Charles Pic

Charles Pic
Pic at the 2013 Race of Stars
Nationality	French
Born	15 February 1990 Montélimar, Drôme, France
Related to	Arthur Pic (brother)
Formula One World Championship career Active years 2012–2013 Teams Marussia, Caterham Entries 39 (39 starts) Championships 0 Wins 0 Podiums 0 Career points 0 Pole positions 0 Fastest laps 0 First entry 2012 Australian Grand Prix Last entry 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix
Formula E career Debut season 2014–15 Current team China Racing Car no. 88 Former teams Andretti Autosport Starts 5 Wins 0 Poles 0 Fastest laps 0 Best finish 18th in 2014–15 Finished last season 18th Previous series 2010–11 2009–11 2008–2009 2007 2007 2006 GP2 Series GP2 Asia Series Formula Renault 3.5 Series Eurocup FRenault French Formula Renault FRenault Campus France

Charles Pic (French: [ʃɑʁl ˈpik]; born 15 February 1990) is a professional racing driver, who drove in Formula One for two full seasons in 2012 and 2013, racing for Marussia F1 Team in the first season and then for Caterham in the second season.

Early career

Karting and Formula Renault

Born in Montélimar, France, Pic entered karting at a late age of 13 years. With the help of his "godfather" Éric Bernard, Pic achieved "strong results" in Italian and French championships.^[1]

In 2006, Pic made his Formula Renault debut, racing for La Filière. He finished the season as third and also became the rookie champion.^[1]

Formula Renault 3.5 Series

Pic competing at the Silverstone round of the 2008 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season.

For 2008 Pic moved to Tech 1 Racing to contest the Formula Renault 3.5 Series.^[2] He was partnered by Julien Jousse and finished sixth in the points thanks to two wins at Circuit de Monaco – having dominated the entire weekend with pole position and fastest lap – and at Le Mans. He remained with Tech 1 for the following season and won twice more, at Silverstone and the Nürburgring, which helped him to finish third in the final standings. In 2009 he was also a member of the Renault Driver Development.^[3]

GP2 Series

At the end of 2009 Pic switched to the 2009–10 GP2 Asia Series season with Arden International, and remained with the team into the 2010 GP2 Series season.^[4] Pic won on debut with the British outfit during the Asia Series' season-opener at Bahrain, before repeating the feat in the main series at the start of 2010 at Circuit de Catalunya.^[5] He eventually finished 10th in the drivers' standings.^[6]

For 2011 Pic moved to the Barwa Addax squad alongside future Formula 1 team-mate Giedo van der Garde.^[7] Despite failing to score any points in the preceding Asia Series campaign, he hit back with a second career GP2 win at Catalunya where he led home Van der Garde for an Addax one-two finish. Another victory, this time on the streets of Monaco, helped move him up to third place in the drivers' championship. The two points he then scored for taking pole position at Valencia briefly moved Pic into the championship lead but, after retiring from both races and dropping back in the standings as a result, he eventually finished the season fourth overall, three points clear of Van der Garde.^[6]

Formula One

In November 2011 Pic made his debut at the wheel of a Formula One car, driving for Marussia Virgin Racing at the young driver test held at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.^[8] He was due to drive for a day and-a-half of the test, but the Virgin team decided to give him a further half-day of running after he encountered engine problems on the second day of the test.^[9]

Pic at the 2012 US Grand Prix

During the test, several news sources reported that Pic had agreed a deal to race with the team in the 2012 season.^[10][11]

Marussia (2012)

Pic driving for Marussia at the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix.

After the conclusion of the 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix it was confirmed that Pic would indeed partner Timo Glock at the renamed Marussia F1 in 2012.^[12] It was also confirmed that Pic would be mentored by ex-F1 driver and fellow countryman Olivier Panis.^[13] It was reported at the 2012 Hungarian Grand Prix that a feud was brewing between Pic and his team-mate after Pic blocked Glock during qualifying.^[14] He made his debut in the Australian Grand Prix finishing 15th.^[15] He however, retired in three consecutive races in Bahrain Grand Prix, Spanish Grand Prix and Monaco Grand Prix.^[16][17][18] In the next race, the Canadian Grand Prix, Pic finished 20th.^[19] In the British Grand Prix, Pic was given a five place grid penalty for changing his gearbox.^[20] In the season Pic was overtaken 70 times, which is a F1 record.^[21] Modena's Brabham, the previous record holder, was overtaken no fewer than 68 times in 1989.

Caterham (2013)

Pic driving for Caterham at the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix

In November 2012 it was announced that Pic had signed a multi-year contract at the Renault-powered Caterham squad, with former GP2 team-mate and F1 rookie Giedo van der Garde later confirmed alongside him.

