Famous Racecar Drivers from France
- Alain Marie Pascal Prost OBE (born 24 February 1955) is a retired French racing driver and a four-time Formula One Drivers' Champion. From 1987 until 2001 Prost held the record for most Grand Prix victories and is considered as one of the greatest F1 drivers ever. Michael Schumacher surpassed Prost's total of 51 victories at the 2001 Belgian Grand Prix. In 1999, Prost received the World Sports Awards of the Century in the motor sport category.Prost discovered karting at the age of 14 during a family holiday. He progressed through motor sport's junior ranks, winning the French and European Formula Three championships, before joining the McLaren Formula One team in 1980 at the age of 24. He finished in the points on his Formula One début at the San Martin Autodrome in Buenos Aires, Argentina (where he took his first podium a year later) and took his first race victory at his home Grand Prix in France a year later, driving for the factory Renault team. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Prost formed a fierce rivalry mainly with Ayrton Senna, but also Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell. In 1986, at the last race of the season, he beat Mansell and Piquet of Williams to the title after Mansell retired late on in the race, and Piquet was pulled in for a late precautionary pit stop. Senna joined Prost at McLaren in 1988 and the two had a series of controversial clashes, including a collision at the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix that gave Prost his third Drivers' Championship. A year later at the same venue they collided again, but this time Prost, driving for Ferrari, lost out. Before the end of a winless 1991 season Prost was fired by Ferrari for his public criticism of the team. After a sabbatical in 1992, Prost joined the Williams team, prompting reigning Drivers' Champion Mansell to leave for CART. With a competitive car, Prost won the 1993 championship and retired from Formula One driving at the end of the year.In 1997, Prost took over the French Ligier team, running it as Prost Grand Prix until it went bankrupt in 2002. From 2003 to 2012 he competed in the Andros Trophy, which is an ice racing championship, taking 38 race victories and winning the championship 3 times.Prost employed a smooth, relaxed style behind the wheel, deliberately modelling himself on personal heroes like Jackie Stewart and Jim Clark. He was nicknamed "The Professor" for his intellectual approach to competition. Though it was not a name he particularly cared for, he would admit later that it was an appropriate summation of his approach to his racing. Skilled at setting up his car for race conditions, Prost would often conserve his brakes and tyres early in a race, leaving them fresher for a challenge at the end.
- Birthplace: Lorette, Loire, France
- Albert François Cevert Goldenberg (25 February 1944 – 6 October 1973) was a French racing driver who took part in the Formula One World Championship. He competed in 47 World Championship Grands Prix, achieving one win, 13 podium finishes and 89 career points.
- Birthplace: Paris, France
Jean Todt
Age: 78Jean Todt (born 25 February 1946) is a former rally co-pilot who went on to become Peugeot Talbot Sport's Director and then the Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 team principal, before being appointed Chief Executive Officer of Ferrari from 2004 to 2008. In October 2009, he was elected President of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), a position to which he was re-elected in December 2013 and December 2017. Under his leadership, Peugeot won 4 World Rally Championship titles (drivers and manufacturers), won the Paris-Dakar Rally 4 times, and twice won the Le Mans 24 Hours. During his time in charge, Ferrari won 14 Formula One World Championship titles (drivers and manufacturers). It is also under his leadership that Michael Schumacher won five consecutive World Drivers' Championships, from 2000 to 2004 and obtained 72 of his 91 victories. On 29 April 2015, Jean Todt was appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations as its Special Envoy for Road Safety.Jean Todt has been living with the Malaysian actress and producer Michelle Yeoh since 2004. He has a son Nicolas, born in 1977, who shares his passion for Motorsport.- Birthplace: Pierrefort, France
- Didier Joseph Louis Pironi (26 March 1952 – 23 August 1987) was a French racing driver. During his career he competed in 72 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, driving for Tyrrell (1978–1979), Ligier (1980) and Ferrari (1981–1982). He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1978 driving a Renault Alpine A442B.
- Birthplace: Paris, France
- Pierre Eugène Alfred Bouillin (22 December 1905 – 11 June 1955) was a French sportsman and racing driver. He took the racing name Pierre Levegh (pronounced le-VECK) in memory of his uncle, a pioneering driver who died in 1904. Levegh died in the 1955 Le Mans disaster which also killed 83 spectators during the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans automobile race.
- Birthplace: Paris, France
- Hellé Nice (born Mariette Hélène Delangle; 15 December 1900 – died 1 October 1984) was a French model, dancer, and a Grand Prix motor racing driver.
- Birthplace: France
- Jean Alesi (born Giovanni Alesi; 11 June 1964) is a French racing driver of Italian origin. His father, Franco, was a mechanic from Alcamo, Sicily, and his mother was from Riesi. After successes in the minor categories, notably winning the 1989 Formula 3000 Championship, his Formula One career included spells at Tyrrell, Benetton, Sauber, Prost, Jordan and Ferrari, where he proved very popular among the tifosi. During his spell at Ferrari from 1991 to 1995, his aggressive driving style, combined with the use of the number 27 on his car, led some journalists, and the tifosi, to compare him to Gilles Villeneuve and he won the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix, but this proved to be the only win of his Formula One career. During his time in Formula One, Alesi was particularly good in the wet, and was a mercurial and passionate racer, whose emotions sometimes got the better of him.After leaving Formula One, from 2002 to 2006 Alesi raced in the DTM championship, winning some races, and his best result was a fifth place in the drivers' championship. He raced in the Speedcar Series in 2008 and 2009, and raced at Le Mans in 2010. He raced in the Indianapolis 500 in 2012 and became the oldest professional driver to perform the rookie test for admission to the competition. For several years he was also a commentator for the Italian TV show Pole Position. In 2006 Alesi was awarded Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur.
- Birthplace: France, Avignon
- René Alexandre Arnoux (born 4 July 1948) is a French former racing driver who competed in 12 Formula One seasons (1978 to 1989). He participated in 165 World Championship Grands Prix (149 starts) winning seven of them, achieving 22 podium finishes and scoring 181 career points. His best finish in the World Drivers' Championship was third in 1983 for Ferrari. In 1977, Arnoux won the European Formula Two Championship. In 2006 he raced in the inaugural season of the Grand Prix Masters series for retired F1 drivers.
- Birthplace: Grenoble, France
- Jacques-Henri Laffite (born 21 November 1943 in Paris) is a French former racing driver who competed in Formula One from 1974 to 1986. He achieved six Grand Prix wins, all while driving for the Ligier team. From 1997 to 2013, Laffite was a presenter for TF1.
- Birthplace: Paris, France
Sébastien Bourdais
Age: 45Sébastien Olivier Bourdais (born 28 February 1979) is a French professional racing driver, who resides in St. Petersburg, Florida. He is one of the most successful drivers in the history of American Championship car racing, having won 37 races. He won four successive championships under Champ Car World Series sanction from 2004 to 2007. As of March 2017 he had won 75 races. He drove in Formula One for the Toro Rosso team during 2008, and the start of the 2009 season, but was unable to translate his past successes to that competition. As of January 2018, Bourdais drives for Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan in the NTT IndyCar Series, and for Ford Chip Ganassi Racing as a third driver in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and 24 Hours of Le Mans.- Birthplace: Le Mans, France
- Philippe, Baron de Rothschild (13 April 1902 – 20 January 1988) was a member of the Rothschild banking dynasty who became a Grand Prix race-car driver, a screenwriter and playwright, a theatrical producer, a film producer, a poet, and one of the most successful wine growers in the world.
- Birthplace: Paris, France
- Maurice Alain Farman (March 21, 1877 – February 25, 1964) was an Anglo-French Grand Prix motor racing champion, an aviator, and an aircraft manufacturer and designer.
- Birthplace: Paris, France
- Joseph Schlesser (18 May 1928 – 7 July 1968) was a French Formula One and sports car racing driver. He participated in three World Championship Grands Prix, including the 1968 French Grand Prix in which he was killed. He scored no championship points. He was the uncle of Jean-Louis Schlesser who himself became a Formula One driver in the 1980s.
