Vincent Franceschini: “The Channel is not a problem”

Hello Vincent, a Mini Countryman… SoBritish !

It's my wife's car, English indeed. I preferred to borrow it, it gives more local colors (Laughs). But in London where I live, nothing better than the “tube”!

Was it England that brought you to motorsport?

No, I crossed the Channel much later. My parents were couch sports and watched a lot of sports on television, including F1. The first pilot who made me dream was James Hunt. I was 12 years old. Later, in the 1980s, I began to devour the magazine International Grand Prix. That was the real trigger.

Vincent Franceschini © Xavi Bonilla / DPPI

Was the desire to work in motorsport already there?

No, I didn't even think about it. When I was older, I went to business school in Paris, then an MBA in Dallas and came back to France to work in sailing, which was another great passion. I had an interview with Annette Roux, CEO of Beneteau (boat manufacturer. Editor’s note). I spoke three languages ​​and wanted to work in sales, but she offered me the accounting department. So no. My mother being an optical engineer, I had an interview at Essilor, and I got a job. My area of ​​operation was South Africa where I spent a lot of time developing the market. Business fascinated me. In January 1991, I was in Johannesburg when the Gulf War began. As it was necessary to make a stopover in Nairobi to return by plane, the firm prohibited its employees from taking it. I found myself stuck at my hotel, where I saw the Benetton team arrive. I told myself that I couldn't