Photos: KSP Reportages

The French F4 leader is juggling his first junior single-seater campaign with karting, and progressing faster than anticipated in cars after a breakout 2022 that put his name in the spotlight. Ida Wood finds out more

Although karting has a large and passionate fanbase, the results of even the CIK-FIA World Championship rarely make headlines in the wider motorsport press let alone outside of it. But there was an exception last year when the European championship finale was rocked by a title-deciding team orders decision.

It involved a factory team influencing a customer team to move one of its drivers out of the way with two laps to go in the final so a few extra points could be scored and the destination of the title could change.

Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 junior Alex Powell won the race and was on course to be champion until his Alpine-backed Kart Republic team-mate Kean Nakamura Berta was let by into second place and so moved ahead of him in the standings. The one who gave up their position, in incredibly high pressure circumstances for such a young driver, was Evan Giltaire.

It could’ve been easy for Giltaire to be knocked down by a decision that showed no regard to his own battle for championship position, and he was in a situation where accepting or denying the order could be costly for his career prospects.

But he bounced back from that weekend in fine style, winning a round of the French Karting Championship, finishing 14th in the World championship, winning the IAME Warriors Final, coming third in the WSK Final Cup and capping it all off by moving into the factory Kart Republic fold himself and winning the USA’s SuperNationals event.

In fact Kart Republic wanted Giltaire’s services for 2023, but he already had his eyes on stepping up into single-seater racing and so he ended up committing to a season in French Formula 4 and a variety of karting events across Europe.

This year started strongly by making the podium in the IAME Winter Cup and the IAME Series France season opener, then the preparations for F4 took priority ahead of his race debut in April.

The CIK-FIA European Championship finale podium

It paid off as his season began at Nogaro with the fastest time in practice, then two poles in qualifying and victory in his very first car race. He went from 10th to fourth in the reversed-grid that followed and then finished second in race three.

Round two at Magny-Cours followed a similar pattern, with a double pole, race one victory and fourth in race two. Pole could have been converted into victory in race three but he collided with Enzo Peugeot while they were vying for the win and he got a 30-second penalty that dropped him from first to 18th.

There was lots to learn in round three, as Giltaire got his first taste of a street circuit in Pau. Due to Euroformula pulling out of the event, it also meant Giltaire could add a grand prix start to his CV in just his ninth race in cars.

Formula Scout caught up with Giltaire after the first race of the weekend, with Sunday’s grand prix still to come. The first point of discussion was why the 16-year-old choe to race on karts this year while trying to adapt to cars at the same time.

“Doing F4 was the initial plan for sure. The karting is just a plus. So I will do only the two last rounds of the IAME Euro Series in X30 Senior [concluding in August], and then concentrate on F4 because it’s the biggest programme and the goal is to go forward in single-seaters.”

Giltaire is unbothered that “everyone has a coach personally, but I have nobody”, as the structure of the centrally-run French F4 championship means experience and assistance is shared around. In fact, the engineer of Giltaire’s car in Pau was also the engineer of four others, and “I have learned a lot with all the engineers I’ve had at Nogaro, Magny-Cours and here”.

So, with the support of the FFSA Academy’s engineers, how has he found the transition to single-seaters?

“I really like it because in karting you don’t do a lot of things outside the kart. You’re driving, and then when you go out you do [basically] nothing. But in the F4, you’re driving and then one hour after you’re still working on the computer with the engineer.

“It’s what I like, to work after to get better and better. Everyone has a lot of days of practice in F4, like 20, 30, or someone does F4 United Arab Emirates, and I did only six days of F4 testing before the championship. But I think of what I did to progress a lot, it’s to work at home, to work with your engineer, and I really like that.”

The breakdown of those six test days were “five days with the FFSA, one private last year before the Richard Mille, and then the Richard Mille Young Talent Academy shootout” of which “I count the Richard Mille in the six, so normally it’s five”.

French F4 was the only series in consideration for Giltaire, despite testing elsewhere in 2022 and even last week topping an Italian F4 test at Monza. So why stick to his domestic series?

“Budget, first, and we can’t drive on other tracks. We can only drive on these ones. Even if you drive in another championships, the points where you drive [in both series] like Paul Ricard or Spa-Francorchamps, you miss points here. But the biggest reason is for the budget.”

At the time of the interview Giltaire did not know if testing the cars of other series, knowing he would not be racing in them this year, would be an option. His Italian F4 test proved that such mileage is an active possibility, and Giltaire had said “I have a lot of propositions, but for the moment we stay focused on the F4 and then we will see what’s there”.

Talking of propositions, and his lack of coaches, had any Formula 1 junior teams been in contact?

“I’m still waiting for a [invitation] or something, like Alpine, Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari, I’m open to everyone. I’m just waiting for the first one to come to me.”

One major name that Giltaire has already attracted the support of in sponsorship form is fast food chain McDonald’s.

Photo: Ida Wood

There are three more rounds left of the French F4 season, and Giltaire is firmly in title contention even though he is also firmly still in learning mode.

“For the moment, I’m not quite a good driver to know what’s right with the car,” he admitted. “So I’m still working on that with the engineer. I always tell him to tell me what he does on the car, to know what’s happened with the car. Still working on that, and I learn a lot, so we will see what happens if I’m going to Formula Regional Europe or Formula 3 [next] or something. In a private team [unlike French F4], it will be different surely.”

