French F4: Lisa Billard Takes Double Female Trophy Win as Jade Jacquet Shines in race 3 at Lédenon
- RACERS
- Sep 17
- 6 min read
The fifth and penultimate round of the French F4 season at Ledenon saw Lisa Billard take the top spot in the Female Trophy in the opening two races, while Jade Jacquet bounced back from a challenging rest of the weekend to collect her second class win in the final race.
French F4 at Lédenon, the fifth and penultimate round of the season, saw Lisa Billard take the top spot in the Female Trophy in the opening two races, while an accident in race three opened the door for Jade Jacquet, who collected her second class win.
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. Iron Dames-supported Billard, contesting her first full season after a partial 2024 campaign, has often been at the front of the Female Trophy class, also securing her first overall points at Spa-Francorchamps with a ninth place. At Lédenon, she twice finished in the top-15, much closer to the top-10 on pace, but was unlucky in the final race of the weekend after contact with another driver.
Dutchwoman Annabelle Brian has also been impressive in most rounds, running right behind Billard and often the protagonist of remarkable starts and overtakes, though she has also been unlucky with contacts in the crowded field that left her with fewer outright results than she deserved. Brian was twice in the top-20 and made strong recoveries; she was leading the female contingent in race three before being crashed out in the final laps.
Jade Jacquet, the third female driver alongside Billard and Brian selected for the upcoming F1 Academy Rookie Test, is also the third-best placed female in French F4. She had a mixed weekend at Lédenon, showing good speed but facing misfortune in the first two contests before delivering a strong final race where she found redemption.
Angelina Proenca also showed promise but couldn’t quite capitalize due to bad luck, while Sofia Zanfari – who collected her first Female Trophy win at Magny-Cours and has often been on the class podium – again stepped onto the female podium in races two and three.
Heloïse Goldberg once again made good progress and was much closer to the pack, battling well throughout the races; she completed all three events, edging closer to the top-20 in race three.
At the physically demanding and twisty French track of Lédenon, Billard led the pre-event testing among female drivers, running just outside the top-15 in most sessions, with a highlight of P13 in the final session. Jacquet also showcased early pace. In official practice on Friday, the results were similar, with Billard in P15, one second off the overall pacesetter, followed by Jacquet in P21, Brian in P25 just ahead of Proenca, Zanfari in P28 and Goldberg in P30.
Qualifying later in the day saw Lisa Billard post a 1:22.217 lap to put her P16 on the grid. Proenca had a good lap of 1:22.697 to qualify P22, ahead of Brian in P24 with a 1:22.908. Jacquet was a bit unlucky not to capitalize and set a 1:23.208, 26th fastest, ahead of Zanfari in P27 and Goldberg in P30.
The green flag for race one saw Jacquet immediately suffer a technical issue, pitting at the end of the first lap and making for an unlucky start to her weekend.
Lisa Billard held P15. Proenca was P22, with Brian gaining to P23 and then making further progress. She soon passed Proenca for second among female drivers and climbed into P19 on the second lap, with Proenca right behind, as both Alex Muñoz and Rintaro Sato dropped down. Zanfari and Goldberg also picked up positions from these incidents, moving into P25 and P26.
Meanwhile, Lisa Billard also gained from the incidents ahead and grabbed P13 on lap two, just half a second behind Paul Roques as she tried to close in on the top-10.
Brian was also on a mission, pressuring Zhelin Shen while trying to pull away from Proenca. Jacquet, meanwhile, managed to rejoin despite being a lap down.
Zanfari showed good pace and pressured Jack Iliffe, passing him on lap six for P24.
Brian overtook Shen and, running in the 1:25s, continued to push forward. Once ahead, she improved further into the 1:24.4s. Proenca meanwhile lost out to Sénécloze and Devos, dropping to P22.
On lap eight, however, Brian was demoted back to P20 but soon regrouped and, with a 1:23.7, was quicker than a group of cars ahead. She passed Milojkovic again and attempted to catch Shen once more.
Billard, meanwhile, held P13 with a good gap behind, keeping within a second of Roques. She clocked a 1:22.7, gaining a couple of tenths, but couldn’t quite get close enough over the next laps.
Despite a lonely race one lap down, Jacquet’s pace was very competitive, running 1:22.8s – good enough for the top-15.
By lap 18, Brian had again caught Shen and overtook the Chinese driver one lap later.
