Victor Bernier (born 26 June 2004) is a French racing driver who currently drives for

Martinet by Alméras The martinet () is a punitive device traditionally used in France and other parts of Europe. The word also has other usages, described below. Object A martinet is a short, scourge-like (multi-tail) type of whip made of a wooden handle of about ...

in the

Porsche Supercup The Porsche Supercup (officially known as Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, known as Porsche Michelin Supercup prior to 2007 and often abbreviated as PSC) is an international One-design racing, one-make production stock car racing series supporting the ...

and

Porsche Carrera Cup France Porsche Carrera Cup France is a Spec racing, one make motor racing championship held in France. The cars are Porsche 911 GT3#Motorsport, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Type 991.2) with 4.0 liters, Flat-six engine, flat-6 naturally aspirated engines that pr ...

series. Prior to that, the Frenchman won the French F4 Junior title in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

and scored podiums 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 ...

Early career

Karting

Bernier began karting competitively in 2013, and won a number of national championships before becoming the Junior Karting World Champion in 2018, ahead of

Gabriele Minì Gabriele Minì (; born 20 March 2005) is an Italian racing driver, who competes in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for Prema Racing as part of the Alpine Academy. A member of the Alpine Academy since 2023, He is the 2020 Italian F4 Championship, ...

and

Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Lourenzo Bortoleto Oliveira (; born 14 October 2004) is a Brazilian racing driver who competes in Formula One for Sauber. Born and raised in Osasco, Bortoleto began competitive kart racing aged seven, winning multiple national titles a ...

. He received a Volant d'Or award from the

French Federation of Automobile Sport French Federation of Automobile Sport (, FFSA), founded in 1952, is one of the National Sports Associations affiliated to the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), with the aim of organising, regulating and developing motorsport in Fra ...

as a reward for his karting exploits.

Formula 4

Bernier made his car racing debut in 2019, competing in the French F4 series at the age of 14, meaning that he became one of the series' junior drivers along with

Isack Hadjar Isack Alexandre Hadjar (, ; born 28 September 2004) is a French and Algerian racing driver who competes Formula One drivers from France, under the French flag in Formula One for Racing Bulls. Born and raised in Paris to an Algerian family, Hadj ...

and Paul-Adrien Pallot. His season started out modestly, as he would only score three top ten finishes in the first two rounds at

Nogaro Nogaro (; Gascon: ''Nogaròu'') is a commune in the Gers department, Southwestern France. It is the site of a distillery of Armagnac brandy. Geography The commune is bordered by six other communes: Caupenne-d'Armagnac to the northwest, ...

and Pau, however he would take the first podium of his single-seater career at the following event 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 ...

. Bernier's results improved steadily from there, as he was able to finish in the top five and on the podium more consistently, which ultimately culminated in a win at the final round of the season. He finished the season fourth in the FFSA Academy points standings and took a dominant title in the Juniors' championship. For the 2020 season Bernier moved to

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 contest the ADAC Formula 4 Championship, where he would partner

Kirill Smal Kirill Yevgenyevich Smal (; born 20 May 2005) is a Russian racing driver who last competed in the 2024 Eurocup-3 season for Palou Motorsport. Career Karting Smal started karting in 2012. He participated in the Russian Karting Championship unt ...

. He scored two victories, both in the reversed-grid races at the

Hockenheimring The Hockenheimring, officially Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg () is a motor racing circuit situated in the Rhine valley near the town of Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located on the Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Amongst other mot ...

and

Lausitzring The Lausitzring (formally known as the Dekra Lausitzring for ownership reasons) is a race track located near Klettwitz (a civil parish of Schipkau, Oberspreewald-Lausitz district) in the state of Brandenburg in northeast Germany, near the bord ...

respectively, and finished fifth in the championship, ahead of his teammate. In addition, Bernier took part in the third round of that year's Italian F4 series, scoring a single point. Bernier remained in ADAC F4 the following year, this time driving with compatriots

Sami Meguetounif Sami Meguetounif (; born 24 May 2004) is a French racing driver, who competes in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for Trident Racing, Trident. He most recently competed in the 2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship with the same team, finishing eighth ...

and

Marcus Amand Marcus Amand (born 5 February 2006) is a Finland, Finnish-born French people, French racing driver who most recently competed in the 2023 Formula Regional European Championship for ART Grand Prix. He previously raced in Italian F4 Championship, ...

