Jade Jacquet makes history with overall French F4 victory at Lédenon
Jade Jacquet made history at Lédenon as she became the first female driver to win an outright French Formula 4 race, completing a remarkable breakthrough weekend with a dominant Race 2 victory from pole position.
Jade Jacquet made history at Lédenon as she became the first female driver to win an outright French Formula 4 race, completing a remarkable breakthrough weekend with a dominant Race 2 victory from pole position.
The Williams F1 representative in F1 Academy delivered a superb performance across the fifth round of the 2026 French F4 Championship, first qualifying inside the overall top ten before converting her reverse-grid pole into a landmark victory, while also adding a top-15 finish in the third race. Behind her, Ginevra Panzeri, Sofia Zanfari, Annabelle Brian and Clara Stiebleichinger also enjoyed highly positive performances across the weekend, with Panzeri taking a Female Trophy victory in Race 1 and Zanfari emerging as the highest points scorer among the eligible female drivers in the final race.
The French Formula 4 Championship headed to Lédenon for the fifth round of the 2026 season, following another competitive weekend for its strong female entries at Magny-Cours. Across three races, Annabelle Brian, Lisa Billard and Autumn Fisher had all secured Female Trophy victories last time out, with Fisher celebrating her first class win of the season, while several drivers continued to challenge around the overall top ten.
Brian carried her momentum from Spa-Francorchamps, where she had scored her first overall top-ten finish of the season, while Billard had once again showcased her competitiveness with strong qualifying and race performances, regularly fighting near the overall top ten. Billard, however, was not present at Lédenon, resulting in eight female entries for the fifth round of the championship.
Austrian rookie Clara Stiebleichinger also continued to build on her impressive campaign, following her recent selection in the F1 Academy Rookie Test. Stiebleichinger had claimed her maiden Female Trophy victory at Spa and scored her first overall championship point after beginning her single-seater career in Indian F4 only earlier in the year.
Autumn Fisher, meanwhile, continued her steady progression, while Sofia Zanfari looked to build on her improving pace and arrived at Lédenon after also impressing during the latest F1 Academy Rookie Test. Héloise Goldberg, Angelina Proenca, Ginevra Panzeri and Jade Jacquet all returned to the grid, with Jacquet ultimately emerging as the star of the weekend.
With a pair of 12th-place finishes as her best results of the French F4 season to date, Jacquet had already enjoyed a positive outing at Magny-Cours, where she finished twice inside the overall top 20. Her performances at Lédenon, however, represented a genuine breakthrough, with the French driver already showing a step forward during the pre-event test as she ran more comfortably within the midfield.
That progress immediately translated into qualifying. With ten minutes remaining, Jacquet was already fighting inside the overall top ten, while Zanfari was also showing strong pace in 14th place midway through the session. Jacquet continued to improve in the closing stages, eventually moving up to ninth with a 1:22.352, before settling in 10th place at the chequered flag. The result was by far her best qualifying performance of the season, with her best lap just half a second away from pole position.
Even more importantly, finishing tenth meant that Jacquet would start Race 2 from reverse-grid pole, giving her the biggest opportunity of her French F4 campaign to date.
Zanfari qualified 19th with a 1:22.672, followed by Stiebleichinger in 21st with a 1:22.785. Panzeri was 23rd with a 1:22.936, while Brian qualified 25th with a 1:23.159, ahead of Proenca in 26th. Goldberg recorded a 1:23.366 for 28th, one position ahead of Fisher, who posted a 1:24.474. On the second-best laps, which determined the starting positions for the third race, Jacquet was ninth fastest, with Panzeri 20th, Zanfari 23rd, Brian 24th, Stiebleichinger 25th, Proenca 27th, Goldberg 28th and Fisher 29th.
Jacquet started Race 1 from 11th place and initially held her position, but she was soon involved in a battle with Pasquier, who moved ahead on the second lap. Zanfari, meanwhile, endured a difficult launch and dropped to 23rd, losing places to both Stiebleichinger and Panzeri, while Brian gained several positions to move into 24th, ahead of Proenca in 25th, with Goldberg and Fisher running 27th and 28th respectively.
