Driving on ice, snowshoeing, ski touring and lots of laughs: the members of the new promotion of the French circuit and rally teams* spent the week in the Alps for a cohesion course. But there is a formal ban on skiing down the slopes of the highest resort in Europe (2,300 meters above sea level) in order to avoid coming back with a broken leg and compromising your future!
Last year, Isack Hadjar was one of these apprentices. At only 20 years old, with the support of the French Motor Sports Federation (FFSA) and Red Bull, he has just signed his first contract in F1. The Parisian will play for Racing Bulls. Three tricolors will therefore be on the 2025 grid with Pierre Gasly (Alpine) and Esteban Ocon (Haas). Unheard of for over a decade. The trio was at the time made up of Jean-Éric Vergne, Romain Grosjean and the late Jules Bianchi.
“The world of motorsport is ruthlessconfides to JDD Isack Hadjar. The FFSA supported me and facilitated the approach. I owe him a lot. We can be proud in France to have this type of unique initiatives and programs. I am so lucky and grateful at the same time. » Spotted by the National Technical Directorate (DTN) in 2017, the young man did his apprenticeship in karting, then climbed the single-seater ranks one by one, helped – notably financially – by the Federation: F4, Freca (regional formula) , F3 and F2, the antechamber of F1, in which he finished second in the past championship.
Victor Martins has benefited from this “unfailing support” since his adolescence. He was even an intern at Le Mans, which houses the FFSA academy. At 23, the Essonian is now a veteran of the Blues : “I don’t have any jealousy at all. I’ve known Isack for a really long time. We ran together and other times as opponents. As he is a little younger than me, we were not always in the same category. If he hadn’t joined F1 after the year he spent in F2, I wouldn’t have understood why some people were going and not him. » Victor Martins, who should compete in a third consecutive season in Formula 2, concludes, motivated and determined as ever: “There’s no reason why I can’t do it too. I can’t wait to join him. »
Soon a fourth Frenchman in Formula 1?
At DTN, its director Christophe Lollier saw Jean-Éric Vergne, Pierre Gasly and of course Isack Hadjar pass through. He is already planning: “I am convinced that of the five members of the current French team, one or two will arrive in F1. Victor is one of them. As things are moving a lot at the moment, whether at Williams, Aston Martin, etc., an opportunity is possible. Provided he crushes the competition this season. » If Martins is the oldest of the group, Jules Caranta is the youngest. At 16, he already has – like Hadjar before him – the support of the Red Bull Junior Team: “Isack succeeded and I congratulate him. Now it’s my turn to do the same. I’m not going to give up and I hope the work pays off. » Despite his youth, Jules Caranta adds with the wisdom of an old veteran: “We must not skip steps either. Let’s hope that one day my chance will come. »
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During the cohesion course in Val Thorens, Stéphane Sarrazin, an eclectic driver who had a whirlwind stint in F1 with Minardi in 1999, came to share his experience: “Motorsport is expensive and it’s hard to become professional. But we are lucky to have a federation that is not like the others. She follows drivers from a very young age and organizes championships. » A complete journey, from kart to F1, costs seven to eight million euros, according to FFSA estimates. Without private sponsors, it is impossible to achieve your dream. Aware of the difficulties, the new president of the federation, Pierre Gosselin, recalls “that it is not only F1 where places are ultra rare”. Thus, endurance (Romain Dumas, Loïc Duval, Kévin Estre, Norman Nato, etc.), the Japanese championships (where Giuliano Alesi, son of Jean competes, for example) and the American championships (Simon Pagenaud won the legendary 500 miles of Indianapolis) are all exciting exit doors for all those who will not access Formula 1.
*For the first time, a driver, Sarah Rumeau, is a member of the French rally team.
