Enzo Peugeot or Evan Giltaire: on Sunday 8th October, one of these two drivers will be crowned French F4 Champion with the FFSA Academy at Paul Ricard, succeeding Alessandro Giusti. But 25 other drivers have every intention of finishing 2023 on a high!
27 single-seaters will be on the grid at Le Castellet for the final round of the 2023 FIA French F4 Championship: a record! The concept first conceived thirty years ago in 1993 is still going strong, and the signs are clear. 13 nationalities are represented this season, and eight different drivers have managed to climb to the top step of the podium, proof of the excellent level of driving.
Suspense at its peak
As the season wore on, two drivers gradually separated themselves from the rest of the field and will meet again at Paul Ricard to fight for the title. Thanks to his two new victories at Lédenon, which took its total to six compared with five for Giltaire, Peugeot has regained the lead of the Championship before this final event. But everything can still change. The same will be true of Canadian Kevin Foster and Romain Andriolo, who will be vying for 3rd place. The Volant Feed Racing winner has a 28-point lead over his rival.
The only driver in the top seven not to have won this year, Japan’s Hiyu Yamakoshi could well play spoilsport at the front of the field, enabling him to secure a place in the final top five of the Championship, which American Garrett Berry could still aim for if he performs well. Identified by the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium, Yani Stevenheydens tasted victory for the first time at Lédenon and has every intention of repeating the feat. After several 4th-place finishes since the season opener at Nogaro, Enzo Richer and Edgar Pierre have not given up their hopes of a podium finish in 2023.
Louis Schlesser and Paul Alberto, both from the Côte d’Azur, will be looking to showcase their skills on home soil, but many other drivers will be looking to finish the season on a high. The young French hopeful Arthur Dorison, who made his karting debut in 2022 with two titles in the FIA Academy Trophy and the French Junior Championship, will be making his F4 debut. The SRO Racing Festival, headlined by the French GT FFSA Championship, will provide the backdrop for this eagerly-awaited finale to the FFSA Academy F4.
> F4 Paul Ricard 2023 programme
Friday 6th October: Free Practice (10:40 – 11:10) and qualifying (18:20 – 18:45)
Saturday 7th October: Race 1 (11:50 – 12:20) and Race 2 (17:45 – 18:15)
Sunday 8th October: Race 3 (11:05 – 11:35)
Provisional timetable, subject to change during the meeting.
> Duration of races: 20 minutes + 1 lap
> Mygale single-seater, Renault turbo engine, Pirelli tyres, 100% renewable Repsol biofuel.
> Provisional standings after Lédenon
1 n°74 Enzo Peugeot (France) 283 pts
2 n°95 Evan Giltaire (France) 255 pts
3 n°26 Kevin Foster (Canada) 188 pts
4 n°16 Romain Andriolo (France) 169 pts
5 n°6 Hiyu Yamakoshi (Japan) 131 pts
6 n°18 Garrett Berry (USA) 98 pts
7 n°17 Yani Stevenheydens (Belgium) 88 pts
8 n°66 Enzo Richer (France) 70 pts
9 n°27 Edgar Pierre (France) 55 pts
10 n°5 Pol Lopez (Spain) 54 pts
11 n°3 Leonardo Megna (Italy) 31 pts
12 n°14 Adrien Closmenil (France) 29 pts
13 n°28 Max Reis (Germany) 24 pts
14 n°61 Louis Schlesser (France) 23 pts
15 n°11 Tom Kalender (Germany) 23 pts
16 n°7 Paul Alberto (France) 16 pts
17 n°10 Andrei Duna (Romania) 12 pts
18 n°9 Karel Schulz (France) 11 pts
19 n°37 Luca Savu (Romania) 8 pts
20 n°89 Jason Leung (Canada) 8 pts
21 n°44 Yaroslav Veselaho (Ukraine) 6 pts
22 n°4 Finn Wiebelhaus (Germany) 6 pts
23 n°22 Frank Porte Ruiz (Andorra) 2 pt
24 n°77 Joao Paulo Diaz Balesteiro (Colombia)
25 n°46 Gabriel Doyle-Parfait (Great Britain)
26 n°2 Edouard Borgna (France)
Follow the event on the ffsaacademy.org website and on social networks.
