Sami Meguetounif (; born 24 May 2004) is a French

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

, who competes in the

FIA Formula 2 Championship The FIA Formula 2 Championship (F2) is a second-tier single-seater championship organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on road racing, racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the re ...

for

Trident A trident (), () is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. As compared to an ordinary spear, the three tines increase the chance that a fish will be struck and decrease the chance that a fish will b ...

. He most recently competed in the

2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship The 2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship was a motor racing championship for Formula Three, Formula 3 cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was the fifteenth season of Formula 3 racing and the si ...

with the same team, finishing eighth overall. He previously competed in the

Formula Regional European Championship The Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) is a FIA-certified Formula Regional, regional European Formula Three, Formula 3 racing series. On 12 October 2018, it was announced that the Italian autosport regulator Automobile Club ...

for two seasons in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

and

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

with

MP Motorsport MP Motorsport is a Dutch auto racing team currently competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, FIA Formula 3 Championship, Eurocup-3, Spanish Formula 4 Championship and the newly established F1 Academy in 2023. The team has also participated in ...

Career

Karting

Meguetounif started karting in his native France in 2013, racing in the Regional PACAC championship, which he would go on to finish second in. He won the same championship in the Minime class two years later, and soon made his debut in various national championships. Meguetounif moved into international competition in 2017, finishing fifth in the

Karting Academy Trophy The FIA Karting Academy Trophy is an international kart racing competition organised by the FIA. Its inaugural season took place in 2010. Notable champions have been Formula One driver Charles Leclerc and F2 driver Richard Verschoor. Champions ...

and getting second place in the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals, only losing out to

Tijmen van der Helm Tijmen van der Helm (born 26 January 2004) is a Dutch people, Dutch racing driver currently competing in the 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship with JDC-Miller MotorSports in a Porsche 963. Personal life Van Der Hel ...

. That year Meguetounif also won two trophies in his homeland, one of them being the National Championship, beating future flatmate and

Formula 4 FIA Formula 4 (F4) is an open-wheel racing car category intended for junior drivers. There is no global championship, but rather individual nations or regions can host their own championships in compliance with a universal set of rules and speci ...

rival

Victor Bernier Victor Bernier (born 26 June 2004) is a French racing driver who currently drives for Martinet by Alméras in the Porsche Supercup and Porsche Carrera Cup France series. Prior to that, the Frenchman won the French F4 Junior title in 2019 and sco ...

. In 2018 Meguetounif went on to improve to fourth in the Academy Trophy, and also made his first appearance in the

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

. He finished his karting career in 2019, with 14th place at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Lower formulae

2019

Meguetounif made his car racing debut in the 2019 French F4 Championship, competing at the

Circuit Paul Ricard The Circuit Paul Ricard () is a French motorsport race track built in 1969 at Le Castellet, Var, near Marseille, with finance from pastis magnate Paul Ricard. Ricard wanted to experience the challenge of building a racetrack. The circuit has ...

, ending up in the top ten in two out of three races. He also made a solitary appearance as a guest driver in the final round of the

Formula 4 South East Asia Championship The Formula 4 South East Asia Championship is a formula racing series run to Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA Formula 4 regulations. The inaugural season was held over 2016-17 Formula 4 South East Asia Championship, 2016 and 2017. ...

, where he finished second in all but one of his races.

2020

For 2020 Meguetounif decided to race in the

French F4 Championship French F4 Championship, formerly known as Formula Renault Campus France, Formula Campus, Formul'Academy Euro Series, F4 Eurocup 1.6 is a form of open wheel racing founded in 1993 by Louis Drouet. It is based in France and aims at karting gradua ...

for a full season. He started the season out with only ten points from the first round, but would go on to improve rapidly, getting his first podium with a second-place finish in race 1 at

Magny-Cours Magny-Cours () is a Communes of France, commune in the Nièvre Departments of France, department in central France. It is the home of the ''Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours'', a famous Motorsport#Motor racing, motor racing circuit (whose name is o ...

. After a disappointing round in

Zandvoort Zandvoort () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach. It is bordered by coastal dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park and the Amsterdam ...

Meguetounif returned to the rostrum with third place in race 1 of round four. He followed that success up with his most successful round of the season, scoring both pole positions, two seconds and one third place at the

Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), informally referred to as Spa, is a Race track, motor-racing circuit located in Francorchamps, Stavelot, Wallonia, Belgium, about southeast of Spa, Belgium, Spa. It is the current venue of the Formula One ...

. He finished his season off strongly, achieving his only win of the season at Le Castellet, and scoring two further podiums in the final two rounds. In total, Meguetounif finished on the podium eight times and ended up fourth in the standings.

2021

In 2021 the French driver joined

R-ace GP R-ace GP is an auto racing team from France, involved in many areas of motorsport, specifically those involving Renault. They are currently competing in the Formula Regional European Championship, Formula Regional Middle East, F4 Middle East, It ...

to compete in the ADAC Formula 4 Championship on a full-time basis, whilst also racing in certain rounds of the Italian Championship.