- Birthplace: France
William Grover-Williams
Dec. at 42 (1903-1945)William Charles Frederick Grover-Williams (born William Charles Frederick Grover, 16 January 1903 – February or March 1945), also known as "W Williams", was a Grand Prix motor racing driver and special agent who worked for the Special Operations Executive (SOE) inside France. He organised and coordinated the Chestnut network. He was captured and executed by the Nazis.- Birthplace: Montrouge, France
Patrick Depailler
Dec. at 35 (1944-1980)Patrick André Eugène Joseph Depailler (9 August 1944 – 1 August 1980) was a racing driver from France. He participated in 95 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 2 July 1972. He also participated in several non-Championship Formula One races. Depailler was born in Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme. As a child, he was inspired by Jean Behra. In Formula One, he joined a Tyrrell team that was beginning a long, slow decline, eventually moving to the erratic Ligier team before finally ending up with the revived Alfa Romeo squad in 1980. Depailler was helping to advance this team up the grid when he was killed in a crash at Hockenheim on 1 August 1980, during a private testing session. He won two races, secured one pole position, achieved 19 podiums, and scored a total of 141 championship points.- Birthplace: Clermont-Ferrand, France
Robert Benoist
Dec. at 49 (1895-1944)Robert Marcel Charles Benoist (20 March 1895 – 9 September 1944) was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver and war hero.- Birthplace: France
José Dolhem
Dec. at 43 (1944-1988)Louis José Lucien Dolhem (26 April 1944 – 16 April 1988) was a racing driver from France, and the half brother (and also 1st cousin) of Formula One driver Didier Pironi (they had the same father and their mothers were sisters).Dolhem was born in Paris. He participated in three Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 7 July 1974, and scoring no championship points. His single grand prix start came to end when he was withdrawn by his team after his team-mate Helmuth Koinigg's fatal accident during the season-ending US Grand Prix. Dolhem died in a plane crash near Saint-Etienne in 1988. Dolhem and Pironi are buried in the same plot at Grimaud, near St Tropez in southern France.- Birthplace: Paris, France
- Louis-Joseph Chevrolet (French: [ʃəvʁɔlɛ]; December 25, 1878 – June 6, 1941) was a Swiss race car driver, co-founder of the Chevrolet Motor Car Company in 1911, and a founder in 1916 of the Frontenac Motor Corporation.
- Birthplace: La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
- Claude Brasseur (born 15 June 1936) is a French actor.
- Birthplace: Nanterre, France, Neuilly-sur-Seine
- Jean de Suarez d'Aulan (November 20, 1900 – October 8, 1944) was a French aviator, auto racer, bobsledder, businessman and soldier, from a powerful French aristocratic family as well as one of the oldest Spanish aristocracies. The aristocratic family became very powerful in Spain, to such a level they almost overthrew the king, Charles V. Although, as they were seen as a threat as one of the most powerful families in Spain, King Charles V of Spain chased the main branch of the family out of Spain to France where they were given the new titles of Marquis and Count by the French sovereign. From then on the family became loyal to France and became one of the country's most powerful aristocratic families. The ‘de Suarez’ (of Suarez) name originates from the Spanish aristocracy which held the title Duke of Suarez and Duke of Feria, whilst the ‘d’Aulan’ (of Aulan) name originates from the French aristocracy which holds the titles of Marquis and Count.
- Bertrand Gachot (born 23 December 1962) is a French former racing driver.
- Birthplace: Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Bob Wollek
Dec. at 57 (1943-2001)Bob Wollek (4 November 1943 – 16 March 2001), nicknamed "Brilliant Bob", was a race car driver from Strasbourg, France. He was killed on 16 March 2001 at age 57 in a road accident in Florida while riding a bicycle back to his accommodation after the day's practice sessions for the following day's race, the 12 Hours of Sebring. He won a total of 76 races in his career, 71 in Porsche cars.- Birthplace: Strasbourg, France
- Romain Grosjean (French pronunciation: [ʁɔmɛ̃ ɡʁoʒɑ̃]; born 17 April 1986) is a racing driver, currently racing for the Haas F1 Team. He races under the French flag in Formula One although he was born in Geneva and holds dual French-Swiss nationality. He dominated the 2005 French Formula Renault championship at his first attempt and joined the Renault young driver programme. He was the 2007 Formula 3 Euro Series drivers' champion. In 2008 he became the inaugural GP2 Asia Series champion and came 4th in his first year in GP2. In 2009 he made his Formula One debut for Renault at the European Grand Prix and came 4th again in GP2 despite missing the final eight races. After being dropped by Renault he returned to junior formulae, winning the 2010 Auto GP championship at the first attempt and winning the 2011 GP2 Asia Series and GP2 Series becoming the first – and as of 2018, only – two-time GP2 Asia champion and the only driver to hold both the GP2 Asia series and main GP2 series titles simultaneously. Due to the Asia and Main GP2 series being combined, it is likely that this will remain true for the foreseeable future. In 2012, Grosjean returned to Formula One with the Lotus F1 Team, alongside Kimi Räikkönen. He took his first Formula One podium at the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix and took his first fastest lap in the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix. He became the first driver since 1994 to receive a race ban after causing a multi-car pile up, at the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix. In 2013 he remained with Lotus, taking six podiums. He drove for Lotus again alongside Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado in the 2014 and 2015 seasons. He moved to Haas in 2016.
- Birthplace: Geneva, Switzerland
Bruno, Count of Harcourt
Dec. at 30 (1899-1930)Marie Hervé Jean Bruno d'Harcourt, Comte d'Harcourt, Count of Harcourt (20 September 1899 – 19 April 1930) was a member of the French nobility and a Grand Prix motor racing driver.- Birthplace: Vevey, Switzerland
Ferenc Szisz
Dec. at 70 (1873-1944)Ferenc Szisz (September 20, 1873 – February 21, 1944), was a Hungarian race car driver and the winner of the first Grand Prix motor racing event on a Renault Grand Prix 90CV on 26 June, 1906.- Birthplace: Szeghalom, Hungary
- Élie Marcel Bayol (28 February 1914 in Marseille – 25 May 1995 in La Ciotat) was a French racing driver who raced in Formula One for the O.S.C.A. and Gordini teams. He started his career in 1950 racing Monomill DB-Panhards and progressed to Formula 2 races and hillclimbs around France. His best result was a fourth place in the Circuit de Cadours, in 1951. In 1953 he was fourth again at Pau and obtained a pole position at Albi. He also succeeded the same year to win the Aix les Bains Circuit du Lac Grand Prix (Formula 2). His Formula One World Championship career consisted of entering 8 races over a five-year span. After two years with an OSCA, he joined the Gordini team in 1954 with Jean Behra. He scored his only 2 championship points with a fifth-place finish in Argentina. He also finished fourth at a non-championship event at Pau. In 1956 he raced a few times but then disappeared from single-seater racing.
- Birthplace: Marseille, France
François Migault
Dec. at 67 (1944-2012)François Migault (4 December 1944 – 29 January 2012) was a racing driver from Le Mans, France. He participated in 16 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 13 August 1972, but scored no championship points.- Birthplace: Le Mans, France
Amédée Gordini
Dec. at 79 (1899-1979)Amedeo "Amédée" Gordini (June 23, 1899 – May 25, 1979) was an Italian-born race car driver and sports car manufacturer in France.- Birthplace: Bazzano, Italy
Claude Ballot-Léna
Dec. at 63 (1936-1999)Claude Ballot-Léna (August 4, 1936 – November 9, 1999) was a French race driver born in Paris.- Birthplace: Paris, France
Rémy Julienne
Age: 94Rémy Julienne (born April 17, 1930 in Cepoy, France) is a French driving stunt performer, stunt coordinator, assistant director and occasional actor. He is also a former rallycross champion and 1956 French motorcross champion. He is a veteran of over 1,400 films. Notable large film projects in which he has arranged stunts, consulted or manufactured special stunt cars include The Italian Job and six James Bond films, five of which were directed by John Glen and three with his sons Dominique and Michel. His choreographed stunt sequences are usually destructive, with high-speed chases and highly realistic vehicle behaviour. French car manufacturers, notably Renault and Citroën, frequently called on his services for their TV and film commercials. He has also coordinated the attraction Moteurs... Action! Stunt Show Spectacular at Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris. He began a school in France to provide drivers and mechanics with the specialized skills needed for stunt work. His career suffered a setback in 1999, when a stunt went wrong during the filming of Taxi 2, written and produced by Luc Besson and directed by Gérard Krawczyk, causing the death of a cameraman Alain Dutartre and the serious injury of the cameraman's assistant. Julienne accused the production company of taking short cuts in safety equipment, which Besson denied. The case wound up on September 11, 2007, with Julienne receiving an 18-month suspended jail sentence and a €13,000 fine. The prosecutor accused Julienne of "not taking all the necessary measures for the security of the stunt in question" and notably to have "neglected the speed calculations of the car and the length of the jump".Besson's firm EuropaCorp was initially cleared of all charges in 2007. Instead, stuntman Remy Julienne, was held solely responsible for the botched scene. But the Paris Court of Appeal reversed the ruling in June 2009, and ordered EuropaCorp pay €100,000. Julienne's jail sentence was reduced to six months, and his fine was reduced from €13,000 to €2,000 but he was required to pay the Dutartre family €50,000 in court costs. EuropaCorp producers were criticised for rejecting Julienne's offers to trial the car scene in question for a price, which the stuntman claims would have prevented the tragedy. (Sources for this story appear to be entertainment news outlets with varying details.) In November 2005, Julienne was contracted by French TV station M6 to consult on a French-language remake of the 1970s series Starsky and Hutch. His sons Michel and Dominique are also highly skilled stunt drivers/coordinators.- Birthplace: Cepoy, France
Éric Hélary
Age: 58Éric Hélary (born 10 August 1966) is a professional racing driver from Paris. His career has encompassed single seater formulae, endurance sports car racing, and touring cars. He won the French Formula Three Championship in 1990 and is best known for his win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1993. He was champion 2011 of Euro Racecar.- Birthplace: Paris, France
René Le Bègue
Dec. at 32 (1914-1946)René Le Bègue (15 January 1914 – 24 February 1946) was a Parisian-born French race car driver in Rally and Grand Prix motor racing. In his first year of top level racing, his best showing came at the 1936 Spa 24 Hours endurance race when he drove a Delahaye to a 2nd-place finish. In 1937 he and his co-pilot Julio Quinlin won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Delahaye. That year Le Bègue also won the Coupe de Vitesse at the Autodrome de Montlhéry driving a Talbot-Lago T150 and had several top-three finishes. He then teamed up with André Morel to claim victory in the 1938 12 hours of Paris endurance race for sports cars. In 1939 he finished 3rd in the French Grand Prix behind the dominant Auto Union Silver Arrows then went on to win the Grand Prix du Comminges. The following year, Le Bègue traveled to the United States to compete in the 1940 Indianapolis 500. Driving a Maserati for the American/French owner Lucy O'Reilly Schell, he started in the last row in 31st position but drove to a 10th-place finish. René Le Bègue continued racing until the German occupation of France during World War II when he joined the Free French Forces. With the war over, in 1946 he prepared to return to the racing scene and was elected vice-president of the French Drivers Association (AGACI, Association Générale des Amicales et Coureurs Indépendants). However, early that year before the season started the thirty-two-year-old Le Bègue was accidentally asphyxiated by gas leaking from a defective water heater in his bathroom. The 9 June 1946 Grand Prix race at Saint-Cloud, won by Raymond Sommer, was named the René Le Bègue Cup in his memory.- Alain Ferté (born 8 October 1955 in Falaise, Calvados) is a professional racing driver. He is the elder brother of Michel Ferté, who is also a professional racing driver. Alain Ferté competed five seasons in Formula 3000 1985–1989. He won the 1979 French Formula Renault Championship and the 1980 French F3 championship.He has also competed in GT racing for many years, driving cars such as the Porsche 911 GT1, Toyota MR2-based SARD MC8R, and Maserati MC12 GT1.
