The FIA-certified French F4 Championship is set to host its closing round of the 2026 season from 9th to 11th October at the Paul Ricard circuit in Le Castellet. For this sixth and final round of the season, the FFSA Academy will once again welcome a particularly strong international field. While the French Championship title has already been secured by Frenchman Guillaume Bouzar, several other titles remain to be decided, such as the runners-up title and the women’s classification.
A leading international championship
Managed with consistency and expertise by the FFSA Academy for several decades, the French Formula 4 Championship occupies a unique place in the motorsport landscape. It has continued to grow in international scope and, once again this year, brings together drivers from around fifteen different countries. Beyond the quality of the coaching and the fairness of the competition, its main strength remains its ability to offer a genuine pathway into single-seater racing at a manageable cost, whereas the budgets required to compete in an F4 championship can be much lower than in other countries. The Var round will bring this new season, rich in breakthroughs and confirmed talents, to a close.
A second successful year for Bouzar
Having finished 5th in the Championship in 2025, Guillaume Bouzar reached new heights in 2026. The Frenchman proved particularly strong and consistent, securing ten podium finishes, including five victories, across five races. Added to this already impressive record are seven fastest laps and six pole positions. These statistics illustrate the dominance of the new French Champion, whose title is a fitting reward for his level of performance and consistency. Behind him, the battle for the runners-up spot remains wide open between Japan’s Kota Tsuchihashi, who secured two important victories at Lédenon, and the Frenchmen Lilian Soares and Hugo Herrouin.
Suspense over the final podium
Having shone on home soil at Spa-Francorchamps and then at Magny-Cours, Belgium’s Thibaut Ramaekers failed, however, to achieve the result he had hoped for at Lédenon. With his chances of winning the title now looking very slim, he has chosen to prioritise preparations for his 2027 season by taking part in FREC test sessions. As stipulated by a clause in the FFSA Academy regulations, he will therefore not be able to score any points at Le Castellet, but will aim to end his season on a high and even retain his 2nd place thanks to the substantial number of points he has already secured in 2026. As is often the case at this final round of the French F4 Championship, several outsiders will also be keen to make the most of this final event to make their mark and aim for a podium finish. Two drivers will be making their F4 Academy debut at Le Castellet: Arthur Barbe and Gabriel Canal, one of the best young French drivers on the international scene this season.
The suspense remains high in the women’s championship
The French Women’s Championship is also one of the main highlights of the weekend. Dutch driver Annabelle Brian currently leads the standings with 214 points, but Austria’s Clara Stiebleichinger, on 201 points, and France’s Angelina Proenca, on 185 points, can still turn the tables. Sofia Zanfari (163 points) and Héloïse Goldberg (150 points) remain in contention for a place in the top three. Several experienced drivers will also be on hand to raise the standard at the final round. For instance, Canada’s Autumn Fisher, France’s Jade Jacquet – the first woman to have won a French F4 round – and Italy’s Ginevra Panzeri, who are competing in the F1 Academy or other championships in 2026, will be aiming for victory without being able to score points in the standings.
> List of entrants
4 – CHEEZUM Kyler (USA)
5 – STIEBLEICHINGER Clara (Austria) *
6 – BARBE Arthur (France)
7 – ESCHALIER Arthur (France)
9 – ROSEN Yuval (Israel)
10 – SOARES Lilian (France)
12 – GOLDBERG Héloïse (France) *
13 – FRANCIS Lewis (Australia)
17 – MCKENNA Maverick (USA)
19 – BOUZAR Guillaume (France)
21 – PASQUIER Nicolas (France)
23 – PROENCA Angelina (France) *
26 – ZANFARI Sofia (Morocco) *
27 – DUSSOL Tom (France)
28 – Ginevra PANZERI (Italy) *
29 – Matthéo DAUVERGNE (France)
30 – Paul GLEIZES (France)
42 – Oscar GOUDCHAUX (France)
44 – Jade JACQUET (France) *
47 – Hugo HERROUIN (France)
50 – TSUCHIHASHI Kota (Japan)
53 – SENECLOZE Thomas (France)
55 – SCHULZ Walter (France)
56 – CHANDARIA Shane (Kenya)
57 – FISHER Autumn (Canada) *
68 – WODA Wojciech (Poland)
72 – CANAL Gabriel (France)
79 – RAMAEKERS Thibaut (Belgium)
83 – BRIAN Annabelle (Netherlands) *
88 – AVRIL Jules (France)
95 – ILIFFE Jack (USA)
99 – BEISEMANN Sasha (Paraguay)
* Female drivers
> 14 nationalities represented:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the United States, France, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Morocco, Paraguay, the Netherlands and Poland
> F4 Programme / 2026 FFSA French Circuit Championship
Friday 9 October: Free Practice (10.40 – 11.10) and Qualifying (15.30 – 16.00)
Saturday 10 October: Race 1 (10.50 – 11.25) and Race 2 (16.55 – 17.30)
Sunday 11 October: Race 3 (10.30 – 11.05)
> 2026 calendar reminder
Nogaro (4–6 April), Dijon (15–17 May), Spa Francorchamps, Belgium (19–21 June), Magny-Cours (31 July–2 August), Lédenon (18–20 September) and Paul Ricard (9–11 October)
> Equipment
Ligier Mygale F4 FIA Generation 2 single-seater, Renault 1.3L turbo engine, Pirelli tyres. Two new sets of tyres are allocated for the entire competition, to be used from the qualifying sessions onwards.
> Race format
Following a 30-minute Free Practice session and a 30-minute official Qualifying session, three 30-minute races are held at each round, with starting grids decided as follows:
1/ Each driver’s fastest time set in qualifying for Race 1
2/ Each driver’s fastest time set in qualifying, with the top 10 drivers’ grid positions reversed, for Race 2
3/ Each driver’s second-fastest time set in qualifying for Race 3
> Points allocation
Races 1 and 3: 25 points for 1st, 18 for 2nd, 15 for 3rd, 12 for 4th, 10 for 5th, 8 for 6th, 6 for 7th, 4 for 8th, 2 for 9th and 1 for 10th
Race 2: 10 points for 1st, 8 for 2nd, 6 for 3rd, 5 for 4th, 4 for 5th, 3 for 6th, 2 for 7th and 1 for 8th
> Championship standings after Lédenon
F4 Academy: 1 Bouzar 223 pts, 2 Ramaekers (BEL) 161 pts, 3 Tsuchihashi (JPN) 145 pts, 4 Soares 127 pts, 5 Herrouin 113 pts, 6 Dauvergne 85 pts, 7 Dussol 64 pts, 8 Iliffe (USA) 59 pts, 9 Francis (AUS) 46 pts, 10 Rosen (ISR) and McKenna (USA) 42 pts, 12 Goudchaux 40 pts, 13 Avril 26 pts, 14 Chandaria (KEN) 20 pts, 15 Pasquier 13 pts, 16 Helias 9 pts, 17 Eschalier 8 pts, 18 Senecloze 4 pts, 19 Stiebleichinger (AUT) and Woda (POL) 1 pt.
Women’s F4: 1 Brian (NED) 215 pts, 2 Stiebleichinger (AUT) 203 pts, 3 Proenca 189 pts, 4 Zanfari (MAR) 168 pts, 5 Goldberg 150 pts, 6 Abreu (CUB) 43 pts, etc.