There are no centrally-run series above French F4, meaning the competitivity of the teams Giltaire ends up with in the future will influence what kind of positions he will fight for on track. And the step up to a higher category had been eyed for 2025.

“I’m happy about what I did in first year [so far], and I’m still progressing. I’m working every race, every session, and I’m progressing and progressing.

“I started the season like [I’d then go] for a second year. A year to learn and a year to win. But for the moment it looks like it’s going to be only year,” he laughed. “And then something else! With the results I have, maybe we will change faster than what we think.”

Mixed conditions made the Pau weekend even more of a challenge. Practice and qualifying were split into two groups, and Giltaire topped his group in both sessions. He was 5.196 seconds off the pole-setting pace as his group faced a wetter track, but he still got to start on the front row for race one and the grand prix having been fastest by over a second in his group.

Giltaire led early on in race before being pursued and passed by Enzo Peugeot for the win. He was hit out of the reversed-grid race two on the opening lap, then faced the prospect of the grand prix being wet and dry in parts.

Photo: Ida Wood

“I’m confident on both [conditions],” he said to Formula Scout beforehand, standing by some already worn tyres he was going to use for the race.

“Honestly, in the dry Enzo is a bit faster. A little bit, because he drove last year. But I’m still not too bad. Currently to the other guys, we put five tenths to everybody, so it’s not too bad.

“On the wet, like yesterday in qualifying, I put one second on everybody. So I will see what happens in the rain. I’m happy of course. I want to try wet now because I don’t have anymore driving [experience] in the wet, so I want to see what it feels like in the race with 26 cars.”

The grand prix began dry and Giltaire took the lead from Foster on lap three before a safety car period. Rain then led to the race being red-flagged, so drivers could switch to grooved tyres, and racing resumed on a soaked track on lap 11 of 16.

It was Peugeot who had the advantage, and he passed Giltaire for another win and the points lead in a race that was dramatic on and off-track.

Giltaire had the near perfect response in round four at Spa-Francorchamps by topping pre-event testing, free practice and qualifying, comfortably winning race one to reclaim the points lead, coming seventh in the reversed-grid encounter and then dominating race three. Next up on his schedule is a return to karting at the end of this month.

CV

Age 16
D/O/B November 21, 2006
Country France

Car racing
2023: Currently 1st in French F4 (4 wins, 6 poles, 4 fastest laps)

Karting
2023 (all X30 Senior): 3rd in IAME Winter Cup, currently 13th in IAME Euro Series, currently 36th in IAME Series France
2022: French champion – X30 Snr, USA SuperNationals winner – X30 Snr, IAME Warriors Final winner – X30 Snr, 4th in IAME Euro Series – X30 Snr, 5th in CIK-FIA European Championship – OK, 6th in Champions of the Future – OK, 6th in WSK Final Cup – OK, 12th in IAME Winter Cup – X30 Snr, 14th in CIK-FIA World Championship – OK, 16th in Kartmasters British GP – X30 Snr
2021: 6th in CIK-FIA European Championship – OK, 17th in Champions of the Future – OK
2020: 13th in South Garda Winter Cup – OK Junior
2019: 17th in CIK-FIA European Championship – OK-J
2018: Rotax Max Challenge France winner – Cadet, French Cup winner – Cadet, 2nd in Le Mans 24 Minutes – OK, 7th in French championship – Cadet, 11th in Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals – Rotax Mini

The post Scout Report: Evan Giltaire appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photos: Ida Wood

One of the most iconic races in junior single-seaters was set to feature F3-level cars until just a week before, and it was an even later decision for the Pau GP to be an F4 race instead. Here’s how it played out

After two years where the COVID-19 pandemic meant the race was unable to go ahead, the Pau Grand Prix returned last year with a bold new vision centred around sustainability. The 2.76-kilometre street circuit in the south of France has been in use since 1933, but the lockdown-enforced break made it incredily hard for a 2022 comeback to be a possibility.

First there was the need to be ‘COVID-19 friendly’, then the requirement of local government approval and funding, and the usual battle against disgruntled residents of the city who don’t enjoy having their roads and park closed for four days. Then on top of that, some of the event infrastructure – such as barriers – had gone missing during the race’s absence.

But the 2022 return was a success, and featured the World Touring Car Cup, the new electric ETCR equivalent, as well as the Formula 3-level Euroformula series and the French Formula 4 championship. The latter series was running on a 100% mix biofuel from Repsol, and the event promoter put a focus on that as well as demos by the all-electric ERA single-seater and two prototype sportscars that were using hydrogen and biofuel respectively.

Formula Scout got to speak to the grand prix’s co-ordinator Joel Do Vale, who is also vice-president of France’s motorsport governing body the FFSA, and the vision was clear: biofuel and electric motors was the event’s future and would be the focus for 2023. With that message clearly publicised, it was then with some surprise that those plans fell apart this year.

After the finish of last weekend’s 80th edition of the Pau GP we caught up with Do Vale again, and started the conversation off by asking when did he and the event promoter (the local tourism board) get permission to run this year’s grand prix

“Pfftt. Too late,” he replied, chuckling. “I think it’s too late for an organiser. Here you see it’s difficult to find all the series in October [when we get clearance].