- Birthplace: Falaise, France
Paul Belmondo
Age: 61Paul Alexandre Belmondo (born 23 April 1963) is a French racing driver who raced in Formula One for the March and Pacific Racing teams. He was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, the son of actor Jean-Paul Belmondo and grandson of sculptor Paul Belmondo. Around 1981, Paul gained publicity for becoming the lover of Princess Stéphanie of Monaco.Through 1987 he participated in Formula 3 and Formula 3000, although he was never a top 10 championship finisher in either. In 1992 he joined the March F1 team as a pay driver, getting a ninth place at the Hungarian Grand Prix, but only qualifying 4 more times before he ran out of money and was replaced by Emanuele Naspetti. Two years later he became a member of the uncompetitive Pacific Grand Prix team, where he only qualified for two races and was usually behind teammate Bertrand Gachot. Thereafter he concentrated on GT racing, at the wheel of a Chrysler Viper GTS-R. He started his own team, Paul Belmondo Racing, which raced in the FIA GT Championship and Le Mans Endurance Series championship before folding in 2007.- Birthplace: France, Boulogne-Billancourt
- André Guelfi (6 May 1919 – 28 June 2016) was a French racing driver. He was born in Mazagan, Morocco. He participated in one Formula One World Championship race, on 19 October 1958. He also participated in several non-Championship Formula One races. At the time of his death he was the oldest living Formula One driver and had been since the death of Robert La Caze on 1 July 2015.
- Birthplace: Morocco
Louis Meyer
Dec. at 91 (1904-1995)Louis Meyer (July 21, 1904 – October 7, 1995) was an American Hall of Fame race car driver who was the first three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500.- Birthplace: Manhattan, New York City, New York
Philippe Monnet
Age: 66Philippe Monnet (born 31 January 1959) is a single-handed sailor from France, born in La Clusaz. He is the brother in law of French singer Julien Clerc.- Birthplace: La Clusaz
- Yvan Muller (born 16 August 1969 in Altkirch, Haut-Rhin) is a French auto racing driver most noted for success in touring car racing. He is a four-time World Touring Car Champion, winning the title in 2008 with SEAT, in 2010 and 2011 with Chevrolet and in 2013 with RML.
- Birthplace: Altkirch, France
Comte George Raphaël Béthenod de Montbressieux
Dec. at 84 (1910-1994)"Raph" was the racing pseudonym of Comte George Raphaël Béthenod de Montbressieux (February 8, 1910 – June 16, 1994), a French-Argentine racing driver. He was sometimes listed using his mother's name, "de las Casas".Raph was to be entered in the 1946 Indianapolis 500, but did not arrive.- Birthplace: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Emmanuel Collard
Age: 53Emmanuel Collard (born 3 April 1971) is a French professional racing driver. He is a former member of the Porsche Junioren factory team, but also drives for other marques. Born in Arpajon, Essonne, Collard is the winner of the Le Mans Series for Pescarolo Sport in 2005 and 2006 with Jean-Christophe Boullion and in 2011 for Pescarolo Team with Julien Jousse. He co-drove the overall winner of the 2008 12 Hours of Sebring. He also was the Formula One test driver for Prost Grand Prix in 1997, Benetton in the late 1990s and Ligier-Ford in 1990.- Birthplace: Arpajon, France
- Aldo Gordini (20 May 1921 – 28 January 1995) was a racing driver from France. Born in Bologna, Italy, he was the son of Amédée Gordini, owner of the French sports car manufacturer Gordini. Aldo worked for the family's racing team as a mechanic and occasionally drove in Grand Prix motor racing events and Formula Two races. He participated in one Formula One World Championship race on 1 July 1951 as well as one non-Championship Formula One race. That same year he also drove for the Gordini team at the 24 hours of Le Mans but fuel pump problems forced him out of the race. Aldo Gordini died in Paris in 1995.
- Birthplace: Bologna, Italy
- Alexandre Prémat (born 5 April 1982) is a multiple-championship winning French racing driver. He currently drives for DJR Team Penske as a co-driver alongside Scott McLaughlin in the Pirtek Enduro Cup series. Prémat won the Pirtek Enduro Cup for Triple Eight Race Engineering alongside Shane van Gisbergen in 2016.
- Birthplace: Juvisy-sur-Orge, France
Eugène Chaboud
Dec. at 76 (1907-1983)Marius Eugène Chaboud (12 April 1907 in Lyon – 28 December 1983 in Montfermeil, Seine-Saint-Denis) was a racing driver from France. He participated in three Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, scoring one championship point. He also participated in numerous non-Championship Formula One races. He completed his first car race in 1936 at age of 29 in a Delahaye sports car and partnered his mentor Jean Trémoulet in the 1937 24 Hours of Le Mans race, where they failed to finish. The following year however the partnership won the race in a Delahaye. In 1939 he won the Paris-Nice road race for Ecurie France and after the Second World War he won the 1946 Belgian Grand Prix at Bois de la Cambre in a Delage. After Formula 1 was introduced in 1950, Chaboud drove a Talbot Lago T26 in several Formula 1 events, including three Grand Prix World Championship races, during 1950 and 1951, scoring only 1 championship point for a fifth place in the French Grand Prix. He retired from the sport after crashing his Talbot-Lago T26 at Le Mans during the 1952 event, when he became trapped under his car.- Birthplace: Lyon, France
Philippe Étancelin
Dec. at 84 (1896-1981)Philippe Étancelin (28 December 1896 – 13 October 1981) was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver who joined the new Formula One circuit at its inception.- Birthplace: Rouen, France
Victor Hémery
Dec. at 73 (1876-1950)Victor Hémery (18 November 1876 – 9 September 1950) was a champion French racecar driver of the early Grand Prix motor racing era.- Birthplace: France
André Simon
Dec. at 92 (1920-2012)André Simon (5 January 1920 – 11 July 2012) was a racing driver from France. He participated in Formula One from 1951 to 1957, competing in a total of 12 World Championship races but scoring no championship points.- Birthplace: Paris, France
Franck Montagny
Age: 47Franck Montagny (born 5 January 1978) is a retired French professional racing driver. He briefly raced for the Super Aguri Formula One team in 2006.- Birthplace: Feurs, France
- Didier Auriol (born 18 August 1958) is a French former rally driver. Born in Montpellier, and initially an ambulance driver, Auriol made his name as a French rally driver in the World Rally Championship throughout the 1990s. He became World Rally Champion in 1994, the first from his country to do so. He was a factory candidate for Lancia, Toyota and Peugeot among others, before losing his seat at Škoda at the end of 2003.
