Olivier Panis

Olivier Panis (born 2 September 1966 in Oullins, Lyon) is a French racing driver. Panis, like most drivers, raced karts early in his career. After graduating from karts, Olivier raced several years in a number of "junior" series before racing in French Formula 3. He won a championship in that series in 1991. He eventually found himself in Formula 3000, and he won the series' championship there in 1993. The 27-year old Panis earned an F1 drive in ... more

Olivier Panis (born 2 September 1966 in Oullins, Lyon) is a French racing driver. Panis, like most drivers, raced karts early in his career. After graduating from karts, Olivier raced several years in a number of "junior" series before racing in French Formula 3. He won a championship in that series in 1991. He eventually found himself in Formula 3000, and he won the series' championship there in 1993. The 27-year old Panis earned an F1 drive in 1994 for the French-based Ligier team. He made his debut at Brazil, finishing eleventh. He earned a surprise second place that season at Hockenheim ahead of teammate Éric Bernard, and finished 11th in the standings for the marque. He finished every race except France. He was however disqualified in Portugal for illegal skid block wear. The following year in 1995, he earned another surprise second place at the Australian Grand Prix, in spite of being two laps behind the leader Damon Hill, and he also added a handful of fourths to his resume,... less