“But we had a lot of problems this year for the event. In October the WTCR stopped, then ETCR stopped, then ERA stopped, then Euroformula stopped for us [last week]. So you see.”

Euroformula announced its 2023 calendar last September, and it did not include Pau. Do Vale had instigated talks with Formula Regional European Championship representatives shortly after the 2022 grand prix about that series racing in Pau, and FREC dropped its round in Monaco. But talks did not progress as expected.

“Yeah, we were in contact with them, and I know them. But it was a little bit late to organise something, and to have [room for their paddock] for 23? But maybe next year, I don’t know.”

So Euroformula’s promoter GT Sport was then contacted in mid-January and a contract was signed for the series to host the titular race of the weekend for the third time after it had also famously raced in Pau in 2019 [pictured below]. Euroformula announced an updated calendar on January 24, with Mugello dropped for Pau. In March a deal was also signed for TCR Europe to take the spot WTCR vacated.

Then on May 5, just a week before track action begun on the city streets, Euroformula announced it was pulling out of the event and told Formula Scout it was planning a replacement round elsewhere.

Do Vale had been informed eight days before the announcement, and at least one local news outlet had figured out what was happening in that time period based on hotel room cancellations and that those help funding the event wanted a ‘low carbon’ race to promote. GT Sport cited that desire for series to run on biofuels as a technical requirement it could not meet having not tested biofuels during 2022 or in pre-season testing.

“It proved not possible to adjust the current engines of the Euroformula cars to the wishes of the organisers of the grand prix, its sponsors, and the city of Pau for a low-carbon emissions event, running on ‘greener’ fuels, a requirement that was not part of the agreement signed with the GP de Pau,” stated GT Sport.

Photo: Fotospeedy

“The studies and checks conducted showed that adapting the engines safely and effectively would require further engineering work, costly modifications, and testing.”

Do Vale thinks “it was a misunderstanding” that prompted GT Sport’s late decision.

“Because we wanted for the first time to have some fuel or some e-fuel [for the titular race], but it was impossible. Well they said it was impossible. No time to check the engine, or something like that,” he said.

“But we speak [back and forth] – and suddenly they decide to not come. But I think for me it’s not fair. It’s not really fair, because maybe the why [behind their decision is] they haven’t got enough cars, but they have to say earlier.”

Would he have let Euroformula race using standard fuel then? “Yeah, yeah. For example TCR Europe have not e-fuel, but they come.”

The touring car series does actually use biofuel, but a low percentage mix “which for me, is nothing” in Do Vale’s ambitions for the event. Particularly as French F4, which ended up adopting grand prix status for its Sunday race, uses 100% biofuel. And Do Vale confirms it was only on the week of the race the decision was made to promote the entry-level series to title billing.

“I’m vice-president, so it’s very easy for me to discuss with them [to make this decision]. But we had to change the regulations, because we have to have a race for 30 minutes, for example for it to be called the grand prix.

“Because I don’t want a race of 20mins. If I had a race of 20 minutes today, I would only really have had a safety car-led race! So we had to change the regulations, we had to change also the free practice and qualifying to accommodate 26 cars. It’s a little bit too much for us.”

Formula Scout corroborated Do Vale’s words with information from Euroformula sources, and it became apparent that the biofuel requirement was not included in the January discussions. This failure to mention it was possibly a major form of miscommunication on the organisers’ part given it was clear that the event’s desire to be a shop window for sustainable fuel was well known, and maybe almost didn’t merit mentioning to a series that had been present in 2022.

Then going the other way there was also a likely misunderstanding. Euroformula planned its 2023 calendar sans Pau as it didn’t use biofuel and presumed it wouldn’t be in contention to be part of the event.

Therefore when Do Vale came calling in January, it was easy to assume the reason talks were starting was because Pau deemed Euroformula to be eligible regardless.

And the key detail was the biofuel requirement was not mentioned in the contract signed that month. To Formula Scout’s understanding, only a considerable time later did the organisers reach out again asking politely about Euroformula’s biofuel plan. There wasn’t a plan.

Fuel specialists began talking to GT Sport’s technicians, and the consensus was that they couldn’t run the series’ engines unadapted on the suggested fuel without risk of breaking them. If the solution was to adjust the engines, then it posed the question of who was going to pay for the work on test beds and race tracks to deliver that. Pau hoped a solution could be found, but Euroformula said it did not look possible.

Then on April 25 the organisers contacted GT Sport and said, due to corporate and political pressure, they would be needing the titular race to run on biofuels. The financial support of the Pyrenees-Atlantiques department that Pau sits in was crucial not only for this year’s race but also to ensure the event has a future, while the main sponsor whose branding was visible all around the circuit was a company called ‘Clean Fuels For All’.

That meant Euroformula would lose the grand prix, but would still stay on the event schedule with its two planned races and in the time slots those had originally been penned down for. But when that potential outcome was put by GT Sport to its teams, the feedback was pretty clear and the event was basically told: ‘thank you for that consideration, but that’s not what we agreed when we signed to race here’.

Once Euroformula’s withdrawl was announced, some local press speculated that the titular race – which was yet to be settled on as going to French F4 – would potentially run as the ‘1st Grand Prix de Pau sans carbone’ rather than the 80th Pau GP.