- Birthplace: Montpellier, France
Jean-Pierre Wimille
Dec. at 40 (1908-1949)Jean-Pierre Wimille (26 February 1908 – 28 January 1949) was a Grand Prix motor racing driver and a member of the French Resistance during World War II.- Birthplace: Paris, France
François Delecour
Age: 62François Delecour (born 30 August 1962) is a French rally driver.- Birthplace: France
Franck Fréon
Age: 62Franck Fréon (born 16 March 1962 in Paris) is a French race car driver. He began his career in the French Renault 5 Turbo Championship in 1986 and 1987 then competed in French Formula Three from 1988 to 1989. In 1990 he competed in International Formula 3000 and failed to qualify for four of his first five race attempts, but was credited with 5th place in his first successful start although he did not finish the race. He subsequently left his team and joined another for the final two races of the year where he qualified but failed to point. His fifth place was good enough for 19th in the championship. He moved to the United States and participated in Indy Lights from 1991 to 1993 capturing 4 wins and finishing runner up in both the 1992 and 1993 standings, behind Robbie Buhl and Bryan Herta respectively. However, he had trouble finding a good team in CART, making 4 starts (and 1 DNF) for 3 different teams in the 1994 season with a best finish of 12th in his CART debut at the Long Beach Grand Prix. 1995 wasn't much better as Fréon finished 15th in the Long Beach season opener, then failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in a 3 year old Lola chassis and returned 5 months later only to fail to make the show at Laguna Seca Raceway. Franck Fréon then ventured into endurance car racing, driving marginally competitive LMP vehicles in the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1995 to 1999. He then signed onto the Chevrolet factory team to drive the Chevrolet Corvette C5-R. He teamed with Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell to win the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2001. He continued with the team until 2004. Nearing his retirement, Franck Fréon leveraged his knowledge, experience and passion for cars to establish his business Pumpkin Fine Cars & Exotics in 1998.- Birthplace: Paris, France
François Picard
Dec. at 75 (1921-1996)François Picard (26 April 1921, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône – 29 April 1996, Nice ) was a racing driver from France. He participated in one Formula One Grand Prix, on 19 October 1958. He scored no championship points. This race was his last, as he crashed his Cooper into Olivier Gendebien's Ferrari, which had spun in front of him, and Picard suffered serious injuries. He eventually recovered, but never raced again.- Birthplace: France
Éric Bernard
Age: 60Éric Bernard (born 24 August 1964) is a retired French Formula One racing driver, who drove in Formula One from 1989 to 1994 for the Ligier, Larrousse and Lotus teams. His best finish in Formula One was third place at the German Grand Prix in 1994. After his Formula One career ended, he raced sportscars.- Birthplace: Martigues, France
Stéphane Sarrazin
Age: 49Stéphane Jean-Marc Sarrazin (born 2 November 1975) is a French professional racing driver. He has won races across a number of single-seater, sportscar and rallying disciplines and competitions, was French Formula Renault champion in 1994, and Le Mans Series champion in both 2007 and 2010. He has finished on the podium six times at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, including four outright second positions, although he has never won. He participated in one Formula One Grand Prix, the 1999 Brazilian Grand Prix, for Minardi as a replacement for Luca Badoer, who had injured his wrist. He suffered a big spin in the race coming up to the start-finish straight on lap 31 and scored no championship points. He also carried out testing duties for the Prost Grand Prix team during the 1999–2001 Formula One seasons and for Toyota Racing in their first season in 2002.- Birthplace: Alès, France
Jean-Albert Grégoire
Dec. at 93 (1899-1992)Jean-Albert Grégoire (7 July 1899 in Paris – 19 August 1992) was one of the great pioneers of the front-wheel-drive car. He contributed to the development of front-wheel-drive vehicles in two ways. The first way was in developing and promoting the Tracta joint (designed by his friend Pierre Fenaille), which was, until manufacturing techniques had progressed sufficiently to allow the successful manufacture of the constant velocity joints commonly in use today, the preferred choice of most manufactures of vehicles that had driven front wheels. Tracta joints were used by many of the pioneers of front-wheel drive, including DKW between 1929 and 1936 and Adler from 1932 to 1939 as well as the cars designed by J A Grégoire that will be mentioned later. The Tracta joint was fitted to most of the military vehicles that had driven front wheels used by most of the combatants in the Second World War. They included Laffly and Panhard in France, Alvis and Daimler in the UK and Willys in the United States that used the joint in a quarter of a million Jeeps and many others. This was to continue after the war, the first Land Rover being so fitted. The second way he contributed to the development of front-wheel-drive vehicles was in designing and in some cases manufacturing front-wheel-drive cars. The Tracta Gephi was his first design and it was this car that inspired him to design a constant velocity joint. All subsequent Tracta cars, and there were about two hundred manufactured between 1927 and 1932, used it. The first of these was raced at Le Mans in 1927 completing the 24-hour race. The Tracta cars used engines from S.C.A.P. from 1100 cc to 1600 cc, and Continental and Hotchkiss, from 2700 cc to 3300 cc. J .A. Grégoire designed an 11cv 6-cylinder car for Donnet in 1932. Only four prototypes were produced, one being shown at the Paris Salon of 1932 before Donnet went into liquidation. He then worked with Lucian Chenard to design two cars for Chenard et Walcker. They were of advanced design but were not a commercial success. In 1937 he designed the Amilcar Compound, produced by Hotchkiss from 1938 to the Second World War, by which time 681 examples had been made. It was constructed using another of Grégoire's ideas, a cast Alpax (light alloy) chassis frame. Other advanced features were rack and pinion steering and all independent suspension. But the car had its bad points, cable brakes and gear-change linkage and a side-valve engine although the latter was still common at this time. An overhead valve version came later. During the Second World War he secretly worked with his design team at his works at Asnières-sur-Seine on a small car the Aluminium "Francais-Gregoire". It had a chassis-body frame of light alloy, front-wheel drive, an air-cooled flat twin engine and independent suspension on all wheels. A four-seat car weighing only 880 pounds (400 kg) and could reach 60 mph (97 km/h) while returning 70 mpg. This design was to form the basis of the 1950 "Dyna" Panhard. In 1950 another Hotchkiss car the "Hotchkiss-Gregoire", was produced again with an alloy chassis and body. With independent suspension on all four wheels and fitted with a water-cooled flat four engine of 2 litres, ahead of the front axle, it was fast, with a top speed of 94 mph (151 km/h), but the car was expensive and only 250 examples were made by 1954. In 1956 Grégoire produced a two-seat convertible with a 2.2-litre supercharged flat-four engine producing 130 bhp (97 kW; 132 PS) and, as in the case of the cars mentioned previously, front-wheel drive. All ten cars made were fitted with bodies designed and built by Henri Chapron. All the cars mentioned previously were front-wheel-drive cars. Grégoire also designed a couple of rear-wheel-drive machines, the first electric car with the machinery in the mid-engine position and a gas turbine car the experimental Socema-Gregoire with a front-power-unit and rear-drive layout.- Birthplace: Paris, France
Albert Divo
Dec. at 71 (1895-1966)Albert Divo (24 January 1895, Paris – 19 September 1966, Morsang-sur-Orge, Essonne, France) was a Grand Prix motor racing driver. He was born in Paris, France. In 1922, Divo competed in the International Tourist Trophy endurance race on the Isle of Man. He scored his first major victory driving for Sunbeam at the 1923 Spanish Grand Prix at the Sitges Terramar circuit about 40 km outside Barcelona. Driving for Delage, in 1924 he finished second behind Giuseppe Campari in the European Grand Prix at Lyon. The following year he won two major Grand Prix events for Delage. In July he captured the French Grand Prix at the Autodrome de Montlhéry after his car went out of the race and he took over from teammate Robert Benoist. In September he shared victory with teammate André Morel at the San Sebastián Grand Prix at Circuito Lasarte. In 1927 he finished third in the British Grand Prix at Brooklands. The next year, he drove a Bugatti Type 35 to victories in the 1928 and 1929 Targa Florio. Albert Divo was a founding member of the Club International des Anciens Pilotes de Grand Prix F1 in 1962 in Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland. He died in 1966 and was buried in the Morsang-sur-Orge cemetery in the department of the Essonne near Paris.- Birthplace: Paris, France
Georges Boillot
Dec. at 31 (1884-1916)Georges Louis Frederic Boillot (August 3, 1884 – May 19, 1916) was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver and World War I fighter pilot.- Birthplace: Valentigney, France
Albert Guyot
Dec. at 65 (1881-1947)Albert Guyot (25 December 1881 in Orléans – 24 May 1947 in Neuilly-sur-Seine) was a French racecar driver. He was one of four drivers who entered with Duesenberg the 1921 French Grand Prix, the first in which a US make participated. Jimmy Murphy won with his Duesenberg 183; Guyot finished 6th.- Birthplace: France
Charles Pozzi
Dec. at 91 (1909-2001)Charles Pozzi (27 August 1909 – 28 February 2001) was a French racing driver who participated in one World Championship Formula One race in 1950, the year of its inception.- Birthplace: Paris, France
