As the Formula Virtual paddock this week realises the news that stalwart driver Jean Mattson will retire after the year is over, Hugues Antoinette looks to the future of French V-Prix drivers. It is no secret that I, as a proud Frenchman, have always cherished the French drivers, teams and personnel in Formula Virtual. From Adrien Simon, Mathershaw and Arthur Lapierre to Gerard Alaniz, Peugeot and Yohan Dubois, it is important for journalists and national media to rally behind their country’s heroes. When Adrien and Arthur departed the competition last year, it was a huge blow to French fans of Virtual Motorsport. Thankfully, Peugeot Westwood have proudly taken up the position of a French team fighting for race wins and podiums – merci Harry et Thierry! However, with Jean’s retirement from Formula Virtual now approaching, we must look to the next French star driver. Sebastien Vocquelin Some may say, quite fairly, that Sebastien Vocquelin has already had his chance in Formula Virtual however, the cousin of Adrien and Jules Simon was thrust into a team in Meteor suffering from a leadership and financial crisis with one of the worst cars we have ever seen in the sport. At the time, ‘The Voc’ was just 22 years old and, after a single season in VERS, was clearly ill-equipped to deal with the situation in FV. Following his disastrous season at Meteor, where he incurred the wrath of Bradley Downton on several occasions for seemingly being a magnet for orange cars, Seb was picked up by DS Mathershaw as their reserve driver and spent the next two seasons in VWRS where he seemed extremely comfortable and won four races. The last two seasons have seen him make the step back up to Tier One in the eVirtual series – with Porsche Team Signature – where he seems to have found his level. Do I think Seb will be France’s next star Formula Virtual driver? At 27, I think we can safely say Seb won’t be winning any Formula Virtual World Championships unless there is a major change. However, I do think he has a good career ahead of him in eVirtual and could even prove to be an OK choice for a backmarker Formula Virtual team looking for a cheap but capable driver. Fleur-Elora Delacour To get to the next French driver in line, we move down to Fleur-Elora Delacour in VERS. Delacour, from Nice, is a member of the Ingram Fledglings and is touted by many to be France’s hottest prospect. She made her VERS debut with Lapierre Formule in 2021 and finished third in her rookie season, picking up three wins and a further three podiums along the way. Last season, she again finished third with another three wins and a further four podiums. This season, she currently sits in third place – once again – after a solid first half of the season. She has tough opposition in Sergio Melendez and Zayna Radif but will be looking to finally take the title in her third and final year in Tier Three. Do I think Fleur will be France’s next star Formula Virtual driver? I think the potential is there. At just 17 years old, Fleur has already laid down the foundations for a great career in Virtual Motorsport and if her talent is nurtured correctly – which I am sure it will be as an Ingram Fledgling – she should one day get her chance in Formula Virtual. Whether she will be able to make it all the way to a World Championship title, currently that is too soon to say. Hugo Bouchard We head over to VOARS, now, to a driver who debuted in Tier Three last year – Hugo Bouchard. Hugo, born in Agen in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of France, impressed hugely last season as he made his debut in VARS for Signature Performance. He was slightly outshone by the imperious American driver Stew Alexander and the very highly rated Kiyoko Yoshioka but Hugo managed to pick up two wins and a further four podiums on his way to third place in the championship. Having made the switch to VOARS for the current season, driving for Lapierre Nouvelle Caledonie, Hugo has driven beautifully in the first half of the season and currently leads the championship by 31 points from Monegasque rookie Alex Palmero. Do I think Hugo will be France’s next star Formula Virtual driver? As with Fleur-Elora, it is too early to say whether Hugo will become a V-Prix winner or even get a seat on the grid. He currently lacks the support of a Formula Virtual team’s Young Driver Academy however, a Tier Three title in his second season would surely make him a clear target and elevate his profile further. Yohan Picquart Finally, we come to the VOARS rookie Yohan Picquart. Yohan is just nine races into his single seater career so any optimism must be kept under control. However, he currently looks to be an exciting prospect as he sits in fourth place in the championship with a race win and a third place to his name already.
Yohan faces tough competition this season in the aforementioned Bouchard and Palmero, as well as fellow rookies Daniel Dirkx, Nikolay Iskakova and Jack Kempi, but if he can achieve a top three position in his rookie year, he will certainly have the attention of plenty of teams looking to the future. Do I think Yohan will be France’s next star Formula Virtual driver? It is much too soon to get too excited about Yohan, however his career has certainly started off well. The one issue that may hold him back is that he is already 21 years old, already making him one of the older drivers in VOARS. The saying is that slow and steady wins the race however I disagree in this instance, I believe he should be looking to win the VOARS title next season or accept that Formula Virtual is an unlikely dream.
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