Paul Cauhaupé (21) is working hard to make his first season in Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup a success story. The rookie championship seems to be within reach, but the young Frenchman remains humble while looking ahead to the remaining race weekends.
The driver of Martinet by Alméras is delivering strong results since the start of both the Porsche Carrera Cup France and the Supercup seasons of 2026. In both championships he stands out – fighting with experienced drivers and other rookies in fields that seems to get a higher level each year. On home soil in Magny-Cours, the Toulouse-born racer won a ‘French double’ by collecting two pole positiona and two wins in one weekend.
The balance between the two Porsche one-make series suits Cauhaupé well. “My season has highs and lows so far, honestly,” he starts in conversation with GT REPORT. “The qualifying sessions were the highs: with the P2 in Barcelona and the pole position in Spielberg, then P5 at Spa and P6 in Budapest.”
Especially the race at Spa-Francorchamps was a thriller, with Cauhaupé and fellow rookie Andrea Bristot fighting in the opening lap. The Frenchman positioned himself strategically in that battle to stay ahead. “It was exciting! And after that also the battle with Theo [Oeverhaus] and Wouter Boerekamps at the end of the safety car restart. I defended well and I tried to overtake Marcus Amand, but he defended well. It was complicated, but a top five is a good result. We were happy with that.”
‘Stay humble, because the next race can be very different’
As usual, the competition is very high in Porsche Supercup, with the grid divided by less than tenths of a second. Cauhaupé is clearly leaving his mark on the championship by collecting good results, but he wants to stay grounded at all times. “You have to, because every race is different,” he explains.
“For example: you can do a pole position and the next weekend can be more complicated. You have to stay focused, continue to work in a good way and never give up. Remain humble if you got a good result, because the next races can be very different,” Cauhaupé continues, referring to both of his programmes.
The cars in the Supercup and the Carrera Cup France are not the same: “In the French Cup, we use the old generation now, and in Supercup we have the 992.2 cup car. It’s good for me to change cars during different weekends. You have to drive in a different way and the grip with the Supercup during a Formula 1 weekend is different compared to driving in the same weekend as GT3 cars.”
Another difference is the amount of races in a weekend, as the Carrera Cups usually host two races per weekend. With the Supercup championship having only eight race weekends, finding a good rhythm and collecting points consistently is most important. “We have done that by getting good results for the overall championship and the rookie championship,” Cauhaupé continues.
‘Porsche: driven by dreams’ also appeals to Cauhaupé
Currently, Martinet by Alméras holds third place in the Supercup standings, behind Schumacher CLRT and BWT Lechner. “The team works very hard, and I have two good teammates: Jaap van Lagen and Theo Oeverhaus. We have two races in Zandvoort and then the finale in Monza, so it’s not finished yet.”
After the last race of the season in Italy, Cauhaupé can look back at an exciting first year in the pinnacle of the Porsche one-make series. Racing with the Stuttgart-based marque is a dream since he was a child. “I always dreamed about driving for Porsche, it’s my favorite manufacturer. Driving this cup car is also something special,” he says.
“This car has a reputation to be difficult when you start, and when you manage to understand it well, the step to GT3 can become easier. You see a lot of different factory drivers, even from different manufacturers, coming from Porsche Supercup. For me, it’s the reference.”