The local Basco-Bearnais racing club helps organise the event, and supplied 90 of the 185 marshals that were working around the track last weekend. The FFSA was responsibile in-part for sourcing the rest, with a mixture of marshals from other French racing clubs and tracks as well as “some from Spain, from Germany, and I think Britain too”.

Given the difficulty in getting more sustainable series on track this year, does the biofuel target remain for 2024? “Maybe not all series, because we don’t know if it can [be produced to the required scale]. But normally yes, we try,” said Do Vale.

In terms of planning for 2024, and discussions with the local government, the only fact that looks certain so far is if the 81st edition of the grand prix goes ahead then it will be in May as is tradition. But otherwise almost nothing is set in stone.

“I want to speak to GB3,” revealed Do Vale. “British F3 was here in 2006 and 2012, and Lewis Hamilton won here in 2005. So why not? I have to speak to them. In a little bit, but I have to speak. In fact I need to [start talks] because FFSA we have to choose something now. Not in October, choose for 2024 now.”

Aside from the French F4 drivers who were now racing to win the Pau GP, with many in contention to become the youngest ever winner of a grand prix in single-seaters, there were few who thought it was a great look for the event to not only lose its headline series so close to the race date but also then for an entry-level car racing series to adopt grand prix status.

The calibre of the series, even though there is an appeal of having a French championship headline a historic French sporting event, is so low that if it looks like it might end up with headline billing again in 2024 then the local government is going to see decreased value in allowing the event to run given the disruption it causes.

It was already reflected in the spectator numbers this year, although rain through the weekend also contributed to emptier looking grandstands and vantage points than in 2022.

Wet weather actually hit the track during the grand prix race, requiring Do Vale – who was also working as the race director – to call for red flags so everybody could come into the pitlane and switch from slick to wet tyres. Due to French F4 being centrally run by the FFSA Academy, with one engineer responsible for several cars each and mechanics also shared across the grid, it meant the only fair way for all the drivers left in the race to do a tyre change while utilising a limited number of pit crew was to stop the race and restart it.

“Yeah, because it’s difficult to perform [all those stops], but as you know it was [getting wetter] so I have to give time to change tyres, to do everything, because I can not send a young driver on track slick tyres on wet,” said Do Vale.

“It’s impossible. It’s why it was difficult to change [in-race]. I had to stop the race. But it was not so bad [for the action].”

The rain stopped, then restarted and got even worse during the 17-minute red flag period, which required less patience from fans than the previous day’s reversed-grid race where the action was paused by a 50-minute stoppage. Because of the continuing rain, the safety car led the field away for the grand prix’s restart. It ended up being out for three laps, as two drivers retired and needed their cars recovered from the track.

Despite the rain, it was noticable in the F4 and the touring car races that the track was not lacking in grip, particularly at turn two and the long turn five left-hander that led into turn six, another corner where the brave attempted overtakes.

The bumpiness of the outside line into turn one [pictured above] contained its own difficulties, particularly for the driver on pole as that was the side their grid slot was on, but grand prix winner Enzo Peugeot made an overtake there that showed the tyre grip outdid the instability caused by the bumps. It was a trackside observation that prompted Formula Scout to ask Do Vale if there had been resurfacing since last year’s event.

“Yeah, yeah. It was resurfaced here [on the pit straight], and in turns one and two, and in turn five also!” Do Vale replied. “Yeah, exactly. Just at the beginning of turn five it was resurfaced, so it’s really nice now. I think it’s better.”

Do Vale’s opinion is all well and good, but what did the drivers make of their weekend? You can read reaction to the chaos of the reversed-grid race here, with that drama actually leading to two drivers missing Sunday’s race, and the grand prix report here. Below is the first words from the top three as Formula Scout caught the trio almost as soon as they vacated their cars.

1st: Enzo Peugeot

“After the restart, I really [bedded in] my tyres, I put some temperature into them, so I got good sensation with the car and so I was confident – and just won! Incredible.

“I took Kevin [Foster for second place] on the restart, so I got good traction [on the outside of turn one] but he didn’t get good traction. And afterm with Evan [Giltaire] I just surprised him and I passed. My second win [this weekend], it’s incredible.

2nd: Evan Giltaire

“I don’t know for the moment [how Enzo got by]. On the wet, I didn’t drive [badly] like it was my first time in the wet. So unfortunately I came only in second place. I will come back stronger at Spa-Francorchamps. Surely, I will be in the front. I’m sure about that.

“In the streets, it’s more difficult when it’s your first time. The visibility was very hard [once I was] behind.

“Of course [it was hard to warm the tyres on the restart], I was close to crash. It was really difficult.

“Not happy, because Enzo was coming back like crazy. But once we have [completed] Pau, I said I would be even more strong I think. So I’m really happy about that.

3rd: Yani Stevenheydens

“At first on the dry, the three in front of me had an advantage with the new tyres, so I was just trying to stay in connection with them. And then at one point there was a safety car, started raining in-between. After that, we came in to change the tyres and after that the conditions were really difficult.

“I was sliding a lot, and you couldn’t see anything. When you’re driving behind, the spray just blocked the whole view of driving. But I think I managed it quite well, overtaking Hiyu Yamakoshi into turn two with a late-braking manoeuvre. But apart from that and after that, it was just controlling the race. I felt like there was not a lot more to gain from it.

