Frédéric-Maxime Voeckler

Frédéric-Maxime Voeckler (born 2nd March, 1967 in 16ème Arrondissement, Paris, France) is a French professional racing driver best known for his appearances in Formula One.

Frédéric-Maxime is part of a large and diverse motorsport family; his older brother Jérémy-Étienne Voeckler is a former Formula One driver and his two children Benoît & Adélaïde are also racing drivers.

Formula One

1988: Minardi

Voeckler's Formula One debut came in 1988, when he signed for Minardi alongside Italian driver Pierluigi Martini. Voeckler's best results were fifth place finishes in the Soviet Union and Australia - good enough for tenth in the championship.

1989-1990: Lotus

Voeckler's steady season in 1988 was enough for him to earn a plum seat alongside 1986 champion Guillaume Gauthier at Lotus. Voeckler's season got off to a great start, taking good points finishes in Brazil and San Marino as well as a maiden podium with third place in the attrition-hit United States Grand Prix. However it was during the Portuguese Grand Prix, another attrition-hit race, where Voeckler took a surprising maiden victory ahead of his teammate Gauthier for a Lotus 1-2.

Voeckler was joined by American driver Brendon Cassidy when Gauthier departed for Arrows ahead of 1990. Lotus were more of a midfield team in 1990 and as such Voeckler was only occasionally in the points.