Gérard Larrousse
Age: 84Gérard Larrousse (born 23 May 1940) is a former sports car racing, rallying and Formula One driver from France. After the end of his career as racing car driver, he continued to be involved in Formula One as a team manager for Renault. He later founded and ran his own Formula One team, Larrousse, from 1987 to 1994.- Birthplace: France, Lyon
Gilles Panizzi
Age: 59Gilles Panizzi (born 19 September 1965) is a French rally driver on the World Rally Championship circuit. Panizzi was born in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Alpes-Maritimes. Like many of his fellow rally racing countrymen, Panizzi spent a great deal of his developmental driving years participating in asphalt rally events throughout his native land. In 1996 and 1997, Panizzi won the French Championship title in a Peugeot-backed (funded) 306 kit car. It was at that point that he was nominated to drive for Peugeot as their resident asphalt (tarmac/sealed-surface) expert. Between 1999 and 2003 Panizzi had great success in his role as Peugeot's tarmac expert. He won a total of seven World Rally Championship rounds in this period - all on tarmac. However, Panizzi's inability to match his rivals pace on gravel precluded him from challenging for the world title while at Peugeot. Panizzi had an embarrassing moment during the 2000 Safari Rally, where he and his brother and co-driver Herve were behind the slower car of Argentine driver Roberto Sanchez, who had not moved over despite being ordered to do so was kicking up dust and blinding the irate Panizzi, who got 2 punctures thanks to the stones thrown up by Sanchez's car. The 2 Panizzis were so furious that after the end of the stage they both ran up to Sanchez's car, opened the door and started physically assaulting the Argentine driver, both trying to pull Sanchez out of his car. The Panizzi brother's outburst landed them both a $50,000 fine. He is the only WRC driver to do a (famous) 360 spin at the 2002 Rally Catalunya.In 2004, Mitsubishi Motor Sports recruited Panizzi and his co-driver and brother, Hervé, to lead the company's charge back in the World Rally Championship. In the 2005 season, Panizzi was replaced in the lead car by Harri Rovanperä, and guested in the second car with Gianluigi Galli. He finished third at the Monte Carlo Rally, the first event of the season, but only scored points in one other event. In 2006, he was signed by the semi-privateer Red Bull Škoda team. Despite a strong performance in the opening rally of the season in Monte Carlo, he expressed his dissatisfaction at the performance of his car, and after a disappointing showing in Spain, he announced his departure from the team, and was replaced by his former Peugeot teammate Harri Rovanperä.- Birthplace: Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France
Nicolas Minassian
Age: 51Nicolas Minassian (born 28 February 1973) is a French professional racing driver of Armenian descent. After finishing 2nd place in the 1993 Formula Renault Eurocup, Marseille-born Minassian graduated to the French Formula Three Championship where he finished runner-up to countryman Laurent Redon at his second attempt in 1995. He then moved to the British series for another two years in a successful partnership with Promatecme and Renault UK that yielded a 4th place in 1996 and 2nd place the following year. He graduated to Formula 3000 with West Competition for 1998, but failed to impress whilst his teammate Nick Heidfeld mounted a strong challenge for overall honours. The following year, he moved to Kid Jensen Racing where he enjoyed more success, including an emphatic lights-to-flag triumph at Silverstone. He signed for the illustrious Super Nova Racing team in 2000 where he came a strong 2nd in the championship. Unable to secure a Formula One drive, Minassian drove in 2001 for Target Chip Ganassi Racing with F3000 title adversary Bruno Junqueira in CART and competed in the Indianapolis 500 before being released by the team. In 2002 Minassian won the ASCAR oval racing series for RML (Ray Mallock Ltd) before returning to endurance racing including the 24 Hours of Le Mans for such teams as Creation Autosportif and Pescarolo Sport. In 2007 he became a factory driver for the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP diesel Le Mans prototype in the European Le Mans Series. In 2008 he drove the Peugeot 908 diesel Le Mans prototype in the European Le Mans Series. He competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Peugeot 908.- Birthplace: Marseille, France
Olivier Panis
Age: 58Olivier Panis (born 2 September 1966) is a French professional racing driver. Panis drove in Formula One for ten seasons, scoring one win at the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix for the Ligier team. As of 2019, he is the last French driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix. He is the father of racing driver Aurélien Panis.- Birthplace: Lyon, France
Franck Perera
Age: 40Franck Perera (born 21 March 1984 in Montpellier, France) is a race car driver who has competed in a number of international open-wheel racing championships.- Birthplace: Montpellier, France
Arthur Duray
Dec. at 72 (1882-1954)Arthur Duray (9 February 1882 – 11 February 1954) was born in New York City of Belgian parents and later became a French citizen. An early aviator, he held Belgian license #3. He is probably best known today for breaking the land speed record on three separate occasions between July, 1903 and March, 1904. Driver George Stewart legally changed his name to Leon Duray in tribute to fellow driver Arthur Duray.- Birthplace: New York City, New York
Bernard Collomb
Dec. at 80 (1930-2011)Bernard Marie François Alexandre Collomb-Clerc (7 October 1930 in Annecy, Haute-Savoie – 19 September 2011 in La Colle-sur-Loup, Alpes-Maritimes) was a Formula One driver from France. He participated in six World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 2 July 1961, scoring no championship points. He almost always drove self-prepared cars, and first raced Coopers, switching to Lotuses in 1963. His best Formula One result was fourth at Vienna in a non-Championship race in 1961, at the wheel of a Cooper-Climax.- Birthplace: Annecy, France
Michèle Mouton
Age: 73Michèle Mouton (born 23 June 1951) is a French former rally driver. Competing in the World Rally Championship for the Audi factory team, she took four victories and finished runner-up in the drivers' world championship in 1982. She is still the last woman to compete in top-level rallying. Mouton debuted in rallying as a co-driver but quickly moved to the driver's seat, steering an Alpine-Renault A110 in national rallies. In 1975, she competed in circuit racing and won the two-litre prototype class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After being signed by Fiat France for 1977, Mouton finished runner-up to Bernard Darniche in the European Rally Championship. She went on to win the 1978 Tour de France Automobile and record consistent results in her home events in the WRC; the Tour de Corse and the Monte Carlo Rally. For 1981, Audi Sport signed Mouton to partner Hannu Mikkola. In her first year with the Audi Quattro, she took a surprise victory at the Rallye Sanremo. In the 1982 World Rally season, Mouton finished a close second overall to Walter Röhrl, after wins in Portugal, Brazil and Greece, and helped Audi to its first manufacturers' title. Her campaign the following year resulted in fifth place. With the team having four top drivers for 1984, Mouton's participation on world championship level became part-time. In 1985, she won the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in the United States, setting a record time in the process. In 1986, she moved to Peugeot and won the German Rally Championship as the first female driver to win a major championship in rallying. Soon after securing the title, Mouton retired from rallying due to the ban of Group B supercars. In 1988, she co-founded the international motorsport event Race of Champions in memory of her former rival Henri Toivonen. Mouton became the first president of the FIA's Women & Motor Sport Commission in 2010 and the FIA's manager in the World Rally Championship in 2011.- Birthplace: Grasse, France
Éric Angelvy
Age: 56Éric Angelvy is a French former racing driver. On retirement from racing Angelvy went into restaurant management, and has run several Parisian restaurants including Makoto, 912, Mustang Café, House of Live ex-Chesterfield Café.Guy Fréquelin
Age: 79Guy Fréquelin (born 2 April 1945 at Langres) is a former French rally and sports car driver.- Birthplace: Langres, France
Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat
Dec. at 36 (1867-1903)Count Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat (7 June 1866, Paris, France – 20 November 1903, Le Cannet, France) was a French aristocrat and race car driver. He was the son of Prosper, Marquis of Chasseloup-Laubat, minister of Napoleon III, and of his American wife Marie-Louise Pilié. He is known for setting the first recognised automobile land speed record on December 18, 1898, in Achères, Yvelines, using a Jeantaud electric car. The record was set as part of a competition organised by the French automobile magazine La France Automobile. He completed a single flying 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) run in 57 seconds to give an average speed of 63.13 km/h (39.23 mph).He further improved this record to 66.65 km/h (41.41 mph) one month later on January 17, 1899, also at Achères, in the first of a series of record setting duels with Camille Jenatzy. Ten days later Jenatzy managed to break this record with a speed of 80.35 km/h (49.93 mph), although it would revert to de Chasseloup-Laubat on March 4, 1899, when he increased it to 92.69 km/h (57.59 mph). Jenatzy finally took the record on April 29, 1899, with the first run to exceed 100 km/h (62.14 mph) with an average speed of 105 km/h (65.24 mph), a record that was to last 3 years. Chasseloup-Laubat managed to win the Marseille-La Turbie long-distance race in 1897 with a steam vehicle built by Trépardoux & Cie, predecessor of De Dion-Bouton. This was the only major city-to-city event won by a steam car. The count died in Le Cannet, near Cannes, aged 37, after a two-years long illness.Érik Comas