“I was happy with my third place seeing where I came from. I was really happy with that, so I just kept it calm and finished my race.

“It was difficult to warm-up the tyres. So you needed to manage it very well, a lot of braking. With the safety car that doesn’t go fast, it wasn’t as easy as well to warm-up the tyre, because at one point it started going even slower because there was a crash in the middle of the track. So they needed to clear a car out of the way. But I think I managed it well, and in the end tyre temperature was really good.”

The post The inside story of the 2023 Pau Grand Prix appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Ida Wood

Enzo Peugeot made it two victories out of three this weekend in French Formula 4 by winning the 80th edition of the Pau Grand Prix.

After two days of mixed conditions, the grand prix itself started in warm conditions with some cloud cover, and with Kevin Foster on pole ahead of Evan Giltaire, Peugeot and Hiyu Yamakoshi.

Two drivers had to withdraw from the grand prix due to crashes in the second race on Saturday, while Adrien Closmenil failed to take up his 10th place on the grid and was having his engine examined in the pitlane when the start took place.

Foster immediately moved to the inside line when the lights went out to get off the bumps on the outside that he started on, and finished lap one 0.311 seconds ahead of Giltaire. Finn Wiebelhaus picked up damage and had to pit at the end of the lap for repairs.

Yamakoshi set the fastest lap on lap two as a five-car lead train broke away. Foster left the door open at the turn four hairpin on lap three and Giltaire snatched the lead, then moments later the race was put under safety car conditions as Yaroslav Veselaho came to a stop on the hill up to turn three after running in seventh place.

The skies started to darken with the threat of rain, and on lap seven Veselaho’s car had been retrieved and the race was ready to restart when rain finally hit. It caught out Frank Porte-Ruiz who went off at turn two but rejoined, and red flags were then waved moments later so the field could head to the pits and switch from slick to wet tyres.

The rain ceased, but then started falling again and harder during what ended up being a 17-minute stoppage and so the race restarted on lap eight with three laps behind the safety car.

Only going 100 metres out of the pits before retiring was Enzo Richer, who had been in 10th, as a mechanical issue brought him to a halt before even reaching turn two, then Edouard Borgna crashed out at turn nine which extended the safety car period.

Racing resumed on lap 11 on a soaked track, and spray immediately became an issue. Peugeot bravely passed Foster around the outside at the bumpy turn one, then started pressuring Giltaire who almost spun at the turn four hairpin.

He tried passing at the Buisson hairpin but thought better of it and got brilliant traction to go right around Giltaire through turn five next time by.

The safety car was summoned shortly after as Foster spun down the Foch chicane and came to a stop. He eventually got going again but then had another spin and went to the pits with a broken rear wing.

The next restart took place on lap 15 and Peugeot immediately raced away. He built a 2.750s lead in two laps, then on the penultimate lap the race was red flagged as Frank Porte-Ruiz and Joao Paolo Diaz-Balasteiro crased. It meant the results were taken back a lap, and made Peugeot the victor.

Race result (16 laps)

The post Enzo Peugeot conquers dry and wet conditions to win the Pau Grand Prix appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Ida Wood

French Formula 4’s reversed-grid race in Pau on Saturday featured 10 retirements, and there were big results up for grabs for those who evaded the chaos.

Pol Lopez started from pole, and was passed at turn one by fellow front-row man Garrett Berry. Behind them Leonardo Megna instigated a crash that eliminated himself, points leader Evan Giltaire and Hiyu Yamakoshi.

The same corner provided further drama on lap four, as Lopez lost his front wing and crashed. His chassis split and turned into a fireball as he spun towards turn two.

The wing was collected by those behind, and yellow flags warned approaching drivers to slow down. But it caught several out, and Paul Alberto ran into and then over the top of Adrien Closmenil. That resulted in Kevin Foster being wiped out, and his car stopped when it hit the remainder of Lopez’s.

Alberto came to a halt in a lot of pain and had to be hoisted from his car by marshals before being taken to hospital via ambulance. When he was released from hospital late on Sunday morning, it was confirmed to Formula Scout he had an injured back and additional muscular injuries.

The race was red flagged for 50 minutes following that crash, with Berry winning the restarted race ahead of Enzo Peugeot.

Race three of the weekend, the Pau Grand Prix, takes place on Sunday afternoon and will include 24 cars with Alberto ruled out and Lopez’s car unrepairable.

Foster has pole, and was relieved his race two damage was repairable but unimpressed by what he considered “amateur” driving that ruined several drivers’ races.

Fourth-placed qualifier Megna has a five-place grid penalty for the crash he caused, and non-starter Lopez was given a three-place grid penalty.

Berry and Peugeot also spoke to Formula Scout about race two.

“It was quite crazy,” said Berry. “I didn’t know how much grip there was on the track because of turn two [where powder had to be put down due to Lopez’s car leaking fluids], so I just kind of played it safe, braked on the inside and hoped for the best, but it was very tough out there.

“There was a lot of pressure, sitting with the red flag for so long in the pits, but it feels good to get up on the podium for the first time.”

Peugeot, who won race one, was pleased to finish second after starting sixth.

“I got a great start, I was already up to third on the first lap. And then the red flag wait was pretty long. After that it was like eight minutes of racing. I tried to attack Garrett, but he resisted well, so I’m quite happy with second place.”

