Confirming his steady rise since the start of the season, Kota Tsuchihashi went fastest in qualifying at the Lédenon circuit. Currently fifth in the French F4 Championship standings, the Japanese driver clearly aims to climb the order at this fifth and penultimate round of the 2026 season. Lilian Soares took second, just 19 thousandths behind Tsuchihashi. The two main title contenders, France’s Guillaume Bouzar and Belgium’s Thibaut Ramaekers, secured third and ninth place respectively.
Under late-summer weather, the 30 FFSA Academy drivers battled over 30 minutes in a hard-fought qualifying session where finding the optimal window for tire performance was critical. Everything came down to the second half of the session, especially after an early stoppage forced the field back to the pit lane, interrupting their momentum. Once the session resumed, lap times tumbled in rapid succession. Tsuchihashi ultimately made the difference with a 1:21.769 ahead of Soares’ 1:21.788, leaving the rest of the field in the 1:22s. Bouzar completed an identical top three in the second-best lap standings, which set the starting grid for Race 3.
Shortly before the checkered flag, American driver Jack Iliffe posted his personal best at the wire to jump up to fourth, just ahead of Hugo Herrouin—one of the contenders for the final championship podium. Gaps were razor-thin, with the next three drivers within the same tenth as Herrouin: Tom Dussol, Australia’s Lewis Francis, and Matthéo Dauvergne. Belgium’s Thibaut Ramaekers appeared somewhat disappointed with ninth place on Lédenon’s highly technical layout.
By recording her best qualifying performance of the season in tenth, Jade Jacquet earned reverse-grid pole position for Race 2, reserved for the top 10 qualifiers. Oscar Goudchaux missed out on the spot by a mere two thousandths.
Several female drivers are locked in a close fight behind Jacquet, with Morocco’s Sofia Zanfari in second among them, holding a narrow advantage over Austria’s Clara Stiebleichinger and Italy’s Ginevra Panzeri.
F4 Race Schedule at Lédenon
Saturday, September 19: Race 1 (09:05 – 09:40) and Race 2 (14:50 – 15:25)
Sunday, September 20: Race 3 (09:25 – 10:00)