Fisher immediately produced one of the strongest opening laps among the female drivers, gaining eight places to climb to 20th, while Brian continued to make progress, passing Cheezum for 23rd. Panzeri was also making rapid progress, moving into 19th after passing several rivals, while Zanfari was forced to pit following contact.
Jacquet’s race became more difficult on lap six when she encountered trouble and dropped down the order, while Panzeri and Fisher moved into a direct fight for the Female Trophy, running 17th and 18th overall. Brian was also climbing through the field, passing Stiebleichinger to move into 20th.
A Safety Car intervention then neutralised the race and provided Zanfari with an opportunity to recover some of the ground she had lost. She passed Goldberg on the restart, while Brian lost 20th place to Cheezum and Stiebleichinger slipped back to 24th. Panzeri and Fisher continued their fight for the Female Trophy, both gaining a position when McKenna was forced to pit with damage, with Panzeri moving into 15th and beginning to build a small gap over Fisher.
Proenca also made progress, passing Brian for 19th, while Zanfari climbed back to 24th after her earlier pit stop. Unfortunately, another issue struck the Moroccan driver on lap 16, forcing her to pit once again and dropping her back down the order.
Panzeri had now established a three-second advantage over Fisher and was also producing strong pace, setting her best lap of the race with a 1:22.6 as she closed in on Goudchaux ahead. Brian and Stiebleichinger, meanwhile, were struggling more towards the end of the race, with Goldberg moving past into 22nd.
At the chequered flag, Panzeri secured 15th place overall and her first Female Trophy victory of the weekend, with Fisher following in 16th. Proenca added another top-20 finish in 19th, while Goldberg finished 22nd ahead of Brian in 23rd, Zanfari in 24th and Stiebleichinger in 25th.
Jacquet, unfortunately, had an incident while running close to the overall top ten, ending what had otherwise been a promising race.
Race 2 represented the biggest opportunity of Jacquet’s French F4 season so far, with the reverse-grid format putting her on pole position. Zanfari started from 18th, Stiebleichinger from 20th, Panzeri from 22nd, Brian from 25th, Proenca from 26th, Goldberg from 28th and Fisher from 29th.
When the lights went out, Jacquet made a superb start and immediately retained the lead. Rather than simply defending her position, she produced controlled and confident opening laps, setting purple sectors and establishing herself at the front of the field.
Her pace was particularly convincing as she recorded a 1:22.661 and quickly opened a 1.3-second advantage over Ramaekers. Jacquet continued to lap consistently below the 1:23 mark, gradually extending her advantage by several tenths at a time as the drivers behind battled among themselves.
Zanfari initially held her position, but another issue soon forced her down the order, continuing an unfortunate run of setbacks despite her strong underlying pace. Stiebleichinger, meanwhile, climbed to 19th and Panzeri moved into 23rd, while Brian passed Proenca once again for 25th. Further back, Goldberg moved ahead of Fisher after the Canadian was forced to pit with damage.
At the front, Jacquet was putting together a masterclass. She maintained a margin of around 1.5 seconds over Ramaekers and continued to pull away by a few tenths per lap. Stiebleichinger passed Schulz for 18th and moved into second place among the Female Trophy contenders, while Panzeri, Brian and Proenca became involved in their own battles around 23rd place.
By lap ten, Jacquet had extended her advantage to two seconds and continued to chip away at the gap with consistent sub-1:23 laps. Zanfari, meanwhile, began another recovery drive, passing Goldberg to move back into 25th.
A Safety Car was deployed on lap 11, however, threatening to undo Jacquet’s hard work. The race resumed with just three minutes remaining, putting Ramaekers immediately into Jacquet’s slipstream. The leader held firm, while Ramaekers subsequently lost second place to Lewis Francis, leaving the Australian to put the pressure on Jacquet.
Jacquet responded with another strong lap, setting a 1:23.3 and maintaining a gap of around half a second. Stiebleichinger continued her progress, moving into 16th as Bouzar dropped back, with Panzeri consequently promoted to 20th and Brian and Proenca moving into 21st and 22nd respectively.
Nevertheless, nothing could stop Jacquet. She held her advantage through the final laps to take a historic victory, becoming the first female driver to win a French F4 race outright.
Stiebleichinger produced an excellent drive to finish 14th, while Panzeri took 18th, Proenca 20th, Brian 21st and Zanfari 22nd. Goldberg finished 23rd, while Fisher was forced to retire.