On if he could have beaten Berry if there were less yellow flags, Peugeot said: “No, because I didn’t have to take any risks. I already won race one this morning. So just grab points for the championship. I had good feelings in the car, I’m pretty confident for Sunday.”

The post Mixed emotions in French F4 paddock as two cars ruled out of Pau GP appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Ida Wood

Garrett Berry won French Formula 4’s crash-filled second race in Pau, which featured a lengthy red flag stoppage.

Pol Lopez made a strong start from reversed-grid pole, but on a bumpier side of the grid could do little to stop Garrett Barry passing him for the lead. Further behind there was a three-car clash at turn one which sent points leader Evan Giltaire and Hiyu Yamakoshi into retirement at turn two and left Leonardo Megna limping around the track before he too retired in the pits.

There were double-waved yellow flags at turn two when the drivers came through again, with Lopez driving around with his front wing hanginf off on one side and with Enzo Peugeot and Yani Stevenheydens close behind him.

Lopez and Peugeot almost made contact going into the Foch chicane on lap three, as Berry pulled away by two seconds. That gap was then reduced to nothing as the safety car was called out following a huge crash at turn one next time by.

Lopez’s front wing came off on the pit straight and bounced across the track – being collected by several drivers – while his car slammed into the outside barriers at turn one, immediately set on fire as the rear wheel assembly detatched then spun several times before coming to a stop at turn two.

Double-waved yellows that were shown as quickly as possible, but that actually caught out some drivers as they slowed. Paul Alberto ran into the back of and then briefly over the top of Adrien Closmenil on the right-hand side of the track, with Closmenil then wiping out Kevin Foster, and Jason Leung was eliminated on the left.

Red flags were shown at the end of the lap, and the race was stopped for 55 minutes as there was a lengthy recovery proccess of the seven cars that had crashed as well as the requirement to put down powder all the way from turn one to turn two due to the fluid that had leaked from Lopez’s split chassis.

The safety car led the field through the first two laps of the restart, then set the pack free.

Peugeot immediately started attacking Berry, at multiple corners on the track, and almost made contact twice. Stevenheydens ran right behind waiting for the pair to make a mistake but there was none.

At one point Peugeot had to pull out of a move when they encountered double-waved yellow flags at turn nine after Andrei Duna had crashed out in an incident with Romain Andriolo, and on the penultimate lap Peugeot got alongside Berry through the first two corners.

He had to settle for second and eating into Giltaire’s points lead, while Berry celebrated victory.

Race result (15 laps)

The post Garrett Berry wins after crash chaos in French F4’s reversed-grid Pau race appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Ida Wood

Kevin Foster started from pole for French Formula 4’s first race in Pau, but within seven corners his victory hopes were up.

The FEED Racing France scholar noticed some details en route to the grid that gave him an inkling lap one may be harder than expected, and after losing his lead he spun at the downhill Foch chicane.

Remarkably Foster emerged sans damage as 24 cars threaded past him at one of the tightest parts of the street circuit. He then went on to make several overtakes to recover to 17th.

“I think it all started to go downhill once the lights went out on the start,” he told Formula Scout.

“When we rolled up for the formation lap and I saw there was bumps on the pole side for the starting grid, I knew it was going to be a difficult start. I don’t know what it was, just by the time I looked in my mirrors Evan [Giltaire] was alongside me and I had to give him the space into turns one and two.

“Obviously because of the regulations we can’t overtake into turns three and four, so I just stuck behind him and then followed him through the next long right-hander. And I don’t know, something got away from me in the car and it just pendulumed back on me and I wasn’t able to catch it in time.”

Giltaire went aggressively over the Foch kerbs, almost losing control, while the rear of Foster’s car was already swinging out on corner entry and left him backwards by the barriers.

“I should consider myself lucky, because we could have taken half a side of the car right off by hitting the wall. But no damage.

“There was the nosecone, but that was later in the race when I was trying to make a move. Got a little bit close to someone, and tagged them on the rear. But to escape a crash like that with no damage, I’m very fortunate. My mistake could have been punished a lot harder, we could have been not starting race two.

“I think I made three passes after. It’s difficult to overtake here but I needed to prove to myself it could be done.

“Typically I’m pretty good starts. I look back at my previous starts, and I’m able to consistently jump one or two cars. So for me to get a shit start like that, it’s a little bit frustrating, and I think that’s where I lost the race.

“Had I been in front, I wouldn’t have pushed as hard, and would’ve been able to back up the field a little bit more on lap one and get some good tyre preparation.

“I feel like one lap around here is probably not enough for tyre warm-up. Mainly because there’s no straight for braking [to get] temperature into the tyres. All the turns are pretty short, and the turns that you can try to build some speed it’s not quite enough for one lap.”

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Photo: Ida Wood

Enzo Peugeot won a dramatic first French Formula 4 of the weekend on the streets of Pau after battling with championship leader Evan Giltaire.

Poleman Kevin Foster did not make a bad start but fellow front row man Giltaire appeared to have more grip on the inside line and he was already ahead into turn one and comfortably ahead by the braking zone at turn two.

Giltaire went into the downhill Foch chicane too aggressive and bounced over the kerbs, but was able to save his car before he hit any of the barriers lining the street circuit. Foster, who actually took less kerb than Giltaire, was not so lucky though as the rear end of his car spun out and he ended up facing backwards at turn eight.

