F4: Hugo Chevalier still in the top three

At Magny-Cours, on the circuit that was long the theatre of the French Formula 1 Grand Prix, Hugo Chevalier recorded numerous points in the top five, three out of four times out with an excellent standard of performance. He was even close to victory in one of the races, before a brake problem occurred. Currently in 3rd in the French F4 Championship, Hugo Chevalier has every intention of not letting up until the end of the season.

Physically and mentally, Hugo Chevalier was ready to face the fourth of six meetings of the French F4 Championship. “With the heat at Magny-Cours during the weekend, it is true that the intense physical preparation that I have pushed myself with for several months has been very helpful,” stressed the young French hopeful.

However, he was not satisfied with his time in the qualifying session. “I was still 6th in the last free practice session on Friday. In timed practice, I was again among the best at the start of the session, but several of my rivals improved their time and I fell to 11th place. I will analyse the situation and change course for the next race. Not being able to start at the front has seriously complicated my weekend.“

Leading the race …

In Race 1, the driver from Upper Savoy knew he had no room for error if he wanted to join the top 10 and enjoy a more advantageous position in Race 2. At the end of a solid performance, he took 8th and with the benefit of the reverse grid for the first 10, found himself 3rd for the start of the second race on Saturday. “I managed a great start and I quickly took command. Alas, when I had been in the lead for several laps I had a problem with the rear brake pump at the Adelaide hairpin. I went straight on and unfortunately I lost four places with three laps to go.” Very annoying!

Still on the pace

With a smoothly conducted race and very incisive driving, Hugo Chevalier would post his best performance of the weekend in Race 3, moving from 11th to 5th place in the space of 11 laps. Hugo was close to improving this position in a lively Race 4. “There were great duels in the pack and I really pushed to the maximum. I felt good and in terms of performance, I was very fast, but a safety car slowed the pace of the race a bit.“

The Auto Sport Academy driver achieved a third consecutive top five on the difficult circuit at Nièvre. “I scored 34 points during this meeting, which allows me to retain all my chances of finishing in the top three overall in F4 and the French Junior Vice Champion.“

These are goals that Hugo Chevalier will be keen to achieve at the end of the last two 2016 events, September 10th-11th at Le Mans and in Barcelona on 5th-6th November.

Summary Round 4 – France F4 Championship at Magny-Cours (8th-9th-10th July 2016) … Qualifying: 11th – Race 1: 8th – Race 2: 5th – Race 3: 5th – Race 4: 5th – Interim Championship: 4th (3rd in Junior)

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