French drivers in F1 – Eric Bernard celebrates his 58th birthday

Eric Bernard, born August 24, 1964 in Istres (Bouches-du-Rhône)

This extremely talented driver could have had a much more prolific career if his trajectory had not been prematurely ended by a serious accident at Suzuka. After an aborted return attempt in Sports Cars with Peugeot and two years of patience, he obtained the only podium of his career before being ousted from the Ligier team by Flavio Briatore.

Early on, the Provencal had won his first French championship titles in karting, Cadet category in 1978, then Junior in 1980. Titled again in 1983 in the Formula France category, he won the Volant Elf-Winfield at Paul-Ricard at the end of the season, beating Alesi and Gachot in the final. Seventh in the French Formula Championship Renault in 1984 on Martini, he was crowned the following year with six victories. In 1986, his good debut in F3 sont conclus par une 5e place au championnat de France, avec deux podiums. Toujours sous