on their motorsport journeys because they’ve loved cars from a young age, or maybe because their parents were racing drivers.

The first time Reno Francot stepped in a kart, he was building himself up to become a professional footballer. 

“I was playing professional football for five years in my local club, at the highest level of the Dutch league,” he told Feeder Series in the Imola paddock. “We always went on holiday to Málaga, in the south of Spain, and there was some rental kart track that we just went to for fun because we had nothing else to do on holiday.

“That was the first time, I think I was eight or nine years old. It went well, I had fun, it was really fun.

“So we went there more often and then eventually, because we were there quite a lot of times, the karting track they recognised us, and they let me drive in a faster kart,” Francot continued.

“Then eventually when I was 10, we went back and they let me drive the extreme kart once, for 18-year-olds plus, and immediately set the track record.

“We got [to be] good friends with the karting track, and then they told us to either move to Spain to race for them or, if we went back to the Netherlands where I live, to go and buy a race kart and start karting, because they saw that I had a lot of talent. So we did.”

Francot began karting at Genk, a staple of the European karting scene, in Belgium, about a 20-minute drive from his home in the Dutch province of Limburg. After just three years in international competition, he made his debut in single-seaters in the ACCR Czech Formula Championship, which formally became the F4 CEZ Championship in May of that year. 

Having finished every single race on the podium, collecting three wins along the way, Francot was crowned champion by one point at the end of his first campaign in cars – at least for a few minutes. 

Following the final race at Balaton Park, however, he was given a five-second post-race penalty for forcing another driver off the track. The penalty dropped him from second to third and, as a result, stripped him of the title. That meant he rounded out his first full year in cars with a runner-up placement.  

“It was a really good choice to start in a smaller championship because I didn’t have a lot of tests under my belt,” he said. “It was still quite competitive with my teammates because we had some good rivalries every single race. 

“I learned a lot there because, of course, you get race experience, you get start experience and wheel-to-wheel racing, which is the key in motorsports in general. 

“Of course, the expectations weren’t that high that I would be fighting for the championship immediately, but I’m really happy it eventually was a championship fight because you also get the pressure experience,” he said. “You need to stay cool and just be calm and collected.”

That same year, Francot made his first appearance in his current main series, Spanish F4. The Echt-Susteren native joined forces with MP Motorsport for the penultimate round of the season in Valencia and secured a best finish of 11th in race one. 

“They invited me for a race because they saw I was also doing quite well for my first year,” he told Feeder Series on reflection. “We struggled quite a lot on tyres because there were some tyre problems with the manufacturer. 

“But I reflect on that weekend and it was a really good learning experience being with MP, obviously the crème de la crème, you know what I’m saying? One of the best teams in motorsports.”

The year 2024 was a turning point for the Dutch racer, but not just because of what happened that year. He also used it to plan for 2025 and his future in Spanish F4. 

“I did two more races in 2024, one with GRS in Valencia and one with Sainteloc in Barcelona, just to get experience for this year, to see which team is the best for me, because we wanted to make a step to see which is the best for my career. 

“I really like the Spanish championship. I think it’s really consistent in terms of stewards, in terms of just the whole championship in general. It’s really nice.”

Francot also crossed the Mediterranean to make his Italian F4 debut with Jenzer Motorsport. He scored points on six occasions – falling just short of a podium in race three at Le Castellet by finishing fourth – to come 14th in the overall standings, making him the best-placed driver for the Swiss outfit. 

“I feel like what was missing was mostly luck, because every single time in tests, in free practices, we had the pace, but then maybe something happened in quali,” the Dutchman said. “Could be driver error, could also be bad luck with traffic, but we never really had all the pieces coming together. And that was just unfortunate because I feel like we could have done a much better job.

“I still think it was a really good season, considering all the setbacks we had. We just always tried to do the best we could and I think it’s worked out quite well. [It’s] just a pity that it didn’t work out like we wanted it to.”

Francot’s main campaign for 2025 was, as planned, in Spanish F4, which he is contesting with MP Motorsport. He’s currently sixth in the drivers’ standings with three rounds to go, having claimed two podiums and six further points finishes.

“For me, Spanish F4 is really competitive,” he said. “It’s a really good experience for me to be, of course, in the top five, battling with the best F4 drivers in the world. It also gives me motivation to do even better every single race, to be on the podium, to win a race, to actually prove myself that I am the best.”

Victory has thus far eluded him in the Spanish series, but another partnership has brought him to the top step of the podium and ended several lean years for his team.

This past winter, Francot joined PHM Racing for the F4 Middle East championship. He amassed 13 points finishes from 15 races, including one win in Abu Dhabi and three further podiums, and finished fifth in the standings. 

The 17-year-old then returned to the Italian F4 grid with PHM in mid-July for the Mugello round. Fuelled by the desire to ‘prove to PHM that they’re still a good team’, Francot snatched two podiums straight away in races two and three – the team’s first in Italian F4 in three years.

When asked what the secret to this success was, Francot pointed out his familiarity with the championship, with the circuit and with the team.

“It’s fundamental to have a good relationship with your team, to be good friends off track but really competitive on track,” Francot said. “You need to have a good connection with all of your team and then you’ll also feel more comfortable in the car, because you know that everyone’s doing their best.”

Francot’s breakthrough moment, however, was his win in race two at Le Castellet the following weekend in Italian F4’s sister series E4.

The PHM driver had started from the front row but lost a position at the start. Yet as polesitter Kean Nakamura-Berta and points leader Gabriel Gomez were busy battling for the lead, Francot caught up to them and passed Gomez at Le Beausset on lap eight. Two laps later, he stole the lead from Nakamura-Berta with a similar move and sailed to victory from there. It was the team’s first win in either series.

“Coming into the weekend, I was confident because I really liked the track,” he said. “It suits my driving style for some reason. And there I got my second podium of the year in the Spanish championship. 

“In race two, I was confident I could do a good job because we saw that the pace was really good. I lost the position in the start, but then I just stayed calm. I stayed behind them to wait for some opportunities. And I feel like I timed it perfectly because number one and two started fighting. I was behind, and then I could attack number two eventually. 

“And then I caught up to P1, considering the pace was good. And then after that, I overtook him. I just didn’t look back; I pulled away. And then that proved my pace because I got the fastest lap also with four tenths.” 

The result was a confidence booster for Francot, who is currently third in E4 and 12th in Italian F4 despite having only entered two rounds.

With two rounds of each series remaining, what is the Dutchman expecting to achieve? 

“Considering I jumped in in the middle of the season in Italian, I’m just trying to get the best results I can. I’m not really looking at the championship or anything. I’m just trying to focus on myself to get the best results possible, to get as much silverware as possible.

“And [in] E4, I’m now P3 in the championship, but considering the Mugello round will overlap with my Spanish test, I cannot compete there,” he said. “It’s just focusing on myself to get the best results possible for me and for PHM Racing.”

Header photo credit: Federico Basile