Jacques Villeneuve and Patrick Lemarie have joined hands to start a racing school named ‘Feed Racing France’ to help young racers progress in their career.

Villeneuve has been quote vocal about the talents coming through to Formula 1 these days where money plays a huge role which dilutes the junior ladder in a way. The Canadian feels that a lot of good drivers do not make it to the top level.

One of the biggest reasons for them not progressing is lack of budget. In addition, a lot of karters as well do not start well in the single-seater championships and are lost which forces them to move away from racing all-together.

To help not only the drivers but also the parents, Villeneuve joined hands with fellow F1 driver Lemarie to launch ‘Feed Racing France’ – a driving school where the two will mentor and guide young racers from karting into Formula 4.

The idea is to have three five-day sessions at Magny-Cours where the young racers will get to drive a Mygale F4 car along with attending theory courses. The first one will take place in April, followed by sessions in July and August with a place for as many as 96 drivers.

The 96 will be truncated to 48 and then to 24 with five finalists chosen and the sole winner to be announced in November. He/she will be rewarded with a full season in F4 in the following year with a big team – the name of which will be announced at a later stage.

The fees for entering is set at 11,500 euros (VAT inclusive) for drivers aged between 14-20 years and open to all the nationalities without any prior single-seater experience. The school will use Pirelli tyres for their F4 car.

Feed Racing France’s mission reads as: “Our mission is to detect the future talents of motorsport, at the wheel of a Formula 4, for an investment equivalent to the price of a competition kart.

“By offering the best opportunities to launch their career in motorsport by proposing financial support, Feed Racing’s mission is to support future professional drivers at all levels.”

Even though Villeneuve and Lemarie will scout the talents and guide them in the training days but neither will act as the winner’s manager when he/she starts racing in F4 and also he/she won’t be at the hands of a sponsor – who may impose certain choices on them.

[More information available on Feed Racing France’s website]

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