He was able to rejoin without too much damage, albeit now in 26th and last place, with Giltaire ending the lap 2.157 seconds ahead of Hiyu Yamakoshi and with Peugeot in third ahead of Leonardo Megna.

Peugeot was ultra aggressive on the Foch chicane kerbs next time by and he set fastest lap as he passed Yamakoshi for second.

He finished the lap 1.552s behind Giltaire, then set another fastest lap to close the gap to 0.838s. His chance to then go for the lead was denied by Yaroslav Veselaho crashing out of of 10th place at turn six and the safety car being called out.

Racing resumed on lap six and Peugeot wasted no time in passing Giltaire and opening up a 1.227s lead within a lap. Peugeot grew it some more before Giltaire started to close back in, and there was 0.720s between them on lap 12 when the safety car was summoned again after Finn Wiebelhaus crashed out at the turn four hairpin.

Between the first restart and second safety car period, Yani Stevenheydens had managed to pass Megna for fourth, while Louis Schlesser had hit the tyre barriers at turn two and fell from sixth place.

While the safety car was out another driver retired as Joao Paolo Diaz Balesteiro went to the pits with suspension damage.

Racing resumed with two laps to go, and Peugeot came under instense attack from Giltaire through the final tour. They almost made contact at one point, but Peugeot held on for his first win of the season and third career win in total by less than half a second. Foster meanwhile recovered to 17th place.

Race result (15 laps)

The post Peugeot wins and Foster spins in French F4’s opening Pau race appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Ida Wood

The two biggest stars of French Formula 4 qualifying in Pau faced drastically different track conditions, which ultimately meant one was never going to get pole.

As a result of the 26-car field being split into two groups, championship leader Evan Giltaire and closest rival Kevin Foster went on track for qualifying on Friday at different times.

Giltaire drove in the first group on a wet and cloud-covered track, while Foster was in a sunny second group in which the track rapidly dried and laptimes were over five seconds faster than the first group’s.

The pair topped their respective groups, and although Giltaire was only the 10th fastest qualifier, by topping his group he gets to start from the front row for race one and race three, which is the Pau Grand Prix.

Giltaire admitted to Formula Scout that the first group’s track conditions were “difficult”.

“I’m happy with the first group because I put one second on everyone on the real wet track. So I’m really happy about that,” he said. “Just unfortunately, the second group was faster in the drier conditions. But I’m still happy.

“We will see tomorrow. Normally it will be wet, normally, but I think in both conditions I will be really fast. Also it’s my first time in the wet ever in F4, first time ever in wet in Pau, so it’s nice.”

Foster told Formula Scout about the impact of the drying track during his qualifying group.

“Like lap one versus the last lap, there’s nearly six seconds difference. So when the track is just constantly evolving, you really just need to keep your head, not overpush the risk, but you can’t be caught lacking,” said the FEED Racing France scholar.

“You’ve always got to be pushing something and it must have been a combination of good track management. We had good space the whole session. Even though we had two, three red flags, I was able to always get good clean air. And I just picked my marks on the fast lap and it was enough to hold for pole.

“We’re all kind of stacked up in the pits [during the red flag stoppages] and they let us out one by one in the order that we came into the pits. So all I could really do was – the guys in the pits, they kind of spaced themselves a little bit. I tried to get past the people I knew I was quicker than and built a gap to another fast car that was ahead of me and just had a reference point to kind of balance myself with.

“And I mean, to take first my pole at Pau, it’s something special. It’s a race that we’ve been looking forward to, both me and Patrick [Lemarie, former CART racer and FEED Racing founder], and so to take pole here I think is no better way to thank him for all the help.”

The post Foster calls Pau GP pole “special” as Giltaire celebrates front row start appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Ida Wood

Kevin Foster made the most of a drying track to claim pole position for the Pau Grand Prix, which is part of this year’s French Formula 4 championship.

The 26-car field was split into two 13-car groups as in practice, with drivers in odd-placed positions in the championship standings (first, third, fifth…) in the first group and those in even-placed positions (second, fourth, sixth…) in the second.

The first group encountered a wet track, with rain hitting the streets of Pau minutes before the start of qualifying, and points leader Evan Giltaire adapted to it quickest to lead the early running while rival Romain Andriolo hit the turn nine barriers.

Giltaire was fastest by over two seconds a quarter of the way into the 25-minute session, then improved his pace to put 3.245s between himself and an improving Pol Lopez.

There was then yellow flags as Jason Leung hit the guardrail at turn seven but rejoined, and once the track was green again Giltaire improved his pace at an ominous rate that was unmatched on the drying track surface.

He was still fastest by over a second going into the session’s second half, with Lopez in second, then Leonardo Megna became a surprise threat and got within 0.373s of Giltaire.

Both improved their pace a few more times, with Giltaire breaking the 1m30s barrier with over seven minutes to go. However he did not then improve again until after the chequered flag, with Megna getting within 0.555s of him. But Giltaire’s final lap was another step above, putting him 1.089s clear.

Louis Schlesser was a further 0.895s behind in third, and just ahead of Yaroslav Veselhao who improved at the finish along with Lopez. There was yellow flags late on after Finn Wiebelhaus hit the turn nine tyre barriers.

