Sam Smith recalls the story of Didier Artzet, one of the most naturally gifted drivers to fail to make it to Formula 1 at a time when many of his countrymen ascended the ladder all the way to the summit of the sport. During the 1980s, a plethora of talented French drivers came through the national racing system of their home country, many of them making it all the way to F1. Jean Alesi, Eric Bernard, Olivier Grouillard, Yannick Dalmas and Olivier Panis were among them. Didier Artzet, as gifted as many of those listed above, somehow slipped through the net. Flaunting an almost supernatural reflex for controlling a racing car, ‘Didi’ was a mercurial talent, but perhaps one born in the...
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