Pic made his Caterham debut at the 2013 Australian Grand Prix, finishing in 16th place, then finished 14th in Malaysia where he narrowly lost out to the Marussia of Jules Bianchi.

His season began to gather pace in Bahrain where Pic comfortably beat both Marussia cars and a Sauber, before a major upgrade to his Caterham at the Spanish Grand Prix established Pic as the quickest of the younger teams' drivers. He would continue this trend throughout the European portion of the season, scoring 15th-place finishes at Silverstone and the Hungaroring while displaying pace close to that of the established midfield runners.

Pic would equal his season-best result at the Korean Grand Prix, taking the chequered flag in 14th spot and within striking distance of Williams drivers Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas. However, as the campaign reached its final stretch the Frenchman suffered a succession of difficult races in India, Abu Dhabi and the United States, where balance issues prevented him from extracting the full potential of his car.

Pic recovered well at the season-closing Brazilian Grand Prix, where he qualified over half a second clear of team-mate van der Garde and well clear of the Marussias. However his race ended early when a suspension failure forced him into retirement on lap 58.

On 21 January 2014, Caterham's Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul confirmed that Pic would not be driving for Caterham in 2014:

Unfortunately Charles won't be with us next season. It's a pity that the adventure between Caterham and Charles is ending. On a personal level I want to thank Charles for the work he achieved last year.

Lotus (2014)

After being dropped by Caterham, Pic signed for Lotus F1 as their official reserve driver. This was announced at the car launch in Bahrain on 20 February 2014.^[22]

Formula E

Pic competing at the 2015 Berlin ePrix.

Pic participates in the 2014–15 Formula E season, the inaugural season of the championship. He competed in the first round in Beijing for Andretti Autosport and finished in fourth position. Despite this points-scoring result, Pic was replaced prior to the second round by Matthew Brabham. Pic returned to Formula E for the fifth round of the championship in Miami driving for China Racing. He replaced Ho-Pin Tung at the team.^[23]

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2006	Formula Renault Campus France	La Filière	13	1	2	?	8	162	3rd
2007	Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0	SG Formula	14	1	2	1	6	88	3rd
	French Formula Renault 2.0		13	0	1	0	4	69	4th
2008	Formula Renault 3.5 Series	Tech 1 Racing	17	2	1	2	4	69	6th
2009	Formula Renault 3.5 Series	Tech 1 Racing	16	2	2	3	3	94	3rd
2009–10	GP2 Asia Series	Arden International	8	1	1	0	2	18	5th
2010	GP2 Series	Arden International	20	1	1	0	2	28	10th
2011	GP2 Asia Series	Barwa Addax Team	4	0	0	0	0	0	18th
	GP2 Series		18	2	3	0	5	52	4th
2012	Formula One	Marussia F1 Team	20	0	0	0	0	0	21st
2013	Formula One	Caterham F1 Team	19	0	0	0	0	0	20th
2014	Formula One	Lotus F1 Team	Test driver
2014–15	Formula E	Andretti Autosport	1	0	0	0	0	16	18th
		China Racing	4	0	0	0	0

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results

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

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Pos	Points
2008	Tech 1 Racing	MNZ 1 9	MNZ 2 3	SPA 1 Ret	SPA 2 12	MON 1 1	SIL 1 15	SIL 2 13	HUN 1 18	HUN 2 9	NÜR 1 Ret	NÜR 2 12	LEM 1 1	LEM 2 6	EST 1 Ret	EST 2 2	CAT 1 8	CAT 2 8	6th	69
2009	Tech 1 Racing	CAT 1 DNS	CAT 2 6	SPA 1 4	SPA 2 Ret	MON 1 9	HUN 1 11	HUN 2 8	SIL 1 7	SIL 2 1	LEM 1 6	LEM 2 Ret	ALG 1 4	ALG 2 2	NÜR 1 6	NÜR 2 1	ALC 1 13	ALC 2 11	3rd	94

Complete GP2 Series results

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

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	DC	Points
2010	Arden International	CAT FEA 1	CAT SPR 7	MON FEA 11	MON SPR 7	IST FEA Ret	IST SPR DNS	VAL FEA 6	VAL SPR 5	SIL FEA 10	SIL SPR 8	HOC FEA 3	HOC SPR 17	HUN FEA 11	HUN SPR 9	SPA FEA 4	SPA SPR Ret	MNZ FEA 11	MNZ SPR 8	YMC FEA 20	YMC SPR 11	10th	28
2011	Barwa Addax Team	IST FEA 7	IST SPR 4	CAT FEA 1	CAT SPR 19	MON FEA 8	MON SPR 1	VAL FEA Ret	VAL SPR Ret	SIL FEA 11	SIL SPR 10	NÜR FEA 2	NÜR SPR DSQ	HUN FEA 2	HUN SPR 13	SPA FEA Ret	SPA SPR 19	MNZ FEA 2	MNZ SPR Ret			4th	52

