Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Gachot's son signs for Schumacher in F4

Louis Gachot - the son of former F1 driver and Le Mans 24 Hour winner Bertrand - has signed for Ralf Schumacher's new F4 team.

Schumacher has paired up with former Mercedes DTM technical director Gerhard Ungar to run the HTP Junior Team in German F4 from next season, with Gachot one of the team's three drivers. Gachot - who finished 14th in French F4 last year and scored a podium at the final round - says joining the team which won last year's title gives him a good chance of success.

"French Formula 4 was a brilliant introduction to formula racing for me," Gachot said. "I think I gained a lot of experience in the series. I now feel very well prepared for the ADAC Formula 4 and am looking forward to lining up with the championship-winning team led by Ralf and Gerhard.

"I think I've made the right decision in joining the team. I've already spent a few days with them while testing. Conditions are now perfect for my continued development as a racing driver, and I hope to achieve decent results next season in the ADAC Formula 4."

With Schumacher having raced with Bertrand Gachot in Super GT, the German says he has high hopes for the former Jordan driver's son.

"I used to race with Louis' father and am pleased to have him in the team," said Schumacher. "I think he has a good chance of achieving decent results next season. We will now use testing over the coming months to prepare as well as we can for the season to come."

And Ungar is similarly impressed by the early impression Gachot has made.

"Louis showed his potential in his tests with us and did an excellent job," Ungar said. "His pleasant personality immediately impressed us. He is a perfect match to our team with regard both to his skill as a driver and his disposition."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.