Paul Alexandre Belmondo (born 23 April 1963) 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. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

who raced in

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

for the

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...

and

Pacific Racing Pacific Racing (later known as Pacific Grand Prix, and finally as Pacific Team Lotus) was a motor racing team from the United Kingdom. Following success in lower formulae, the team took part in two full seasons of Formula One, in and , enterin ...

teams. He was born in

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious commune in the Parisian area, located from its centre. It is a subprefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department and t ...

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a département in the Île-de-France region, Northern France. It covers Paris's western inner suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the east, Val-d'Oise to the north, Yvelines to the west ...

, the son of actor

Jean-Paul Belmondo Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo (; 9 April 19336 September 2021) was a French actor and producer. Initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s, he was a major French film star for several decades from the 1960s onward. His best known credits ...

and grandson of sculptor Paul Belmondo. Around 1981, Paul gained publicity for becoming the lover of

Princess Stéphanie of Monaco Princess Stephanie Marie Elisabeth of Monaco (born 1 February 1965) is the youngest child of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and American actress Grace Kelly. She is the younger sister of Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and Caroline, Princess of Han ...

. Through 1987, he participated in

Formula 3 Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One dri ...

and

Formula 3000 Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines. Formula 3000 championships ...

, although he was never a top 10 championship finisher in either. In 1992, he joined the March F1 team as a

pay driver A pay driver is a driver for a professional auto racing team who, instead of being paid by the owner of their car, drives for free and brings with them either personal sponsorship or personal or family funding to finance the team's operations. Th ...

, getting a ninth place at the

Hungarian Grand Prix The Hungarian Grand Prix ( hu, Magyar Nagydíj) is a motor racing event held annually in Mogyoród. Since 1986, the race has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship. History Origins The first Hungarian Grand Prix was held on 2 ...

, but only qualifying 4 more times before he ran out of money and was replaced by

Emanuele Naspetti Emanuele Naspetti (born 24 February 1968) is a racing driver and entrepreneur from Italy. Career Karting He made his racing debut at the age of 12 and spent seven years in karting (1980-1986), participating in more than 200 races and achievi ...

. Two years later he became a member of the uncompetitive Pacific Grand Prix team, where he only qualified for two races and was usually behind teammate

Bertrand Gachot Bertrand Jean Gachot (born 23 December 1962) is a French former racing driver. Gachot enjoyed some success in the junior formulae, winning titles in Formula Ford before progressing through Formula 3 and Formula 3000, reaching Formula One in 19 ...

. Thereafter he concentrated on GT racing, at the wheel of a Chrysler Viper GTS-R. He started his own team, ''Paul Belmondo Racing'', which raced in the

FIA GT Championship The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout ...

and Le Mans Endurance Series championship before folding in 2007.

Racing record

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete International Formula 3000 results

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

Complete Formula One results

( key)

Complete JGTC results

( key)

Personal life

Belmondo married Luana Tenca (born Rome, 18 March 1971) in 1990. Luana Belmondo is a former model who is now a TV chef and broadcaster. The couple has three children.

References

External links

Biography on F1 Rejects
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belmondo, Paul 1963 births Living people Sportspeople from Boulogne-Billancourt French racing drivers French Formula One drivers March Formula One drivers Pacific Formula One drivers French people of Italian descent French people of Sicilian descent 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers International Formula 3000 drivers European Le Mans Series drivers Porsche Supercup drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers Dakar Rally drivers Oreca drivers German Formula Three Championship drivers Jaguar Racing drivers David Price Racing drivers Team Joest drivers