Formula Regional Championship

2021

On 4 October 2021 it was announced that Meguetounif would start the final four races of the

, remaining with R-ace. He finished his first two races at the Regional F3 level in 22nd and 20th at the

Mugello Circuit Mugello Circuit (in Italian language, italian: ; in English language, english: ''Mugello International Autodrome'') is a motorsport race track in Scarperia e San Piero, Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The circuit length is . It has 15 turns and a lo ...

. The Frenchman improved significantly in the final round, finishing close to the top-ten in both races.

2022

In February of the following year, Meguetounif took part in the final round of the

Formula Regional Asian Championship The Formula Regional Asian Championship was an Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA-certified Formula Regional, regional Formula Three, Formula 3 racing series, which started in 2018. On 26 January 2018 it was confirmed that pan-Asia ...

with

Evans GP Evans GP is an Australian motor racing team formed in 2020 by Joshua Evans. The team started racing in the 2021 F3 Asian Championship and has since competed in the Formula Regional Asian Championship and the GB4 Championship. It will enter the Fo ...

, in preparation for his main campaign. Having finished 13th in his debut race, Meguetounif scored points in an incident-packed race 2. He ended up 20th in the standings. Meguetounif joined

for that year's

, partnering

Michael Belov Michael Arnoldovich Belov (; born 21 November 2001) is a Russian racing driver who is set to compete in the Formula Regional European Championship with CL Motorsport. Career Formula 4 Belov started his professional single-seater career in ...

and Dilano van 't Hoff. He scored his first points in the first race with a ninth-place finish, missing out on the rookie win to

Sebastián Montoya Sebastián "Sebas" Montoya Freydell (born 11 April 2005) is a Colombian and American racing driver, who is currently competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for Prema Racing. The son of the former Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya, he i ...

by three tenths. At the second round of the season in

Imola Imola (; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical region Romagna ...

Meguetounif experienced a hard crash after being pushed off the track. He recounts losing consciousness after colliding with the wall but was found to have no serious issues during subsequent check-ups. He took part in qualifying the day after, but withdrew from the race. The Frenchman would score two more points finishes during the campaign, which included a second place in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, leading him to end up 16th in the drivers' championship.

2023

Meguetounif competed the full season in the

2023 Formula Regional Middle East Championship The 2023 Formula Regional Middle East Championship was a multi-event, Formula Regional open-wheel single seater motor racing championship. The championship featured a mix of professional and amateur drivers, competing in Formula Regional cars. I ...

with

. For his main campaign, Meguetounif would remain with MP in

FRECA The Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) is a FIA-certified regional European Formula 3 racing series. On 12 October 2018, it was announced that the Italian autosport regulator Automobile Club d'Italia (ACI) and karting pro ...

, partnering

and Dilano van 't Hoff. A first podium of the year came soon, with the Frenchman finishing third in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. After a pair of points-scoring rounds, Meguetounif and the team would miss the round in

Mugello The Mugello () is a historic region and valley in northern Tuscany, Italy, corresponding to the course of the River Sieve. It is located to the north of the city of Florence and includes the northernmost portion of the Metropolitan City of Fl ...

out of respect for van 't Hoff, who had died in an accident at

Spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

. At the subsequent round in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Meguetounif would finish second, and he would repeat that result during the next event at the

Red Bull Ring The Red Bull Ring is a motorsport race track in Spielberg, Austria, Spielberg, Styria, Austria. The race circuit was founded as Österreichring (translation: Austrian Circuit) and hosted the Austrian Grand Prix for 18 consecutive years, from t ...

, dedicating his result to van 't Hoff. However, this would end up being his final podium finish of the year, one he ended ninth overall, six places ahead of teammate Bernier.

FIA Formula 3

Having completed the post-season tests with

, Meguetounif would sign for the Italian team to compete in the 2024 season of the

FIA Formula 3 Championship The FIA Formula 3 Championship (FIA F3) is a third-tier international Open wheel car, single-seater racing championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship launched in 2019 as a feeder series for ...

FIA Formula 2

Meguetounif stepped up to

FIA Formula 2 The FIA Formula 2 Championship (F2) is a second-tier single-seater championship organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the rebranding of ...

for the 2025 season, continuing with

where he partners

Max Esterson Maxwell Esterson (born October 9, 2002) is an American racing driver and esports driver, who competes in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for Trident. He previously competed in the FIA Formula 3 Championship with Jenzer Motorsport and in the GB3 ...

Personal life

Meguetounif was born in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

and raised in

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. He is the son of Pierre Meguetounif, owner of

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...

Eyewear. Meguetounif completed the

Lycée In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...

in France. During this time, he lived and studied together with his FRECA teammate

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 Meguetounif was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
Season still in progress.

Complete French F4 Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^† As Meguetounif was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

Complete ADAC Formula 4 Championship results

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

Complete Italian F4 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) ^† As Meguetounif was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

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 Formula Regional Middle East Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) – Driver did not finish the race but was classified, as he completed more than 90% of the race distance.

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

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

Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) Season still in progress.

References

External links