Paul Belmondo

Paul Belmondo

Paul Alexandre Belmondo (born April 23, 1963) is a French racing driver who raced in Formula One for the March and Pacific Racing teams.

He was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, the son of actor Jean-Paul Belmondo and grandson of sculptor Paul Belmondo. Around 1981, Paul gained publicity for becoming the lover of Princess Stéphanie of Monaco.

Through 1987 he participated in Formula 3 and Formula 3000, although he was never a top 10 championship finisher in either. In 1992 he joined the March F1 team as a pay driver, getting a ninth place at the Hungarian Grand Prix, but only qualifying 4 more times before he ran out of money and was replaced by Emanuele Naspetti. 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 team-mate Bertrand Gachot. 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 and Le Mans Endurance Series championship before folding in 2007.