Pierre Sancinéna mastered the art of shifting gears. The French racing driver, engineer, and motorsport entrepreneur fell in love with the sport at seven years old, when he watched Le Mans with his father. His heart raced as cars going 366 km/hr crossed the finish line.
Over the next two decades, he raced in GT4 for Alpine, winning the world championships, and competed in Formula 4 and Formula 3. But, simply racing wasn't enough.
Sancinéna studied aerodynamics and worked as an Alpine racing engineer before transferring to handling business and strategy. He also coached French racer Isack Hadjar, who, in 2025, made his Formula 1 racing debut with team Racing Bulls and even earned a spot on the podium.
On his ninth-place position on the grid, Hadjar says, half-jokingly, “It means there are 8 drivers on Earth who are better than me.” Sancinéna loves coaching young drivers, and seeing Hadjar on the podium fuels his mission even further.
Now, Sancinéna dedicates his time to building TRAACKS, a motorsport platform that directly connects drivers with fans to democratize motorsport. "Maybe, the next Formula 1 champions are playing football or video games. They’re not in motorsports,” Sancinéna says. "I want to create this bridge and help young people get into motorsport." He's using his experiences to build motorsport's future.
Early days in racing and engineering
While watching Le Mans inspired Sancinéna to race, the love for motorsport has always been in the family. "My grandfather was the original motorsport fan in the family," he recounts. "He was a passionate guy and brought my father to races in the 70s and 80s. My father wanted to do the same with me.”
Cheering for his favorite drivers in the paddock was one thing; racing, however, was a completely different challenge. Participating in motorsport, even at more junior levels like karting, is notoriously expensive. Aspiring young drivers typically cover the expenses for proper gear, the car, and time on the tracks. These costs quickly add up to thousands of dollars and make it difficult for most aspiring drivers to even start.
"When I was 11 or 12, I saw some go-karts. Some people were racing at my age, so I wanted to do the same," Sancinéna says. "At first, my parents refused. But, after three years of asking them, they kindly accepted.”
Sancinéna and his family embarked on the motorsport adventure together. Initially, the road ahead was challenging because his father wasn't a mechanic. However, their efforts eventually paid off. Sancinéna raced in Formula 4, Formula 3, and the European GT4 series. He even tested cars for Le Mans. Of his favorite circuits so far, Sancinéna mentions two.
"The first one is Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. It's a mythical track that's been hosting grands prix for a hundred years," he reminisces. "The second one is totally different. It's the PAU street circuit in France. All the walls are close together!”
Sancinéna's love for versatility translates outside of the track. In addition to racing, he studied aerodynamics at Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Rouen, and was hired as an engineer at Alpine. "It's important to be in engineering because racing drivers always talk to engineers," explains Sancinéna. "If you don't have a team around you, then it won't work."
Lessons from coaching
It takes a village to get a racer to the checkered flag. Behind every driver in the cockpit is a team of engineers, mechanics, and coaches. Sancinéna brings his expertise in racing and engineering when he coaches developing drivers. "Everything is connected," he says. "I use all my experiences to extract the best from drivers.”
Beyond Hadjar, Sancinéna trained streamers and content creators to race for GP Explorer, which was at one point the most viewed Twitch stream in France. The event was also broadcast on French television, reaching millions of viewers in total. 200,000 tickets to GP Explorer were also sold within an hour. Youtubers Squeezie and Sylvain Vilebrequin were among Sancinéna’s students.
"My job is to give the driver confidence and to understand their state of mind," he says. "If a driver is missing two or three percent of their confidence, they can miss five-tenths of a second, which could cost them a position in the race.”
Building drivers up is key to getting results. But this doesn't mean he goes easy on his students. "Talent is important, but if you don't want to work or improve yourself, then talent is nothing.”
According to Sancinéna, successful racers embody confidence, accountability, and humility. Great racers are great listeners. On the track, their team principals and engineers give them feedback on their performance and the car’s status.
“It’s not good to blame because that’s a tendency for some drivers,” Sancinéna says. “It’s normal to make mistakes and have bad races, but if you don’t understand why, you don’t progress.”
These skills in cultivating racing talent and managing performances cross over to the business realm, where Sancinéna spends most of his time. At Alpine, he moved from engineering to business development and strategy. He managed the Alpine Academy for young drivers and launched the customer experience of La Piste Bleue Alpine, where visitors could test drive the Alpine A110 on Le Mans’ Bugatti circuit.
Founding TRAACKS
Excitement and innovation characterize motorsport. Yet, beyond popping champagne on the podium, success in motorsport lies in making strategic decisions. Business moguls such as Austrian Toto Wolff and Canadian Lawrence Stroll own F1 teams Mercedes and Aston Martin respectively. A former racing driver, Wolff also acts as team principal and manages the team of drivers, engineers, and mechanics. Suffice to say, the business of motorsport is a league of its own.
Currently, Sancinéna is assembling the team for his company, TRAACKS, a motorsport digital platform that brings drivers closer to their fans and spotlights different and lesser-known motorsport categories. “When you look outside of Formula 1, there are millions of people racing, but without a lot of money,” he says. “We want to help people reach their dreams.”
The main method TRAACKS uses to bring the sport to the public is by partnering with championships and event promoters for media coverage and motorsport community building. For the 2025 season, Sancinéna and his team cover series like French F4, GB3, FRECA, AlpineCup, and ClioCup. TRAACKS provides live updates, driver standings, and exclusive behind-the-scenes content like driver interviews in one centralized platform.
Thanks to motorsport-focused content and entertainment, such as Netflix’s “Drive To Survive,” racers engage in content creation and take their fans along for the ride. Digital natives consume information through content, and according to a study by Goldman Sachs, the creator economy could reach one trillion dollars in 2027.
Through TRAACKS, Sancinéna also aims to help 50 drivers within a year. He partners with seasoned product strategist José Barcelon-Godfrey to build TRAACKS’s digital infrastructure. Right now, the two are knee-deep in hiring roles for the technical and commercial sides of the business.
What's next for the world of motorsport
Sancinéna experienced the breadth and depth of the motorsport industry. He’s committed to TRAACKS, but, like any driver, he still misses racing.
From racing to engineering to now business, Sancinéna celebrates the journey so far. When asked what advice he’d give to his 21-year-old self, he says: “Keep being passionate. Passion fuels your life. It gives you wings and the energy to go far.”
TRAACKS could be the wings for the next generation of racers—and a launching pad for a new wave of fans. Who knows? The next F1 champion might get their start on TRAACKS. And Sancinéna will be there each step of the way, heart still racing.
Drivers from all levels can now create dedicated profiles on drivers.tracks.club, while motorsport enthusiasts can sign up for exclusive content on TRAACKS. For the latest updates, follow TRAACKS on Instagram.