The FIA-certified FFSA F4 Academy French Championship continues its 2026 season with a major round at Magny-Cours, from 31st July to 2nd August. The fourth of six rounds on the calendar, this event, held on the famous circuit in the Nièvre region, will mark the start of the second half of the Championship.
A unique pathway to the top level
A true benchmark in the identification and development of young talent, the FFSA Academy has for many years been supporting drivers in their transition from karting to professional motor racing. Thanks to identical single-seaters, maintained by the FFSA Academy team, the French F4 Championship guarantees complete fairness and highlights the intrinsic qualities of each competitor. It is an essential step towards progress, realising one’s potential and building a future career.
A full grid on a circuit steeped in history
Following rounds at Nogaro, Dijon-Prenois and Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, the 32 drivers entered – including nine women – will return to France for the race at the Magny-Cours circuit, as part of the GT World Challenge powered by AWS. Measuring 4,411 metres in length, the former venue of the French Formula 1 Grand Prix promises yet another round of spectacular battles.
Championship leader Guillaume Bouzar, on 155 points, will arrive in a strong position following his excellent weekend at Spa, which saw him secure three podium finishes and a victory. His main rival, Belgian Thibaut Ramaekers (97 points), the 2025 FIA Karting OK World Champion, will need to close the gap to keep his title hopes alive.
Multiple challenges ahead of the final sprint
The battle for the top places looks set to be particularly wide open, with several contenders for the podium, including Hugo Herrouin, Lilian Soares, Kota Tsuchihashi and Matthéo Dauvergne, who has already claimed victory this season.
A strong Qualifying session will be one of the keys to securing a podium finish. Some have already achieved this in 2026, such as the Americans Jack Iliffe and Maverick McKenna, the Israeli Yuval Rosen, the Australian Lewis Francis and the Frenchman Jules Avril. For Oscar Goudchaux and Tom Dussol, however, it would be a first.
The Magny-Cours meeting will also see the debut of Frenchman Walter Schulz, following in the footsteps of his brother Karel, who raced in F4 in 2024, and American Truly Adams.
New showdown expected in the Women’s Championship
The battle for the new French Women’s Championship title remains extremely close. Austria’s Clara Stiebleichinger leads the way ahead of the Dutch driver Annabelle Brian and France’s Angelina Proenca, but the gaps remain narrow at this stage of the competition. Héloïse Goldberg and the Moroccan Sofia Zanfari are determined to get in on the action. Lisa Billard, Jade Jacquet and Autumn Fisher, who have also raced in the F1 Academy, will be on the starting grid, though they are not in contention for the Championship, just like the Italian Ginevra Panzeri, who is also competing in her home country.
> List of entrants
4 – CHEEZUM Kyler (USA)
5 – STIEBLEICHINGER Clara (Austria) *
7 – ESCHALIER Arthur (France)
9 – ROSEN Yuval (Israel)
10 – SOARES Lilian (France)
12 – GOLDBERG Héloïse (France) *
13 – FRANCIS Lewis (Australia)
14 – BILLARD Lisa (France) *
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 – PANZERI Ginevra (Italy) *
29 – DAUVERGNE Matthéo (France)
30 – GLEIZES Paul (France)
42 – GOUDCHAUX Oscar (France)
44 – JACQUET Jade (France) *
47 – HERROUIN Hugo (France)
50 – TSUCHIHASHI Kota (Japan)
53 – SENECLOZE Thomas (France)
56 – CHANDARIA Shane (Kenya)
57 – FISHER Autumn (Canada) *
68 – WODA Wojciech (Poland)
79 – RAMAEKERS Thibaut (Belgium)
83 – BRIAN Annabelle (Netherlands) *
88 – AVRIL Jules (France)
95 – ILIFFE Jack (USA)
99 – BEISEMANN Sasha (Paraguay)
SCHULZ Walter (France)
ADAMS Truly (USA)
* Female drivers
> 14 nationalities represented
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Morocco, Paraguay, the Netherlands, Poland and the USA
> Magny-Cours 2026 programme
Friday 31st July: Free Practice (09:00 – 09:30) and Qualifying (16:20 – 16:50)
Saturday 1st August: Race 1 (11:35 – 12:10) and Race 2 (18:15 – 18:50)
Sunday 2nd August: Race 3 (10:00 – 10:35)
> 2026 Calendar
Nogaro (4th–6th April, already run), Dijon (15th–17th May, already run), Spa Francorchamps, Belgium (19th–21st June, already run), Magny-Cours (31st July–2nd August), Lédenon (18th–20th September) and Paul Ricard (9th–11th 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 championship, to be used from the Qualifying sessions onwards.
> Race format
Following the 30-minute Free Practice sessions and the 30-minute official Qualifying session, three 30-minute races are held at each round, with starting grids determined 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 Spa Francorchamps
F4 Academy: 1 Bouzar 155 pts, 2 Ramaekers (BEL) 97 pts, 3 Herrouin 72 pts, 4 Soares 52 pts, 5 Tsuchihashi (JPN) 65 pts, 6 Dauvergne 58 pts, 7 Iliffe (USA) 46 pts, 8 Goudchaux 43 pts, 9 Rosen (ISR) 36 pts, 10 Francis (AUS) 31 pts, 11 Avril 28 pts, 12 Dussol 22 pts, 13 McKenna (USA) 19 pts, 14 Chandaria (KEN) 12 pts, 15 Pasquier 11 pts, 16 Helias 9 pts, 17 Eschalier 8 pts, 18 Senecloze, Stiebleichinger (AUT) and Woda (POL) 1 pt.
Women’s F4: 1 Stiebleichinger (AUT) 126 pts, 2 Brian (NED) 119 pts, 3 Proenca 115 pts, 4 Goldberg 88 pts, 5 Zanfari (MAR) 83 pts, 6 Abreu (CUB) 43 pts, etc.
