French F1 Drivers

Credit: renaultgroup.com

French motorsport is not only one of the oldest globally but has also produced one of the most prolific drivers in history. We’re talking about Alain Prost, the quadruple Championship winner, and 51 Grand Prix wins.

While France hasn’t been as successful as other countries, the country has made its mark in the Formula 1 sphere. The first motor racing event on French soil took place on July the 22nd, 1984, making France among the first to hold and participate in such a competition.

But what about its drivers? Let’s have a look at some of the most influential French F1 drivers, both old and new.

French Driver Performance Overview in F1

France has had a total of 74 drivers in the F1 circuit so far, which is why it has some impressive stats:

Drivers	74
Grands Prix	971
Entries	3147
Starts	2920
Best Season Finish	1 st (1985, 1986, 1989, 1993)
Wins	81
Podiums	310
Pole Positions	79
Fastest Laps	91
Points	3591.47
First Entry	1950 British Grand Prix
First Win	1955 Monaco Grand Prix
Latest Win	2021 Hungarian Grand Prix
Latest Entry	2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
202 4 Drivers	Pierre Gasly & Esteban Ocon

While France hasn’t had any memorable world champion in a while, it makes up for it by showcasing an impressive win number. With 81 wins and 3591.47 points, France ranks third in the top of the best F1 countries in the world. The first and second positions are taken by UK and Germany, respectively.

Now that we have the stat overview laid out, let’s have a look at some of the best French F1 drivers who have helped shape their country’s success.

Top 10 Most Successful and Influential Italian French

While France prides itself with an amazing roster of 74 drivers, we’ll look at the 10 of the most influential, whose F1 profile catapulted France onto the world stage.

Drivers	Active Years	Entries	Wins	Podiums	Career Points	Poles	Fastest Laps	Championships
Alain Prost	2007-ongoing	334 (334 starts)	103	197	4647.5	104	65	4 (1985, 1986, 1989, 1993)
Rene Arnoux	1978-1989	165 (149 starts)	7	22	181	18	12	-
Jacques Laffite	1974-1986	180 (176 starts)	6	32	228	7	7	-
Didier Pironi	1978-1982	72 (70 starts)	3	13	101	4	5	-
Patrick Tambay	1977-1979, 1981-1986	123 (114 starts)	2	11	103	5	2	-
Jean-Pierre Jabouille	1974-1975, 1977-1981	55 (49 starts)	2	2	21	6	0	-
Patrick Depallier	1972, 1974-1980	95	2	19	139	1	4	-
Maurice Trintignant	1950-1964	86 (81 starts)	2	10	72 1⁄3	0	1	-
Jean-Pierre Beltoise	1967-1974	88 (86 starts)	1	8	77	0	4	-
Jean-Pierre Jarier	1971, 1973-1983	143 (135 starts)	0	3	31.5	3	3	-

The chart is obviously dominated by Alain Prost with a legendary track record of 51 wins and four Championships. While Alain Prost is the only French driver to win the F1 championship, his successors didn’t fare that poorly either.

The rest of the roster still impresses with the notable entries, most of which were start positions. This shows that France has the potential to produce prolific and resourceful drivers, including within the new generation.

How Many French Drivers Are Now on the Grid?

France currently has two drivers for the 2024 roster: Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon. Pierre Gasly stands at 132 entries and just as many start positions, one race win, four podiums, and 394 points. Esteban Ocon has racked up 135 entries with 135 starts, one race win, 3 podiums, and 422 points.

Both drivers are in the Alpine-Renault team and have big plans for the future. But let’s look at who they are and how they got to lead France along its F1 journey.

Pierre Gasly

Credit: skysports.com

Pierre Gasly comes from a family of drivers and competitors. His grandparents competed in karting, and his grandmother was even a karting champion. This talent passed on to Gasly’s father, Jean-Jacques Gasly, who also competed in karting, rallying, and endurance racing.

So, it’s fair to say that Pierre Gasly had all the knowledge, resources, and support necessary to make a name for himself. Which he did. Gasly was considered a prodigy, as he started competing at a local karting track in Anneville-Ambourville.

He was childhood friends with other notable names in the F1 space, like Charles Leclerc and Esteban Ocon. He eventually cut ties with the latter due to their karting-related animosities.

Pierre Gasly dabbled around in karting until 2010 when he ended his streak as a runner-up in the CIK-FIA European Championship. 2011 found Gasly in the French F4 Championship in a single-seater.

After making his way through several categories, like Japanese Super Formula, Formula E, GP2, and Formula Renault, Gasly finally reached his first Formula 1 Season in 2014. All was history from that point on.

Gasly went on to participate in dozens of races for different teams, including Scuderia Alpha Tauri, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, and, over the last two years, BWT Alpine F1 Team. His best F1 ranking so far was the 1th place, which he grabbed during the 2020 Italian Grand Prix.

Esteban Ocon

Credit: skysports.com

Esteban Ocon’s professional career followed Pierre Gasly’s recipe almost to a tea. The two had been childhood friends, so they naturally influenced and inspired one another. Unlike Gasly’s family, Ocon’s parents had no experience in car racing.

Even so, they were committed to helping Ocon fulfill his dreams of becoming a professional race driver. Ocon’s father decided to sell their home and garage, where he worked as a mechanic, to fund his son’s travels and competitions.

Ocon started competing in karting in 2006, where he finished 8th but took off the following year when he won the 2007 Championship. He won several other titles in the coming year, which culminated with the 2010 French KF3 title. This also set him up as a runner-up for the 2011 WSK Euro Series, right behind the man himself, Max Verstappen.

After several years of testing his skills in Formula 3, GP3, and DTM, Ocon finally got a taste of Formula 1 on the 22nd of October, 2014. This was during a two-day test event for the Lotus F1 Team. In November of the same year, Ocon made his first Grand Prix debut as part of a practice session at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Everything changed for him from that point on.

With 135 start entries, one win, three podiums, and 422 total career points, it’s safe to say that Esteban Ocon represents France with pride and dignity. Only time can tell where his passion will push him.

How Many French Drivers Have Won Championships?

Credit: mclaren.com

Despite having only one world champion on its roster, France takes satisfaction from knowing that their one and only Alain Prost has achieved legendary status.

With 51 total wins, 106 podiums, and 768.5 career points, Alain Prost ranks 5th in the ranking of the best and most prolific F1 drivers in history.

He’s only behind Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, Michael Schumacher, and Lewis Hamilton.

But who is Alain Prost? The young Prost was, by all accounts, a prodigy with a natural inclination towards physical sports. He tried his hand in several, including football, roller skating, and wrestling.

But it was at age 14, when he stumbled across karting during a family holiday, that Prost discovered his true vocation.

He quickly became a highly decorated karting teen champion, which helped him transition into Formula 3 in 1978.

It didn’t take long to make his mark in the field with two F3 championships win, both in 1979, the French and the European one. This immediately catapulted them into F1, where he signed with McLaren in 1980.

To say “the rest was history” would be an understatement and wouldn’t make Prost justice.

But his F1 journey records are so vast that they’re impossible to mention in a single article. It suffices to say that Alain Prost is currently regarded as a legend, both for his unparalleled dedication and talent and his track achievements.

And who can forget the memorable rivalry between him and Ayrton Senna, which spanned across 5 years?