The French expression mon brave – literally ‘my brave’ – more accurately equates to the English phrase ‘my good fellow’. However, both the literal meaning and the common usage apply to Éric René Boullier, who was born in Laval, near Le Mans, France, in November 1973, for he is both a nice chap and a man of remarkable audacity, as you will find out if you read on.
“I was born into a normal, decent, middleclass family,” he says, speaking via Teams from his holiday home in Marrakech, which ancient fortified city he loves, for his wife Tamara is from Morocco. “Laval was and is a nice town – not big, not small – and its medieval centre was and is very pretty. My parents weren’t into racing at all.…
