French F4: Lisa Billard and Sofia Zanfari share female class victories at Magny Cours
- MIKA BÖCKER
- 7 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Lisa Billard and Sofia Zanfari each claimed a Female Trophy victory at Magny-Cours, while Annabelle Brian impressed with strong recovery drives and all six female drivers showed encouraging progress in the fourth round of the French F4 Championship.
In the fourth round of the French F4 Championship, Lisa Billard and Sofia Zanfari shared victories in the Female Trophy, with the Moroccan driver securing her first class win of the season in a very encouraging performance in Race 1.
Annabelle Brian was also particularly impressive, delivering strong recovery drives after a difficult qualifying. She fought back from the rear of the field in all three races, topping the female entries in Race 1 before a post-race penalty, then finishing a close second in the other two contests at Magny-Cours. Meanwhile, Iron Dames driver Lisa Billard emerged ahead in Races 2 and 3, following an unfortunate opening race hampered by technical issues.
The six female drivers on the 2025 French F4 grid are having a learning-focused season, with most of them being rookies in single-seaters. Billard, contesting her first full season after a partial 2024 campaign, was coming off her first point-scoring finish last time out at Spa-Francorchamps and aimed to keep building momentum.
Annabelle Brian, stepping up from karting, has particularly impressed with her race starts — a trait once again on display in the fourth round. Jade Jacquet also climbed the Female Trophy podium in two races, while Sofia Zanfari had a particularly strong showing in Race 1, breaking into the overall top 20 with a solid midfield drive. She was then unlucky in Races 2 and 3, both ending in retirements.
Angelina Proenca showed good pace but faced a string of misfortunes, while Heloise Goldberg made significant improvements in lap times over the weekend, showing commendable progress.
Despite accidents and retirements, all six women managed to achieve results within the top 20 at some point during the weekend, with most showing clear signs of development.
In pre-event testing, Billard ran consistently in the top 20. In official practice, she was 15th, with Proenca 23rd and Brian 25th. All drivers showed progress heading into qualifying.
Qualifying on Friday was disrupted by several red flags. Billard put in a strong lap early, and Proenca was running close to the top 10 in the opening minutes. A red flag interrupted the session when Milojkovic went off, but once the session resumed, Billard improved to a 1:41.301, and Proenca followed closely with a 1:41.562. They eventually qualified 19th and 20th, respectively.
Jade Jacquet set a 1:41.788 to finish 24th, while Zanfari was just behind in 26th with a 1:41.794. Annabelle Brian struggled to piece together a clean lap and ended up 29th with a 1:42.182, leaving her with plenty of work to do in the races. Goldberg, however, showed major improvements throughout the session, finding several seconds to end with a 1:43.946 in 30th place.
Race 1 on Saturday saw a mostly clean start, with only minor contact in Turn 5 among the leaders. The pole-sitter suffered damage and eventually retired. The female drivers got off the line well: Billard jumped up to 15th, with Jacquet and Proenca right behind in 18th and 19th, followed closely by Brian in 22nd after a stellar start. Zanfari followed in 25th, ahead of Goldberg in 28th.
After five minutes, Thomas Senecloze spun into the gravel and retired. The car was safely off-track, so only a local yellow was shown. Around the same time, Lisa Billard also stopped on track with a technical issue, forcing a full safety car due to her dangerous position.
At the restart with 16 minutes to go, Jacquet and Proenca, running back-to-back, collided at the Adelaide Hairpin. Proenca was forced to retire, while Jacquet dropped to the rear. The safety car came out again. When the race resumed, Brian — who had started from 29th — was the best-placed woman in 15th. Zanfari, Jacquet, and Goldberg followed in 22nd, 23rd, and 24th.
Further gains came on the final lap as Devos was shown the black-and-orange flag for a damaged front wing, and Rousset retired in the pits.
Brian crossed the line in 14th after a spectacular recovery but was handed a 17-second time penalty post-race, dropping her to 21st. This promoted Sofia Zanfari to 19th overall, earning her first Female Trophy victory of the season. She was closely followed by Jacquet, Brian, and Goldberg, all within the top 22.
Race 2 featured the same starting grid for the women, as the reversed grid only applies to the top 10. The opening lap was cleaner than in Race 1, with the female drivers again gaining ground, though not as dramatically. Billard dropped to 21st amid early battles, with Proenca and Jacquet close behind. Zanfari, Brian, and Goldberg followed.
Early on, Jules Roussel retired on Lap 3, triggering a safety car. The restart came with 20 minutes remaining. Just one lap later, Billard, Proenca, Jacquet, and Brian were running nose-to-tail from 19th to 22nd, with Brian once again gaining multiple positions.
Zanfari, engaged in a battle with Pierre Devos, braked too late into Turn 5 and damaged both cars. The safety car came out again, promoting Goldberg to 25th. Behind the safety car, Romeo Leurs and Louis Iglesias collided, creating more drama.
The restart came with just five minutes to go. The female drivers continued to gain places but ran out of time to break into the points. Billard led the group in 16th, followed closely by Brian, who once again gained over 10 positions to finish 17th. Jacquet came home next, with Proenca and Goldberg in 22nd and 23rd.
For Race 3, grid positions were based on the second-fastest laps from qualifying. Billard once again led the female drivers, starting 17th. Proenca also made the top 20 in 19th. Jacquet just missed out in 21st. Zanfari and Brian shared the 14th row, with Goldberg behind.
The start was clean, but gains were more limited. Zanfari retired early with technical issues, ending an otherwise promising weekend. Jacquet also fell back on the second lap, while Goldberg held 28th. On Lap 3, Devos and Riccobono Bello collided in Turn 5, leading to a safety car. The race resumed with 18 minutes left.
Billard maintained her position after the restart. Brian and Proenca slipped to 23rd and 24th, while Jaquet advanced to 25th after Leurs was spun. On Lap 8, leader Perard went off into the gravel, dropping to the rear and allowing others to gain positions.
Brian mounted another impressive recovery drive, reaching 19th by Lap 11, but ran out of time to advance further.
At the flag, Billard once again topped the Female Trophy, finishing 16th. Brian followed in 19th, with Jacquet and Proenca in 21st and 22nd. Goldberg crossed the line 24th.
The six female drivers of French F4 will be looking to build on their progress at the next round at Lédenon, from September 12th to 14th.
