Jean-Maxime Bachot

Jean-Maxime Bachot (born September 19th, 1977, in Strasbourg, France) is a French former racing driver, best known for his appearances in Formula One and F3000. He is the son of, who have competed with inconsistent success in motorsport since the late 1950s as both drivers and team owners.

Early Career

2001: French Formula 4

Bachot started his open-wheel career in French F4, having previously competed in regional karting championships since he was 13. It would be a successful debut season for the young Frenchman, losing overall the championship by just 1 point, with this stunning debut ensuring a quick promotion to Formula 3.

2002: French Formula 3

Bachot again had an immediate impact in the more competitive French F3 series again finishing runner up in the championship, and ahead of future F1 racers Yuji Ide and Vitantonio Liuzzi.

2003-2004: International F3000

2003 would see Bachot he moved to International F3000, although unlike in previous years, he would compete with an uncompetitive outfit, the inexperienced Brand Motorsport. Despite this, Bachot performed relatively well, even managing a podium at the A1-Ring, and finished the season with 7 points.

Bachot would continue in F3000 in 2004, moving to the more competitive Super Nova team in F3000, and would finish runner-up in the series' final year before choosing to focus on his F1 commitments.

Formula One

2004-2005: BAR Test Driver

Bachot's F3000 exploits in 2003 caught the eye of BAR team principal David Richards, resulting in the then-27 year old Frenchman being employed as the team's test and reserve driver for 2004, replacing Anthony Davidson (who had been promoted to a race seat mid-way through 2003) and Marc Hynes (who had gone on a sabbatical for 2004 after a frustrating 2003 in F3000).