Pierre-Louis Chovet

Pierre-Louis Chovet (born 11 April 2002) is a French racing driver.

Junior racing career

Karting

Chovet practiced many sports during his childhood such as skiing, BMX or tennis. He attended the 2011 Monaco Grand Prix and quickly developed a passion for motorsports. He quickly discovered karting, by participating in PACA-Corsica regional championships, where he won the Cadet title in 2015.^[1]

The following year, Chovet finished second in the French Cup in Cadets. Even though he got supported by Stéphane Ortelli, a family friend, he sometimes missed several races and practice sessions because of his limited budget preventing him from training frequently and benefiting from the most efficient engines.

Advised by Soheil Ayari, Chovet entered the French Junior Karting Championship, organized by the FFSA, where all drivers compete on equal terms. He was crowned French Junior Champion ahead of Sami Meguetounif, Victor Bernier and Isack Hadjar.^[2]

2017–2018: Lower formulae

2017

Chovet first appeared in single seaters as a guest driver at the tail end of the 2017 French F4 Championship at the age of fifteen. In his debut race at Magny-Cours, Chovet finished 15th however the following race he failed to take his drive through penalty leading to a disqualification from the race and subsequently being excluded from the third and final race.^[3] Chovet finished the season two eighth-place finishes and a win at Circuit Paul Ricard by beating pole-sitter Jean-Baptiste Mela by 1 ¹⁄₂ seconds. Due to him being a guest driver, he was unable to score any points.

2018

In 2018, Chovet returned for a full-time race seat in the Mygale M14 car.^[4] Chovet stood on the podium for the first time that season in only the second race at Circuit Paul Armagnac behind Caio Collet and Arthur Leclerc, he retired from the next race however; this was the first and only time Chovet wouldn't finish in the points that season. A handful of podiums including a second place at Spa-Francorchamps saw Chovet sit in sixth place in the championship with 100 points before missing round 6 at Magny-Cours, he returned for the next race in Jerez, where he grabbed second place for the second time that season. Chovet took his first victory of the season at the penultimate race of the season, finishing ahead of compatriots Théo Nouet and Adam Eteki.

2019: Euroformula Open

Chovet only raced seven times in 2019 and it was for RP Motorsport in the Euroformula Open Championship.^[5] In the first race he finished 36 seconds behind race winner Liam Lawson in 14th place, in the following race he retired and Javier Gonzalez, his teammate, was unable to take the start caused by a mechanical issue. The pair took a break due to complaints about their Toyota engines and returned for the fourth rounds at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps with new Spiess-powered cars, this was where Chovet took his only points finish of the season in ninth place climbing the field from 17th. He finished the season in 23rd with two points.

2020: Formula Regional European Championship and Formula 3 debut

In 2020, Chovet raced for Van Amersfoort Racing in the Formula Regional European Championship.^[6] He won a race at Catalunya and finished fifth in the standings, second-best of the non-Prema drivers behind Patrik Pasma.

It was announced that Max Fewtrell would be leaving Hitech Grand Prix prior to the seventh round of the 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship.^[7] The next day, on 25 August 2020, it was announced that Chovet would replace Fewtrell for the Spa-Francorchamps round.^[8] He scored a sixth-place finish in only his fourth race at Monza.

2021: Part-time Formula 3 campaign

In 2021, Chovet was announced to drive for Jenzer Motorsport full-time in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, partnering Calan Williams and Filip Urgan.^[9] In an interview before the start of the season Chovet responded to questions why he chose Jenzer with the fact that he wanted to work in an "environment that made [him] feel at home".^[10] However, after the first round of the season, Chovet announced that his main sponsor had pulled funding, leading to his replacement at Jenzer by Johnathan Hoggard.^[11] On his replacement, Chovet stated that he was "disgusted".^[12] When László Tóth was tested positive for COVID-19, Chovet was able to replace the Hungarian at Campos Racing for the weekend at Le Castellet.^[13]

2022

Chovet returned to the 2022 Formula Regional European Championship with Race Performance Motorsport, replacing Pietro Delli Guanti.^[14]

2023

Chovet joined Drivex School for the 2023 Eurocup-3 season, participating in the opening round at Spa-Francorchamps.^[15]

Chovet returned to the Formula Regional European Championship in October with Saintéloc Racing.^[16]