Complete GP2 Asia Series results

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

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	DC	Points
2009–10	Arden International	YMC1 FEA Ret	YMC1 SPR 15	YMC2 FEA 10	YMC2 SPR 8	BHR1 FEA 5	BHR1 SPR 1	BHR2 FEA 3	BHR2 SPR 19	5th	18
2011	Barwa Addax Team	YMC FEA 9	YMC SPR 21	IMO FEA 21	IMO SPR 11					18th	0

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	WDC	Points
2012	Marussia F1 Team	Marussia MR01	Cosworth CA2012 V8	AUS 15^†	MAL 20	CHN 20	BHR Ret	ESP Ret	MON Ret	CAN 20	EUR 15	GBR 19	GER 20	HUN 20	BEL 16	ITA 16	SIN 16	JPN Ret	KOR 19	IND 19	ABU Ret	USA 20	BRA 12	21st	0
2013	Caterham F1 Team	Caterham CT03	Renault RS27-2013 V8	AUS 16	MAL 14	CHN 16	BHR 17	ESP 17	MON Ret	CAN 18	GBR 15	GER 17	HUN 15	BEL Ret	ITA 17	SIN 19	KOR 14	JPN 18	IND Ret	ABU 19	USA 20	BRA Ret		20th	0
2014	Lotus F1 Team	Lotus E22	Renault Energy F1-2014 1.6 V6 t	AUS	MAL	BHR	CHN	ESP	MON	CAN	AUT	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA TD	SIN	JPN	RUS	USA	BRA	ABU		–	–

^† Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.

Complete Formula E results

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

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Pos	Points
2014–15	Andretti Autosport	Spark-Renault SRT 01E	BEI 4	PUT	PDE	BNA								18th	16
	China Racing						MIA 17	LBH 16	MON 8	BER 15	MOS	LON	LON

References

1. "A decade in the making". Charles Pic. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
2. English, Steven (6 February 2008). "Tech 1 aiming to retain crown". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
3. "The Renault Driver development Programme announces its 2009 class". f1technical.net. f1technical. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
4. Beer, Matt (15 January 2010). "Pic to contest full season with Arden". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
5. Glendenning, Mark (8 May 2010). "Pic wins eventful season opener". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
6. "Charles Pic in GP2 Asia Series". GP2 Series. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
7. "GP2 - Lagardère Unlimited signs French F1 prospect Charles Pic". Nextgen. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
8. Elizalde, Pablo (11 November 2011). "Charles Pic joins Virgin for Abu Dhabi test". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
9. "Yas Marina day two – Vergne still top for Red Bull". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship. 16 November 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2011. and an unscheduled engine change cost him more time. As a result, Virgin have decided to give Pic a further stint in the MVR-02 on Thursday morning.
10. Noble, Jonathan (15 November 2011). "Charles Pic set to race with Virgin in 2012". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
11. Bean, David (21 November 2011). "Brazilian Grand Prix 2011: Preview". TheCheckeredFlag.co.uk. BlackEagleMedia. Retrieved 22 November 2011. Brazil could also be the final race for Jérôme d'Ambrosio, with Virgin Racing expected to announce Charles Pic alongside Timo Glock for next season.
12. "Marussia Virgin Racing Completes 2012 Race Driver Line-up". Virgin Racing. 27 November 2011. Archived from the original on 29 November 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
13. Norman, Craig (8 December 2011). "Pic picks a good role model". BadgerGP.com. Badger GP. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
14. Teammate feud brewing at Marussia inautonews FC
15. "2012 Australian Grand Prix". Formula1. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
16. "2012 Bahrain Grand Prix". Formula 1. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
17. "2012 Spanish Grand Prix". Formula 1. Archived from the original on 16 May 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
18. "2012 Monaco Grand Prix". Formula 1. Archived from the original on 28 May 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
19. "2012 Canadian Grand Prix". Formula 1. Archived from the original on 23 November 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
20. "Gearbox-change penalty for Charles Pic in the British Grand Prix". Autosport. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
21. http://blueflagsf1.webs.com/timeline[]
22. "Pic back in Formula 1 as Lotus reserve". GPUpdate. 20 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
23. "Charles Pic to make FE return with China Racing". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.

External links

• Official website
• Charles Pic driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Charles Pic career summary at DriverDB.com