Former F1 driver Charles Pic takes over DAMS team

The ex-Caterham and Marussia driver will take over the team that currently competes in Formula 2 and Formula E - with Nissan backing.

Pic made his debut in 2012 for Marussia before making the switch to Caterham in 2014.

The Frenchman spent 2014 as Lotus’ F1 reserve and test driver.

The team was founded by Jean-Paul Driot in 1988 and is one of motorsport’s most successful junior teams with 15 drivers’ titles to its name.

Following Driot’s death in 2019, the team was run by sons Olivier and Gregory.

From 2022, the outfit will be run by Pic, while the management and driver line ups in place for this season will remain the same.

“I would like to thank Oliver and Grégory for this great opportunity to continue the DAMS story,” Pic said. “Our families have been very close for a long time, as Jean-Paul knew my grandfather, who has supported DAMS drivers in the past like my godfather Éric Bernard and Olivier Panis, and he also helped me a lot during my career. This is a huge honour for me to continue Jean-Paul’s legacy in French motorsport.

“I am still very passionate about motorsport, and this is a long-term project. I look forward to working with François Sicard and Rémi Decorzent, who will continue to manage the team on a daily basis and I have full trust in them. I hugely believe DAMS can be successful both on and off track and I can’t wait to see what we can achieve with François, Rémi and the rest of the DAMS team members.”

F2 CEO Bruno Michel thanked the Driot family for their contribution to motorsport.

“Today marks the end of a thirty-year-old era launched and made successful by Jean-Paul Driot,” Michel added. “I am glad that Charles is the one to take over DAMS. He shares the same passion for the sport that Jean-Paul had.

“When Charles was last in our paddock, he was a driver on his way to Formula 1. His desire to be involved in Formula 2 has been well thought out, and his project for DAMS is aligned with the team’s thirst for success.

“The team has been and remains a driving force on our Formula 2 grid, with a lot of success and a knowledgeable group of people working hard to get back to the top of the field.”