FFSA Academy
The FFSA Academy (formerly known as La Filière and Auto Sport Academy) was created in 1993 by Elf Aquitaine to promote French drivers at the highest level, in line with its marketing approach and its commitment to Renault in F1. It is located at: Technoparc des 24 Heures, Chemin aux Boeufs, 72100 Le Mans, France.
It was taken over in April 2001 by the FFSA (Fédération Française du Sport Automobile), becoming one of its subsidiaries.
Its main objective remains unchanged – to train young drivers and promote the best to give them access to a professional career; 40 to 50 drivers are trained every year in its two main disciplines, competition karting (Formula Kart) and single-seater racing (Formula Campus Renault Elf).
Its unique feature is that its concept includes the only motorsport "Pole Espoirs" (promising young drivers' section) in the world.
In effect, until its creation, budding drivers thought that they had to systematically choose between studies and motorsport. The Academy puts the situation in another light: in view of the few successful candidates in motorsport, it offers potential drivers the option of testing their sporting talents while continuing their studies.
It also provides free training for would be mechanics, in partnership with the State Education system. 87% of trainee mechanics work in the world of competition on completion of their training.
Since 2005, the Academy offers a new training center dedicated to the profession of instructor, with official recognition by a "Brevet Professionnel" (certificate of vocational competency).
Former graduates include Sébastien Bourdais, Franck Montagny, Stéphane Sarrazin, Narain Karthikeyan, Dominic Cicero and Ryo Fukuda.
It was renamed Auto Sport Academy in 2007, and then FFSA Academy in 2016.[1]
Current drivers
French F4 Championship
The Academy currently governs the French F4 Championship and supports their drivers.[2] They are:[3]
| Driver |
|---|
 Noah Andy[4] |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Hugh Barter |
 Dario Cabanelas |
| Macéo Capietto[4] |
| Angélina Favario |
| Enzo Geraci |
| Alessandro Giusti |
| Gaël Julien |
 Vignesh Kadarabad[5] |
| Daniël Ligier[4] |
| Esteban Masson[5] |
 Aiden Neate |
| Pierre-Alexandre Provost |
 Thanapongpan Sutumno |
 Adam Szydłowski |
| Owen Tangavelou |
Other
Other drivers supported by the FFSA currently are:
| Driver | Years | Current series | Titles achieved as FFSA member |
|---|---|---|---|
 Caio Collet |
2018– | FIA Formula 3 Championship | French F4 Championship |
| Hadrien David |
2019– | Formula Regional European Championship | French F4 Championship |
| Reshad de Gerus |
2018– | FIA Formula 3 Championship | None |
| Isack Hadjar |
2019– | Formula Regional European Championship | None |
| Lola Lovinfosse[6] |
2019– | F4 Spanish Championship | None |
| Victor Martins |
2016– | FIA Formula 3 Championship | Formula Renault Eurocup |
| Sami Meguetounif[7] |
2019– | ADAC Formula 4 Championship | None |
| Théo Pourchaire |
2018– | Formula 2 Championship | ADAC Formula 4 Championship |
References
- "Historique – FFSA Academy". FFSA Academy (in French). Retrieved 30 April 2021.
- "New - French F4 Championship". Auto Sport Academy. 14 October 2010. Archived from the original on 19 December 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
- "F4 Academy: The Easter Cup at Nogaro launches the 2021 season". FFSA Academy. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
- Wood, Ida (2021-03-18). "Andy, Capietto and Ligier join French F4 grid as series tests at Le Mans". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
- Wood, Ida (2021-03-08). "Esteban Masson makes full-time move into French F4 for 2021". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
- Wood, Ida (2021-01-22). "French karter Lola Lovinfosse to debut in Spanish F4 with Drivex". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
- Wood, Ida (2021-02-22). "Sami Meguetounif joins R-ace GP in Germany for third year in F4". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2021-05-01.