Age: 61Érik Comas (born 28 September 1963) is a French former Formula One driver. He was French Formula 3 champion in 1988, and then Formula 3000 champion in 1990, after scoring the same number of points as Jean Alesi in 1989 but losing on a count-back of positions. He participated in 63 Grands Prix, debuting on 10 March 1991. He scored a total of 7 championship points. His last point, in the 1994 German Grand Prix, was also the last one for the Larrousse team.- Birthplace: Ain, France
Charles Basle
Dec. at 77 (1885-1962)Charles Lucien Basle (8 January 1885 Paris – 4 February 1962 Los Angeles, California) was a French racecar driver.- Birthplace: France
Ernst Friedrich
Dec. at 67 (1886-1954)Ernst Friedrich was a French racecar driver.- Birthplace: Paris, France
Georges Grignard
Dec. at 72 (1905-1977)Auguste Georges Paul Grignard (25 July 1905 in Villeneuve-Saint-Georges – 7 December 1977 in Port-Marly) was a racing driver from France. He raced in Formula One from 1947 to 1953, participating in one World Championship Grand Prix on 28 October 1951. He also participated in numerous non-Championship races, including winning the 1950 Paris Grand Prix.- Birthplace: France
Eugène Martin
Dec. at 91 (1915-2006)Eugène Martin (March 24, 1915 in Suresnes – October 12, 2006 in Aytre) was a racing driver from France. He participated in two Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on May 13, 1950. He scored no championship points. Martin is better known for his participation in several of the prewar grands prix. He won the first Grand Prix Aix les Bains Circuit du Lac in 1949 with a Jicey-BMW developed by Jean Caillas.In the 1950s he embarked on a brief career as an auto-maker, working at the Paris-based garage he owned with his father to produce the Martin-Spéciale. The car was exhibited at the 1952 Paris Motor Show but never progressed to series production. He was one of the last surviving drivers from that era until his death at a hospital near his home in La Rochelle in 2006.- Birthplace: Suresnes, France
André Testut
Dec. at 79 (1926-2005)André Testut (13 April 1926 – 24 September 2005, Lyon) was a racing driver from Monaco. He was born in Lyon, France. He entered 2 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, both in Monaco, in 1958 and 1959. On both occasions he drove his Maserati 250F and both times he failed to qualify.- Birthplace: France
Didier Artzet
Age: 61Didier Artzet is a French former racing driver.Jean-Pierre Jaussaud
Age: 87Jean-Pierre Jaussaud (born 3 June 1937) is a French former racing driver, noted for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1978 and 1980. Jaussaud was born in Caen, Calvados, and started racing in automobiles in 1962, taking courses in the Jim Russell Drivers School and the Winfield Racing School. In 1964, he graduated to Formula Three racing, with backing from Shell, and joined the works Matra team in 1966, where he stayed for two years, and won the French title in 1970, in a private Tecno. In 1971 he moved full-time to Formula Two in a works March, and the following year drove a privateer Brabham and fought for the European Formula 2 title with Mike Hailwood. In 1975 Jaussaud quit single-seaters and entered endurance racing, where he was invited to drive for Renault Sport starting in 1976. Two years later, Jaussaud and partner Didier Pironi won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race overall. Although he tested the Renault F1 car, Jaussaud instead stayed in touring cars and endurance, winning the 1979 Production title in a Triumph Dolomite. Teaming up with Jean Rondeau, he won at Le Mans once more, and also took part in the Paris-Dakar Rally for Rondeau's team. Jaussaud continued racing until 1992, when he retired to become a racing instructor.- Birthplace: Caen, France
Antoine Gilles Menier
Dec. at 62 (1904-1967)Antoine Gilles Florent Menier (October 13, 1904 – August 12, 1967) was a French businessman and municipal politician who was a member of the prominent Menier family of chocolatiers. Born in Paris, Antoine Menier was the eldest of the four sons of Georges Menier (1880–1933) and Simone Camille Marie Legrand (1881–1972). He studied at the Lycée Condorcet in Paris but had little interest in business and did not go on to advanced studies. Instead, he used his wealth to pursue a life of sporting activities. An auto racing enthusiast, Antoine Menier set a number of records driving Alfa Romeo vehicles in hillclimbing events. In 1933 Antoine Menier became the mayor of Lognes, a town about two miles (3.2 km) south of the family's factories in Noisiel. He held the mayoral position until 1945 when his uncle Jacques Menier died. Since 1871, Menier family members had been the mayor of the town of Noisiel and Antoine replaced his uncle Jacques as Noisiel's mayor. He held that office until 1959 but was the last Menier to be the town's mayor.Jonathan Cochet
Age: 48Jonathan Cochet (born 4 January 1977 in Alençon, France) is a French racing driver. He won the Championnat de France Formule Renault in 1997. He was a test driver for Prost Grand Prix in 2001, and he was also a test driver with the Renault Formula One team in 2006.- Birthplace: Alençon, France
François Hesnault
Age: 68François Hesnault (born 30 December 1956) is a former racing driver from France. He participated in 21 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 25 March 1984. He scored no championship points. Hesnault enjoyed some success in the French Formula Three Championship, finishing third in the series in 1982 and second in 1983. The Frenchman debuted in Formula One in the 1984 season with Ligier, with a best result of 7th at the Dutch Grand Prix. For the 1985 season, he was hired to be Nelson Piquet's teammate at Brabham, but he was sacked after four uncompetitive races. He returned for a one-off at the German Grand Prix in a third Renault which carried a prototype onboard camera, making it the first use of this technology in a Grand Prix. This is also the last race in which three cars have been entered for the same team (current third drivers are not eligible to compete in the races). After this race, Hesnault retired from motor racing, having suffered a particularly heavy crash in testing at Circuit Paul Ricard shortly before parting company with Brabham.- Birthplace: Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris, France
François Mazet
Age: 81François Mazet (born 24 February 1943 in Paris) is a former racing driver from France. He participated in only one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix, finished 13th and scored no championship points. Mazet won the French Formula Three Championship in 1969 with a Tecno, and moved to Formula Two (F2) with the Sports Motor team alongside Tim Schenken for 1970. It was not a successful move and with sponsorship from Shell Petroleum, Mazet raced Jo Siffert's F2 Chevron when Siffert was unavailable as well as touring cars for Ford Germany. The association with Siffert led to Mazet driving the team's March 701 at Paul Ricard in the 1971 French Grand Prix. This however, was his only attempt at Formula One. After his racing career ended, Mazet was involved in the sponsorship of Lotus by Essex Petroleum in the 1980s.- Birthplace: Paris, France
Max Jean
Age: 81Max Jean (27 July 1943, Marseille) is a French former racing driver who won the Formule France championship in 1968. In addition to numerous Formula Two and Formula Three entries, Jean participated in one Formula One Grand Prix, driving a March for Frank Williams Racing Cars in his home race on 4 July 1971. He scored no championship points.- Birthplace: Marseille, France
Michel Ferté
Age: 66Michel Ferté (born 8 December 1958 in Falaise, Calvados) is a professional racing driver. He is the younger brother of Alain Ferté, who is also a professional racing driver. Ferté competed five seasons in Formula 3000 from 1985 to 1989.- Birthplace: Falaise, France
Jean Guichet
Age: 97Jean Guichet (born 10 August 1927 in Marseilles, France) is a French industrialist and former racing driver. He is most well known for winning the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans with co-driver Nino Vaccarella, driving a Ferrari 275 P for Scuderia Ferrari. Guichet raced sports cars and rallied from 1948 through the late 1970s. He began his racing career as a self-funded independent driver but would later drive for teams including Scuderia Ferrari, the Abarth works team, Ecurie Filipinetti, Maranello Concessionaires, and NART.Guichet is also known as the first owner of 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO chassis number 5111GT, one of only 36 produced. He successfully raced this car, including an overall win of the 1963 Tour de France with co-driver Jose Behra. Following Guichet's sale of the car in 1965 and multiple subsequent ownership changes, this car was sold privately in September 2013 for $52,000,000 USD. This broke the then-current record for world's most expensive car.- Birthplace: Marseille, France
Bruno Saby
Age: 75Bruno Saby (born 23 February 1949 in Grenoble) is a rally driver from France. In 1981, Saby became French Rally Champion in a Renault 5 Turbo. He drove for the works teams of Renault, Peugeot, Volkswagen and Lancia during his career in the World Rally Championship. He took two World Rally Championship wins in his career—his first, driving a Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2, was in the 1986 Tour de Corse, in which Henri Toivonen and his co-driver Sergio Cresto died. His only other win was with Lancia in the 1988 Monte Carlo Rally. In 1978 Saby claimed the French Rallycross Championship title with an Alpine A110 1600. In the 1988 French Rallycross Championship he drove a Lancia Delta S4 to become the runner-up to Champion Guy Fréquelin who drove a Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 Evo 2. He participated from 1992 to 2008 in cross country rallye and in the Dakar Rally, which he won in 1993 while driving for Mitsubishi. Driving for Volkswagen, he won the 2005 FIA cross-country rallye world championship. He retired in July 2008.- Birthplace: Grenoble, France
