At Lédenon, the fourth meeting of the French F4 Championship ended with a brilliant victory for Julien in Race 3. By resisting Barter for 2nd place, Capietto made excellent progress in the general standings. Giusti won in the Junior class.
Already seven different drivers have had the opportunity to climb onto the top step of the podium in 2021 in just four events, confirming the interest of the FFSA Academy Championship. After Pierre-Alexandre Provost the day before, it was Gaël Julien’s turn to add his name to the list of winners of the competition that has revealed so many talented drivers since its creation. A beautiful blue sky and a summer temperature were present when the pack started for a little more than 20 minutes of racing. Macéo Capietto took the lead in the famous triple left of the Gard circuit, while Gaël Julien tried to contain the attacks from his pursuers.
“My start wasn’t really good,” explained Gaël, the young French hopeful who trained in karting for several years in Singapore. “I wasn’t too worried when I saw that I was able to follow Macéo quite easily. As soon as I found myself in a good position, I managed to overtake him, before taking the lead. I had some doubts this morning though, as I had food poisoning and had to go to the emergency room until late in the evening. In the end, I felt very good in the car, it was really effective and I thank the FFSA Academy team for the repairs made after the collision the day before.”
Intense duel between Capietto and Barter
If Capietto quickly realised Julien’s superiority in this Race 3, he didn’t have a minute’s respite because of the pressure from Hugh Barter. “My pace was good, I was able to gain a place on the third lap, before getting stuck in the wake of Macéo,” commented the Australian. “I tried several times to push him, to find an opportunity, but trying to overtake proved to be too risky. I ended up securing another podium.”
“A pole, a win, a fastest lap and 2nd place in this Race 3. It was an excellent weekend,” said Capietto. “I’ve taken back around 15 points from Esteban Masson, which is positive in terms of the Championship. Suspense remains before the next trips to Monza in Italy, and Paul Ricard and Magny-Cours in France.”
3rd on the starting grid, Esteban Masson did not make the best start of his career. Ranked 6th on the first lap, he managed to regain a place at the expense of Daniel Ligier in a beautiful attacking race. Esteban remains a solid leader in the French F4 Championship. In front of him in 4th position, Owen Tangavelou had a consistent and faultless race. “The aim was to get on the podium, but I damaged a tyre the day before driving on a piece of debris and I wasn’t as comfortable in Race 3.”
A successful debut for Pablo Sarrazin
Alessandro Giusti, who had already won the Junior category in Race 1, repeated his performance, achieving a good result in the battle with Swiss rider Cabanelas in this category. 7th overall, Alessandro finished in the wheel tracks of Ligier, without being able to pass him despite some intimidating manoeuvres. Dario Cabanelas and Enzo Geraci took the next places, while completing the top three of the Juniors. For his first experience in a single-seater, Pablo Sarrazin made remarkable progress, to the point of overtaking drivers who have been racing since the start of the season. The son of Stéphane Sarrazin, a 24 Hours of Le Mans specialist and former F1 and Rally driver, Pablo took 10th place ahead of Noah Andy, Pierre-Alexandre Provost, Paul Trojani and Angélina Favario.
Race 3 standings
1 Gaël Julien (France) with 16 laps
2 Macéo Capietto (France) at 5″678
3 Hugh Barter (Australia) at 6″018
4 Owen Tangavelou (France) at 7″557
5 Esteban Masson (France) at 11″433
6 Daniel Ligier (France) at 15″380
7 Alessandro Giusti (France) at 15″812, 1st Junior
8 Dario Cabanelas (Switzerland) at 17″149, 2nd Junior
9 Enzo Geraci (France) at 20″331, 3rd Junior
10 Pablo Sarrazin (France) at 20″786
11 Noah Andy (France) at 21″406
12 Pierre-Alexandre Provost (France) at 21″906, 4th Junior
13 Paul Trojani (France) at 24″913
14 Angélina Favario (France) at 48″624
Fastest lap: Gaël Julien in 1’22″068 (average speed 138,4 km/h)
French F4 Championship standings after Lédenon
1 Esteban Masson (France) 181 pts
2 Macéo Capietto (France) 155 pts
3 Hugh Barter (Australia) 139 pts
4 Daniel Ligier (France) 111 pts
5 Gaël Julien (France) 103 pts
6 Owen Tangavelou (France) 94 pts
7 Alessandro Giusti (France) 74 pts, Junior
8 Dario Cabanelas (Switzerland) 67 pts, Junior
9 Enzo Geraci (France) 31 pts, Junior
10 Aiden Neate (United Kingdom) 30 pts, Juniors
11 Noah Andy (France) 27 pts
12 Thanapongpan Sutumno (Thailand) 22 pts
13 Pierre-Alexandre Provost (France) 21 pts, Juniors
14 Adam Szydlowski (Poland) 4 pts
15 equal Angélina Favario (France)
15 equal Vignesh Kadarabad (India)