At the end of an uninterrupted race one, Lisa Billard took the chequered flag in P13, top female finisher and winner of the Female Trophy. Annabelle Brian made a good recovery to P18, with Angelina Proenca falling to P23, third in the Female Trophy class.
Sofia Zanfari finished P25 after a quieter race, ahead of Heloïse Goldberg in P26 and Jade Jacquet in P27 after her first-lap issue.
Race two was delayed and then red-flagged for rain chaos at the start. Billard lined up P18, Brian P26, Jacquet P28, Zanfari P29, and Goldberg from P30. Unfortunately, four drivers could not make the restart on lap three, including Jacquet and Proenca.
Lisa Billard had a good start and immediately gained two places. As always, Brian impressed with a stunning start, surviving the chaos and gaining three positions as the race resumed.
Up into P14, Billard held position but was passed by Martiniello on lap four, continuing to battle in the group.
Zanfari also gained a place at the restart, slotting into P23, with Goldberg in P26.
On lap four, Brian gained four more places to climb into P17, an impressive charge up the field.
The race in the rain then settled down, with Billard holding position for most of the distance.
Brian battled with Pirri, the two trading positions, before the Italian moved ahead on lap seven, dropping Annabelle to P18.
When Hugo Herriouin retired on lap 12, Billard gained a place to P14, with Brian also picking up one, though she soon lost out to Sénécloze. Further down, Goldberg passed Jack Iliffe for P24.
The second part of the race was rather uneventful, and Lisa Billard managed to hold off Milojkovic to take the chequered flag in P14, another top-15 and her second consecutive Female Trophy win.
Annabelle Brian finished P19, while Sofia Zanfari took third in class with P23 overall.
For the final race of the weekend, Lisa Billard lined up P17, with Angelina Proença in P23, one place ahead of Annabelle Brian. Jacquet started 25th, Zanfari 27th, and Goldberg P29.
Billard dropped to P19 early on, but soon recovered to P18 as race leader Bolliet fell down the order and eventually pitted. Brian was P21, Jacquet P22, Proenca P23, Zanfari P26, and Goldberg P28. With Perard retiring, everyone gained another position.
Billard climbed to P17, while Brian, Jacquet, and Proenca also moved up, the Dutchwoman breaking into the top-20. Zanfari lost out to Iliffe, dropping to P27.
A safety car was deployed on lap five for an incident at turn six involving Pirri and Billard, who had been pushing to make up more places. It was an unlucky end to her weekend after two Female Trophy wins.
After a quick recovery, the race resumed on lap eight. Brian now led the female classification and was pressuring Shen, with Proenca right behind.
Zanfari again jumped ahead of Iliffe for P22, while Devos and Dorison hit trouble and fell back.
Meanwhile, Jacquet passed both Proenca and Brian on lap nine to move into P16 and take the lead of the Female Trophy. Annabelle Brian traded places with Proenca, reclaiming P17 one lap later after being shuffled back.
Big duels followed further down with Iliffe, Milojkovic, and Zanfari battling closely. The Moroccan got back ahead of the Australian to retain P22.
As she tried to recover, Brian was hit by another competitor, sustained damage, and was forced to pit on lap 12, retiring from the race.
The Female Trophy duel was now between Jacquet and Proenca, with Zanfari and Goldberg just outside the top-20.
Although Proenca was initially faster at times, Jacquet found extra pace, extended her margin by lap 14, and even got closer to Zhelin Shen. Running 1:23.1, Jacquet passed Shen for P14 and held position to the chequered flag, securing P14 overall and the Female Trophy win.
Angelina Proenca finished P16, Sofia Zanfari P21, and Heloïse Goldberg P22.
After the fifth round at Lédenon, Lisa Billard remains the only female driver to have scored outright points, adding two more Female Trophy wins to her solid campaign. Annabelle Brian again showed strong pace and trademark starts, adding two top-20 finishes despite an unlucky final race. Jade Jacquet returned to the top step of the Female Trophy podium, while Angelina Proenca delivered a strong final race, almost reaching the top-15. Sofia Zanfari twice stepped on the Female Trophy podium in a solid weekend, while Goldberg continued to make progress, battling in the pack, collecting valuable experience, and making up positions in every race without mistakes in very difficult weather conditions.
Next up will be the season finale at Le Mans, on the Bugatti Circuit, to close out the campaign on 25–27 September.