Jean-Pierre Nicolas
Age: 80Jean-Pierre Nicolas (born 22 January 1945 in Marseille) is a retired French professional rally driver who competed mainly in the 1970s. Nicolas took five WRC event wins in the World Rally Championship. His best result in the drivers' championship was second with 31 points, after Markku Alén (53) and ahead of Hannu Mikkola (30), in the 1978 FIA Cup for Drivers.He was the Sporting Director for Peugeot in the WRC until 2005, around the time the 206 WRC and the short-lived factory-spec 307 WRC from 2004 to 2005 was the official works Peugeot car. He was then the FIA Intercontinental Rally Challenge's Motorsport Development Manager.- Birthplace: Marseille, France
Christophe Bouchut
Age: 58Christophe Bouchut (born 24 September 1966 in Voiron, Isère) is a French professional racing driver. He currently competes in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, driving for Dexwet-df1 Racing and Alex Caffi Motorsport in a part-time effort. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1993. He was named as the first driver for the F1 Larrousse team for the 1995 season, but the team withdrew before the first race. In his 30 years of racing, Bouchut has earned 105 victories, 85 pole positions, four overall wins in 24-hour races (1993 Le Mans, 1995 Daytona, 2000 and 2001 Spa), three FIA GT titles (2000–2002) and the 2011 American Le Mans Series LMP2 championship.- Birthplace: Voiron, France
Franck Lagorce
Age: 56Franck Lagorce (born 1 September 1968 in L'Haÿ-les-Roses) is a racing driver from France. He participated in 2 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 6 November 1994. He scored no championship points.- Birthplace: L'Haÿ-les-Roses, France
Robert Manzon
Age: 107Robert Manzon (12 April 1917 – 19 January 2015) was a French racing driver. He participated in 29 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 21 May 1950. He achieved two podiums, and scored a total of 16 championship points. At the time of his death, Manzon was the last surviving driver to have taken part in the first Formula One World Championship in 1950.- Birthplace: Marseille, France
Didier André
Age: 50Didier Andre (born 3 September 1974) is a race car driver born in Lyon, France. In the late 1990s he competed in Indy Lights, driving in the Indy Racing League in 2001 and Nissan World Series from 2003 until the present day. During 2006 he drove in the Le Mans Series Championship, initially in LMP2 for the team Paul Belmondo Racing n°37 car, a Courage C65 with Ford power. Subsequently he moved to the LMP1 championship winning Pescarolo Sport squad, where he won at Donington and Jarama, partnering Jean-Christophe Boullion and Emmanuel Collard.- Birthplace: Lyon, France
Pierre-Henri Raphanel
Age: 63Pierre-Henri Raphanel (born 27 May 1961 in Algiers, Algeria) is a former French racing driver. He participated in 17 Formula One Grands Prix for Larrousse, Coloni and Rial, debuting on 13 November 1988. He only qualified for one race, the 1989 Monaco Grand Prix, making him the only driver in F1 history whose only race was in the principality.Following his F1 career, he became a factory driver for Toyota, competing in Japan for series such as JTCC and JGTC, for the latter until 2000. After 2006 Raphanel worked as the lead test driver and product specialist for Bugatti and is usually seen demonstrating the Veyron. Pierre-Henri Raphanel is also the uncle of the French-Algerian driver Julien Gerbi and of the young go-kart driver Arthur Raphanel. He drove the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport to its maximum speed (431.072 km/h) in Ehra-Lessien in July 2010.- Birthplace: Algiers, Algeria
André Boillot
Dec. at 40 (1891-1932)André Boillot (8 August 1891 – 5 June 1932) was a French auto racing driver. Born in Valentigney, Doubs, he was the younger brother of race car driver, Georges Boillot. Following in his brother's footsteps, André Boillot began racing cars at a young age. However, World War I not only disrupted his career but claimed the life of his brother in 1916. After the war, André Boillot returned to racing as part of the Peugeot factory team and drove their EXS model to victory in the 1919 Targa Florio. French drivers had been a major force since the inception of the Indianapolis 500 in the United States and he was part of a large post-war contingent of entrants from France. Boillot competed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the 1919 "500" and was in the thick of things when he crashed with only five laps remaining. He returned to race in the event in 1920 and 1921 but both times went out early with mechanical problems. In Europe, he won the 1922 and 1925 editions of the Coppa Florio and in 1926 he and co-pilot Louis Rigal won the Spa 24 Hours in Belgium. André Boillot was driving a Peugeot 201 when he crashed during practice for the 1932 Ars hillclimbing race at La Châtre. He died in hospital a few days later from his injuries.Bernard Darniche
Age: 82Bernard Darniche (born 28 March 1942 Cenon is a commune in the Gironde department) is a French former rally driver. He won the European Rally Championship in 1976 and 1977 and the French Rally Championship in 1976 and 1978, each time behind the wheel of a Lancia Stratos HF. He also holds the record for most victories in the Tour de Corse which he won six times (1970, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1981), a feat later equalled by Didier Auriol. He competed in the first World Rally Championships in 1973, winning the 16th Moroccan Rally and placing second in the 44th Alpine Rally, and was one of the top competitors for the remainder of the decade. He finished third in the inaugural FIA Cup for Rally Drivers in 1977, the first of three successive top ten finishes in the drivers' championship. He also won the Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo in 1979, the event where he holds the record for most wins on the infamous Col de Turini stage, a 1,600 m Alpine mountain pass normally driven in darkness. The so-called "Night of the Long Knives" has seen Darniche victorious on ten occasions. he is present at the Grandes heures de l'automobile 2017 at Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry or been present too Sébastien Loeb, Robert Neyret, Bruno Saby, Gilles Panizzi or David Piper.Alex Bassi
Age: 53Georges Bouriano
Georges Bouriano/George Burianu was a Romanian racing car driver (20 August 1901, Brăila – 1996, Waterloo) who raced in the Bugatti T35C. He came second in the 1929 Monaco Grand Prix.Antoine Mourre
Antoine Mourre was a French racecar driver.Jean-Louis Schlesser
Age: 76Jean-Louis Schlesser (born 12 September 1948) is a French racing driver with experience in circuit racing and cross-country rallying. He is known for his wins of many different competitions. He is the nephew of Jo Schlesser, a former Formula One driver. Jean-Louis himself attempted two Formula One races five years apart and his best known for his involvement in the 1988 Italian Grand Prix.- Birthplace: France, Nancy
Igor Troubetzkoy
Dec. at 96 (1912-2008)Prince Igor Nikolayevich Troubetzkoy (Russian: Игорь Николаевич Трубецкой; 23 August 1912, Paris, – 20 December 2008, Nice) was a French aristocrat and athlete (Ski, cycling, car racing) of Russian descent.- Birthplace: Paris, France
Jules Goux
Dec. at 79 (1885-1965)Jules Goux (6 April 1885 - 6 March 1965), was a Grand Prix motor racing champion and the first Frenchman, and the first European, to win the Indianapolis 500.- Birthplace: France
Jean Lucas
Dec. at 86 (1917-2003)Jean Lucas (25 April 1917 – 27 September 2003) was a racing driver from France. He participated in one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix, on 11 September 1955. Lucas was then manager of the Gordini team, and when regular driver Robert Manzon was unable to race, he stepped in to take his place. His retired his car with engine failure and scored no championship points. Lucas' best results as a driver were in sports car racing at the wheel of a Ferrari, winning at Spa-Francorchamps and Montlhéry in 1949. He retired in 1957 after a crash at the Moroccan Grand Prix.- Birthplace: Le Mans, France
Simon Pagenaud
Age: 40Simon Pagenaud (born 18 May 1984) is a French professional racing driver. He currently drives the #22 Chevrolet for Team Penske in the IndyCar Series. After a successful career in sports car racing that saw him taking the top class championship title in the 2010 American Le Mans Series, he moved to Formula Racing in the Indycar Series where he became the 2016 IndyCar champion and the 2019 Indianapolis 500 winner, becoming the first French driver to win the Indianapolis 500 since Gaston Chevrolet in 1920 and the first polesitter to have won the race since Helio Castroneves in 2009.- Birthplace: Poitiers, France
Jacques Pollet
Dec. at 75 (1922-1997)Jacques Pollet (July 2, 1922 in Roubaix – August 16, 1997 in Paris ) was a racing driver from France. He participated in 5 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on July 4, 1954. He scored no championship points.- Birthplace: Roubaix, France
Mike Sparken
Dec. at 82 (1930-2012)Mike Sparken was a pseudonym for Michel Poberejsky (born 16 June 1930 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine; died 21 September 2012), a former racing driver from France. He participated in one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix, at the 1955 British Grand Prix on 16 July. He finished seventh albeit nine laps down and scored no championship points. Sparken was better known as a sportscar driver and much of his success came in events in North Africa.- Birthplace: Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris, France
Jean-Karl Vernay
Age: 37Jean-Karl "J. K." Vernay (born 31 October 1987) is a French professional racing driver.- Birthplace: Villeurbanne, France
- Nelson Philippe (born July 23, 1986 in Valence, Drôme) is a French race car driver.