2024

Chovet returned to Eurocup-3 in 2024, participating in a one-off round at MotorLand Aragón for Palou Motorsport.^[17]

Sportscar racing career

2022: GT4 Europe

Chovet returned to racing on a full-time basis in 2022, signing for Arkadia Racing to compete in the GT4 European Series alongside Stéphane Guérin in the Pro/Am class.^[18]

2023: Full-time GT3 season

After competing part-time in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe in 2022, Chovet stepped up to full-time GT3 racing in 2023. He joined Oregon Team in the International GT Open, driving alongside Maximilian Paul.^[19] Following a slow start to the season, Chovet and Paul ended up winning four races and scoring three further podiums, leading them to finish fourth in the championship.^[20][21] The pair also scored six pole positions, with two of them being taken by Chovet.^[22]

Karting record

Karting career summary

Complete CIK-FIA Karting European Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Racing record

Racing career summary

^† As Chovet was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
^* Season still in progress.

Complete French F4 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

^† As Chovet was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.

Complete Euroformula Open Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula Regional European Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

^* Season still in progress.

† As Chovet was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

^† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as they completed more than 90% of the race distance.

Complete Formula Regional Asian Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Complete Eurocup-3 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

^* Season still in progress.

Complete International GT Open results

^*Season still in progress.

References

1. ^ "Karting - Pierre-Louis Chovet, 2017, la saison décisive - Pitstop.com.fr". www.pitstop.com.fr. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
2. ^ "Junior Pierre-Louis Chovet déjà Champion de France | Kartmag". www.kartmag.fr. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
3. ^ "Les pilotes du Championnat de France F4 font leur rentrée !". www.ffsa.org
4. ^ "2017 French F4 Championship: Season Review - Martins Missed Chance". The Checkered Flag. January 12, 2018.
5. ^ "RP Motorsport reveals line-up of Javier González and Pierre-Louis Chovet". www.euroformulaopen.net
6. ^ Wood, Ida (16 February 2020). "Van Amersfoort Racing returns to FREC with Pierre-Louis Chovet". Formula Scout. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
7. ^ Woollard, Craig (2020-08-24). "Max Fewtrell leaves Hitech GP FIA F3 team before Spa". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
8. ^ Woollard, Craig (25 August 2020). "Pierre-Louis Chovet joins FIA F3 grid for Spa with Hitech". Formula Scout. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
9. ^ Suttill, Josh (25 January 2021). "Pierre-Louis Chovet joins Jenzer for FIA F3 campaign". Formula Scout. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
10. ^ "Chovet on why he believes he's found a home at Jenzer". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
11. ^ Wood, Ida (10 June 2021). "Johnathan Hoggard to replace Chovet in Jenzer's FIA F3 line-up". formulascout.com. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
12. ^ Wood, Ida (10 June 2021). "Chovet "disgusted" after sponsor withdrawal ends FIA F3 campaign". Formula Scout. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
13. ^ "Campos Racing sign Frenchman Chovet to replace Tóth in Round 2". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
14. ^ Wood, Ida (6 September 2022). "Chovet returns to FREC, Italian F4 adds race and rookies at Red Bull Ring". Formula Scout. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
15. ^ Wood, Ida (3 May 2021). "Lamborghini's Chovet leads last-minute entries for Eurocup-3 opener". Formula Scout. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
16. ^ Wood, Ida (9 October 2023). "Lamborghini junior Chovet explains why he's back in FREC this weekend". Formula Scout. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
17. ^ Wood, Ida (23 July 2024). "Chovet and David to make single-seater comebacks in Eurocup-3". Formula Scout. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
18. ^ "Chovet passe en GT4 Europe avec Arkadia Racing" (in fr-FR). AutoHebdo. 2022-02-09. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
19. ^ "Two-Car GT Open Assault For Oregon Team". Dailysportscar. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
20. ^ "Reicher-Haase (Eastalent Audi) champions, Pitamber-Baumann (SPS Mercedes) win last, thrilling race". www.gtopen.net. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
21. ^ Goodwin, Graham (24 October 2023). "Eastalent Racing Audi Clinches Title On Countback". dailysportscar.com
22. ^ "Pierre-Louis Chovet : « Enormément de satisfaction »" (in French). Endurance Info. Retrieved 2023-10-28.