Paul Bocuse’s Miami weekend nearly unraveled before the opening lap was complete. Instead, the Kellymoss driver fought back from early damage to secure a career-best Porsche Carrera Cup North America podium at the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix.
The race was thrown into disarray almost immediately after a major Lap 1, Turn 1 incident scattered several frontrunners and forced drivers into survival mode through the opening stages.
The Kellymoss racer was among those caught in the contact, with damage to the right rear of his Porsche significantly affecting the handling for the remainder of the race.
Despite the damage, Bocuse remained convinced he still had the pace to challenge near the front as incidents and penalties continued to reshape the order around him. After briefly grabbing the race lead for the first time in his Carrera Cup career, the Florida native believed victory was still possible.
“Turn 1 I got a pretty big shot to the right rear wheel,” Bocuse said. “It caused it to tow in pretty bad and the car was crab walking hard down the straight, and made it very difficult to get the car rotated.”
“But after I ended up in the lead, I remember saying on the radio, ‘All right, let’s go out here and win this thing,’” Bocuse said. “I felt pretty confident at that moment.”
Leading for the first time.
Bocuse found himself in a three-way fight for the lead with Callum Hedge (JDX Racing) and Jared Thomas (JTR Motorsport Engineering). Hedge and Thomas made contact at the Miami “Marina” corner, opening the door for the 18-year-old Kellymoss driver to take the lead.
“Right away it was more or less an ‘oh crap’ moment,” he admitted. “But as I kind of settled into my groove, I knew for me to do well in this race, I had to settle in, hit my marks and listen to my people on the radio.”
Although Callum Hedge and eventual race winner Tyler Maxson moved past him on track before post-race penalties reshuffled the order, Bocuse still secured a career-best second-place finish in the Mobil Pro class.
The podium carried extra meaning given the event’s Florida location.
“Super excited to come away with a second-place finish at Miami, which is so close to home, just like Sebring for me,” Bocuse said. “It was good to have another chance racing in Florida.”
The result also reinforced the progress Bocuse believes he is making during his second season in Porsche Carrera Cup North America.
“We qualified sixth and we knew recently in these races I’ve been shining a lot more in the race rather than just qualifying pace,” he said. “It definitely gives me a lot of confidence going into the rest of the Carrera Cup championship.”
Surprise GT4 opportunity.
That momentum now rolls directly into a surprise opportunity in Pirelli GT4 America this weekend at Sebring International Raceway, where Bocuse will make his debut in the category alongside Porsche Mobil 1 Female Driver Program racer, Erika Hoffman.
The opportunity came together quickly.
“It was really just super random,” Bocuse said. “Andy Kilcoyne (Kellymoss boss) talked to me about it as kind of an idea floating around during the Miami weekend.”
The event will mark Bocuse’s first major step into open GT competition after building his recent experience within Porsche’s one-make ladder.
“My first real open competition race,” he said. “There’s a super high level in GT4 America. You have past Carrera Cup winners competing, past Carrera Cup drivers and really, really good drivers as a whole.”
Bocuse believes the experience will accelerate his development as he continues climbing Porsche’s ladder system.
“I’m really excited to just grow and develop in my driving and hopefully be able to transfer what I learn back to Carrera Cup and vice versa.”
Returning to a familiar platform.
The GT4 machinery itself will not be entirely unfamiliar territory. Bocuse previously won the Cayman championship in Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama and expects the transition back into the platform to come naturally.
With the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport now used as Porsche’s GT4 platform – the new car features a horsepower boost from the “non-RS” version of the Cayman that Bocuse previously raced.
“It’s been almost four years since I’ve driven a Cayman,” Bocuse said. “Hopefully, I can shake the rust off quickly. It definitely helps my confidence knowing I’ve driven this car before and been fast in the Cayman previously.”
He is also looking forward to working alongside Hoffman for the first time.
“Erika has a couple of races under her belt in this championship already and I’m looking forward to working with her,” Bocuse said.“She was a race winner in Porsche Sprint Challenge, and we met during the Porsche Junior/Female workshop in Charlotte last year. So I hope I can learn a lot from her and what she knows going into this weekend.”
Balancing racing and school.
Away from the race track, Bocuse is balancing another major life transition.
The 18-year-old this week completed his final days of high school while simultaneously juggling Carrera Cup competition, college admissions, and preparations for his GT4 debut.
“My plate’s definitely been full,” Bocuse said. “College admissions, prom, homecoming, final exams, and racing all at the same time.”
Rather than moving entirely to homeschooling during his racing career, Bocuse remained in traditional school throughout his teenage years after making his Porsche debut as a 15-year-old, something he now appreciates.
“It was a super fun experience being able to actually go to high school and manage racing at the same time,” he said. “I’m super thankful to my parents for actually making me stay in school.”
Bocuse will attend Florida Atlantic University, where he plans to study hospitality management while continuing his racing career.
The decision also ties into his famous family name that is world-renowned in global cuisine. Bocuse is the grandson of legendary French chef Paul Bocuse, whose influence helped shape modern French gastronomy, while his father operates several restaurants in Orlando, continuing the family’s culinary legacy.
“My plan would be to take over from Dad one day, hopefully, and do what he does,” Bocuse said. “Hopefully, even when I’m his age, I can still be driving race cars.”
Despite coming from one of the world’s most famous culinary families, Bocuse admits his own cooking skills still need work.
“Oh, I’m horrible,” he laughed. “I’m a lot more interested in the business side of the restaurant rather than being in the kitchen.”
For now, though, racing remains the priority – and Miami may ultimately prove to be the weekend that changed the momentum of his Carrera Cup season.