- Birthplace: Valence, France
Philippe Bugalski
Dec. at 49 (1963-2012)Philippe Bugalski (12 June 1963 – 10 August 2012) was a French rally driver.Bugalski became a works Renault driver in the French Rally Championship in 1994. In 1998, he joined the works Citroën team, with whom he won the French national title three years in a row, from 1998 to 2000.By the mid 1990s he had become a regular choice as tarmac specialist for Citroën, along with team mate Jesús Puras. However, as the Citroën Total World Rally Team entered the World Rally Championship full-time, employing such drivers as Sébastien Loeb, he was frequently entered as Citroën's 3rd driver for tarmac rallies. His top performances have been on home soil on the Tour de Corse, but he has also shown potential in the Rallye Sanremo, Monte Carlo Rally, and Rallye Catalunya. After his breakthrough, he has struggled to secure a firm place in Citroen's WRC team but has always been a solid reserve driver and only really used as a tarmac specialist. By 2003, he had stopped rallying professionally. Bugalski died on 10 August 2012, aged 49, from injuries sustained when he fell out of a tree at his home in Seine-et-Marne.- Birthplace: France
Louis Wagner
Dec. at 78 (1882-1960)Louis Wagner may refer to: Louis C. Wagner Jr. (born 1932), United States Army four-star general Louis Wagner (driver) (1882–1960), French Grand Prix driver Louis Wagner (American general) (1838–1914), German-born American military infantry Louis Wagner (murderer) (died 1875), German fisherman murderer- Birthplace: Le Pré-Saint-Gervais, France
Jean Rondeau
Dec. at 39 (1946-1985)Jean Rondeau (13 May 1946 in Le Mans, France – 27 December 1985 in Champagné, France) was a French race car driver and constructor, who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1980, in a car bearing his own name, an achievement which remains unique in the history of the race.- Birthplace: Le Mans, France
Luc Alphand
Age: 59Luc Alphand (born 6 August 1965) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from France. He specialized in the speed events and later became a race car driver.- Birthplace: Briançon, France
Johnny Servoz-Gavin
Dec. at 64 (1942-2006)Georges-Francis "Johnny" Servoz-Gavin (18 January 1942 – 29 May 2006) was a motor racing driver in both sportscars and single seaters. He participated in 13 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix between 1967 and 1970, failing to qualify in one. He achieved one podium, and scored a total of nine championship points. He drove for the Tyrrell Formula One team, mainly as Jackie Stewart's teammate.- Birthplace: Grenoble, France
Yves Giraud-Cabantous
Dec. at 68 (1904-1973)Marius Aristide Yves Giraud-Cabantous (8 October 1904 – 30 March 1973) was a racing driver from France. He drove in Formula One from 1950 to 1953, participating in 13 World Championship Grands Prix, plus numerous non-Championship Formula One races.Giraud-Cabantous was born in Saint-Gaudens. He drove a Talbot-Lago-Talbot in 10 Championship races in 1950 and 1951, and his final three events were in an HWM-Alta. He amassed a total of 5 Championship points, 3 at the 1950 British Grand Prix (also his highest finish, a 4th place) and 2 at the 1951 Belgian Grand Prix. He died in Paris, aged 68.- Birthplace: Paris, France
Maurice Trintignant
Dec. at 87 (1917-2005)Maurice Bienvenu Jean Paul Trintignant (30 October 1917, in Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes, Vaucluse – 13 February 2005, in Nîmes) was a motor racing driver and vintner from France. He competed in the Formula One World Championship for fourteen years, between 1950 and 1964, one of the longest careers in the early years of Formula One. During this time he also competed in sports car racing, including winning the 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Following his retirement from the track Trintignant concentrated on the wine trade. Maurice Trintignant was the brother of Bugatti race car driver Louis Trintignant — who was killed in 1933, in practice, at Péronne, Picardy — and the uncle of renowned French film actor Jean-Louis Trintignant.- Birthplace: France
Patrick Tambay
Age: 75Patrick Daniel Tambay (born 25 June 1949) is a French former racing driver. He competed in 123 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, winning twice, securing five pole positions and scoring a total of 103 Championship points. In 2006, he raced in the inaugural season of the Grand Prix Masters formula for retired Formula One drivers, and continued in the series in 2007.- Birthplace: Paris, France
Raymond Sommer
Dec. at 44 (1906-1950)Raymond Sommer (31 August 1906 – 10 September 1950) was a French motor racing driver. He raced both before and after WWII with some success, particularly in endurance racing. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in both 1932 and 1933, and although he did not reach the finishing line in any subsequent appearance at the Le Mans, he did lead each event until 1938. Sommer was also competitive at the highest level in Grand Prix motor racing, but did not win a race. He won the French Grand Prix in 1936, but the event that year was run as a sports car race. After racing resumed in the late 1940s, Sommer again won a number of sports car and minor Grand Prix events, and finished in fourth place in the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix, the second round of the newly-instituted Formula One World Drivers' Championship. He was killed toward the end of 1950, when his car overturned during a race at the Circuit de Cadours.- Birthplace: Mouzon, France
Loïc Duval
Age: 42Loïc Duval (French pronunciation: [lɔik dyval] (listen)), born 12 June 1982 in Chartres, is a French professional racing driver racing for Audi Sport as a factory driver in DTM and driving for Dragon Racing in Formula E. He won the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans with Allan McNish and Tom Kristensen driving the Audi R18 for Audi Sport.- Birthplace: Chartres, France
Nicolas Lapierre
Age: 40Nicolas Lapierre (born 2 April 1984) is a French professional racing driver. He raced with Toyota in the WEC and is currently a works driver for Alpine Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He is a two-time winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring, with overall victories in 2011 and 2018, and scored four LMP2 class victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019.- Birthplace: Thonon-les-Bains, France
Jean-Pierre Beltoise
Age: 87Jean-Pierre Maurice Georges Beltoise (26 April 1937 – 5 January 2015) was a French Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver who raced for the Matra and BRM teams. He competed in 88 Grands Prix achieving a single victory, at the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix, and a total of eight podium finishes.- Birthplace: Paris, France
Jean Ragnotti
Age: 79Jean "Jeannot" Ragnotti (born 29 August 1945 in Pernes-les-Fontaines, Vaucluse), is a French former rally driver for Renault in the World Rally Championship. Ranking among his achievements are his conquering of the Monte Carlo Rally in 1981, what was the first turbo victory in the history of the WRC, alongside compatriot Jean-Marc Andrié against the might of the ultimate four-wheel-drive upstart, the Audi Quattro. In the following season, he took his Renault 5 Turbo to victory at the Tour de Corse. The Maxi version of the same Renault 5 was to reign again on the asphalt stages of European rallying, when in 1985, Ragnotti claimed the Tour de Corse again with Group B rallying at its zenith; a win that came on debut of Renault 5 Maxi Turbo. The 1985 Rothmans Tour de Corse would also prove to be a tragic affair after the fatal crash of Attilio Bettega on SS4 (Zerubia) of the event. In the 1990s, Ragnotti continued to drive for Renault, this time in their front-wheel drive Clio Maxi.- Birthplace: Carpentras, France
Nicolas Prost
Age: 43Nicolas Jean Prost (born 18 August 1981) is a French professional racing driver. He recently raced in the FIA Formula E Championship before quitting the series. He is also a longstanding racer in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Lotus Rebellion Racing. He also competes in the Andros Trophy and he was a reserve driver for Lotus F1. He is a son of four-time Formula One world champion Alain Prost.- Birthplace: Saint-Chamond, Loire, France