For Jacquet, however, the result was historic: after previously recording a best finish of 12th in the championship, she had converted her first French F4 pole into a commanding overall victory.
Jacquet started the final race from ninth, with Panzeri 20th, Zanfari 23rd, Brian 24th, Stiebleichinger 25th, Proenca 26th, Goldberg 27th and Fisher 28th.
Jacquet immediately gained a position when Lewis Francis dropped down the order, moving her into eighth, while Zanfari made an excellent start to climb to 20th. Panzeri led Proenca, Brian and Stiebleichinger through the opening lap, with the four drivers running closely together.
By the second lap, Jacquet found herself behind Rosen and Goudchaux and settled into 10th place. Brian was also making progress, passing Proenca for 23rd and moving onto the rear of Panzeri, while Fisher passed Goldberg for 28th.
Ramaekers was forced to pit with damage, promoting the rest of the field by one position and moving Zanfari to 19th, Panzeri to 22nd, Brian to 23rd, Proenca to 24th and Stiebleichinger to 25th. Jacquet remained inside the overall top ten, but Panzeri subsequently encountered an issue and dropped down the order.
Another Safety Car intervention on lap four further compressed the field, promoting Brian to 21st, Proenca to 22nd and Fisher to 24th after the Canadian passed Stiebleichinger, who fell to 25th. Jacquet was also promoted to ninth under caution.
Racing resumed on lap nine, with Chandaria moving past Jacquet for ninth, although the newly French F4 race winner continued to defend strongly. She was subsequently overtaken by Senecloze on lap 12, dropping her outside the overall top ten, while Brian continued her recovery drive by passing Beisemann to move into 19th.
Stiebleichinger recovered the position from Proenca, with Fisher also joining the battle for fourth among the Female Trophy contenders. Another incident involving Cheezum promoted Stiebleichinger to 23rd, Proenca to 24th and Fisher to 25th.
Zanfari was enjoying one of her strongest races of the weekend and remained inside the overall top 20, although Brian was steadily closing the gap to the Moroccan driver. Jacquet, meanwhile, slipped further back after being overtaken by McKenna and Pasquier, followed by Woda, as her pace became more difficult to maintain with five minutes remaining on the older tyre.
Fisher passed Proenca for 24th, while Brian continued to gain several tenths per lap on Zanfari, reducing the gap to around one second. Another Safety Car was deployed with three minutes remaining after McKenna went off at Turn 3, neutralising the race until the finish.
Jacquet therefore took 13th place and finished as the highest-placed female driver, capping a remarkably strong weekend following her historic Race 2 victory. Zanfari finished 17th and effectively took maximum available Female Trophy points, as Jacquet was ineligible for the classification. Brian followed in 18th, with Stiebleichinger 20th, Fisher 21st, Proenca 22nd and Goldberg 24th.
The undisputed star of the Lédenon weekend was Jade Jacquet, whose Race 2 victory marked the first outright French F4 race win by a female driver. Her achievement places her among a small group of women to have won races outright in mixed-gender Formula 4 championships worldwide.
Alexandra Mohnhaupt became the first female driver to achieve such a victory in NACAM F4 in 2018, before Belén García followed in Spanish F4 in 2019. Abbi Pulling and Rafaela Ferreira subsequently recorded outright victories in British F4 and Brazilian F4 respectively in 2024, while Doriane Pin has also won races in both F4 South East Asia and F4 UAE.
For Jacquet, the victory represented a dramatic step forward after a season in which her previous best French F4 result had been two 12th-place finishes and with so far no points-scoring results to her name in F1 Academy. Her qualifying performance at Lédenon provided the foundation for the breakthrough, but it was her ability to control Race 2 from the front, manage the pressure following the late Safety Car and respond immediately to the challenge from the drivers behind that ultimately produced the historic result.
In the Female Trophy standings, Annabelle Brian retained the lead with 211 points, followed by Clara Stiebleichinger on 199, Angelina Proenca on 176 and Sofia Zanfari on 161.
The 2026 French Formula 4 season will now conclude at Circuit Paul Ricard from October 9–11, with the Female Trophy title still to be decided among the leading eligible drivers.