. Bernier generally beat his teammates over the race weekends and took a sole win in

Hockenheim Hockenheim () is a town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 20 km south of Mannheim and 10 km west of Walldorf. It is located in the Upper Rhine Plain, Upper Rhine valley on the tourist theme routes "Baden Asparagus Route" ( ...

after the original winner Ollie Bearman had received a penalty for causing a collision. He ended his final season in

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 ...

with four podiums and a fourth place in the overall results. F4 Deutschland 2021 Spielberg Nr

Formula Regional

In 2022 Bernier progressed to the

Formula Regional Formula Regional (FR) is an FIA-approved moniker for certified regional one-make Formula Three championships with the concept being approved during the FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in December 2017. The first series under new regulations w ...

level, racing in the

for FA Racing alongside French F4 champion

Esteban Masson Esteban Masson (born 18 September 2004) is a Canadian-French racing driver who is currently competes in the Super Formula Lights with TOM'S, as well as in the European Le Mans Series with VDS Panis Racing. He is the 2021 French F4 and the 20 ...

and Colombian

Nicolás Baptiste Nicolás Baptiste Velasco (born 31 October 2005) is a Colombian racing driver who last competed in the 2024 USF Pro 2000 Championship for BN Racing. He previously competed in the 2022 Formula Regional European Championship for Fernando Alonso, F ...

. He struggled to score points throughout the campaign, only taking a lone ninth place until the final round at Mugello. There, Bernier finished second on Saturday, thus propelling himself to 17th in the standings. Remaining in FRECA for

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 ...

, Bernier switched to

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 ...

. Though points finishes were easier to come by, the Frenchman, his team, and teammate Sami Meguetounif were rocked by the passing of fellow MP driver Dilano van 't Hoff at Spa-Francorchamps, which resulted in the team's withdrawal for the subsequent round. After their return, Bernier managed to score points on three further occasions, results which included a second place at

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

he inherited after two drivers ahead were penalised. This placed him 15th at season's end, six positions below Meguetounif.

Sportscar career

Bernier made his sportscar debut in 2024, driving in the Porsche Cup category alongside Pierre Martinet and Gérard Tremblay during the opening round of the

Ultimate Cup Series The Ultimate Cup Series is an auto racing series formed in 2019. This endurance championship mainly takes place in France, with rounds elsewhere in Europe. The Ultimate Cup Series is a program comprising multiple endurance and sprint championshi ...

. He then joined Martinet's eponymous team in a double campaign of the

and

series. The latter campaign proved to be underwhelming, as Bernier only finished inside the top 15 on three occasions. He missed the penultimate round before having a notable error on the final lap of the Monza season finale, crashing into the side of rookie class title contender Kas Haverkort after rejoining sharply from the Roggia chicane. Bernier ended the campaign 19th in the points standings, losing out to teammate Mathys Jaubert.

Personal life

Bernier completed his studies whilst living together with his former F4 teammate

. On arrival to FA Racing, the team set up by two-time

Formula One World Champion A Formula One World Champion is a racing driver or automobile constructor which has been designated such a title by the governing body of Formula One - the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Every Formula One World Champion since th ...

Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver who competes in Formula One for Aston Martin in Formula One, Aston Martin. Alonso has won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with ...

, Bernier stated that Alonso had always been an example to him. Bernier's younger brother Augustin is also a racing driver, who became the French Karting Champion in the

OK-Junior OK-Junior is a kart racing class for top drivers aged 11 to 15 (drivers must reach the age of 12 within the first semester of calendar year). This class used to be called Junior Intercontinental A (JICA or ICA-J) and has changed since January 20 ...

class in 2021.

Racing record