The sun came out for Q2 and rapidly dried the track, but the improving conditions actually caught drivers out.

Foster was fastest at first despite spinning at turn three, with he and Enzo Peugeot the only drivers finding the limits at first.

Peugeot was already in the 1m29s in the first nine minutes, and fastest by over three seconds before Foster snuck in a 1m31.764s to regain second place before the session was red-flagged due to Gabriel Doyle-Parfait crashing at turn three.

The restart only lasted two minutes before Edouard Borgna hit the turn eight guardrail and caused another stoppage, and with the clock paused it meant the extension of the session enabled the track to dry even more.

The second restart did not even last two minutes before Frank Porte Ruiz hit the turn three guardrail, and on the next restart the track was dry in many areas.

Hiyu Yamakoshi went fastest by two seconds with a 1m27.788s lap, then Peugeot set a 1m27.028s. Yamakoshi responted with a 1m27.459s, but was shuffled to third as Foster then set a 1m26.880s and Peugeot a 1m26.935s.

Peugeot and Yamakoshi went one-two on their nxt laps, then Peugeot broke into the 1m25s as Yani Stevenheydens jumped to second.

Foster reclaimed pole by setting a 1m25.147s with three minutes remaining, which was bettered by Peugeot’s 1m24.867s set with 100 seconds left on the clock. But Foster followed him across the line with a 1m24.426s, and just before the chequered flag Peugeot improved but came 0.119s short of Foster.

That meant each time had one more lap, and Yamakoshi actually went top by breaking into the 1m23s. But Foster then went 0.224s faster, and Peugeot improved but stayed third.

The drying of the track meant pole for race three, the grand prix, would inevitably go to a drivet in the second group and Foster managed the feat. Giltaire will at least, by being fastest in group one, get to start on the front row.

Qualifying round-up
Second-best laptimes
1 Kevin Foster 1m24.426s
2 Enzo Peugeot +0.119s
3 Hiyu Yamakoshi +0.658s
4 Yani Stevenheydens +0.924s
5 Garrett Berry +0.953s
6 Adrien Closmenil +1.338s
7 Edgar Pierre +1.340s
8 Tom Kalender +1.559s
9 Andrei Duna +3.601s
10 Evan Giltaire +5.029s

Best laptimes
1 Foster 1m23.725s
2 Yamakoshi +0.224s
3 Peugeot +0.387s
4 Stevenheydens +0.659s
5 Berry +1.002s
6 Closmenil +1.129s
7 Pierre +1.844s
8 Kalender +2.051s
9 Duna +3.445s
10 Giltaire +5.196s

The post Kevin Foster masters drying track to take pole for the Pau GP appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Ida Wood

Enzo Peugeot was fastest in free pracice for the Pau Grand Prix, which is part of the third round of the French Formula 4 championship.

The cancellation of Euroformula’s races on the street of Pau meant French F4’s track time was expanded and practice lasted 50 minutes in total. The 26-car field was split into two groups of 13, with drivers in odd-placed championship positions (first, third, fifth etc) in the first group and drivers in even-placed positions in the standings (second, fourth, sixth…) in the second group. Each session lasted 25 minutes.

Championship leader Evan Giltaire was fastest from the off in the first group, setting an early 1m27.931s pace that was beaten by Enzo Richer to the tune of 0.153 seconds. There was then yellow flags at turn two that prevented driver from improving for two minutes before Richer brought the pace down to 1m22.455s.

Romain Andriolo slotted into second ahead of Giltaire, then set a 1m21.059s to go fastest by 0.004s over the points leader.

Gitlaire responded with a 1m20.122s, only for Andriolo to reclaim first place with a 1m19.513s. Next time by Giltaire set a 1m19.371s, but Andriolo could match his pace and set a 1m19.132s as FP1 reached its halfway mark.

In return, Giltaire posted a 1m18.712s and then the lap after cemented his place at the top with a 1m18.654s as Andriolo improved to 1m19.085s.

There was then yellow flags at turn six after Richer hit the barriers, which paused the ding-dong battle to be fastest, and when the track was fully green again Giltaire improved to 1m18.501s to maintain a 0.408s gap to Andriolo.

A very late improvement meant Andriolo slashed the gap to 0.144s, with Pol Lopez third, Richer fourth and Finn Wiebelahus jumping up to fifth after the chequered flag.

Peugeot was near unmatable in the second group, topping the times from the first minute to the last.

Once other drivers had reached a representative pace, it was Adrien Closemnil who was initially his closest rival but several seconds off the pace.

Yani Stevenheydens then moved up to second place, and was 1.558s off Peugeot’s pace before the benchmark man improved by 0.183s and then again by 0.057s. In that time, Stevenheydens managed to crash into the turn seven tyre barriers and come to a stop at turn nine, but not cause the session to be red flagged.

Once the track went green, Peugeot set a 1m18.512s and improved to 1m19.430s with 10 minutes to go to be fastest overall in practice.

Closmenil returned to second place, but then in FP2’s second half it was Kevin Foster who posed the biggest challenge to Peugeot and he lapped 0.296s slower than him to be fourth overall across the two sessions.

Free practice results

The post Enzo Peugeot fastest in French F4 practice in Pau appeared first on Formula Scout.