Born in France in 1982, Cyril Blais earned his Bachelor’s degree in Motorsport Engineering from Coventry University in the UK in 2005. The following year, he specialized in Vehicle Dynamics at Kingston University, also in the United Kingdom. With his academic background complete, he kicked off his motorsport journey in the F1 feeder categories.

His first opportunity came with Manor in Formula 3, working as a Race Engineer from October 2007 to December 2011. During this time, he helped lead the team to a third-place finish in the championship standings. In February of the following year, he moved to Arden, the British squad co-founded by former Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner.

With Arden, Blais served as Chief Race Engineer in GP3 (February 2012 to November 2014) and the World Series (December 2014 to November 2016). In GP3, he helped the team secure two runner-up championship finishes, working alongside Mitch Evans—now in Formula E—and Carlos Sainz, currently driving for Williams in F1.

Subsequently, from December 2016 to January 2019, he served as Technical Director across the team’s F2 and F3 (formerly GP3) programs. After seven years dedicated to Arden, he transitioned to the electric series in February 2019 with Mahindra.

Cyril Blais represented Mahindra, Maserati, and Citroën in Formula E (Photo: Fórmula E)

He spent three seasons as a Race Engineer before joining MSG’s operation in November 2021, taking part in the transition process from Venturi to Maserati. His first major promotion came in 2023 as Chief Engineer. Then, in 2024, he rose to Deputy Team Principal before officially taking over as Team Principal in September of that same year.

When the team transitioned to Citroën, Blais remained as Team Principal. The brand’s most recent triumph under the Frenchman’s leadership came this year, with Nick Cassidy taking victory at the Mexico City ePrix.

Blais passed away before turning 44, from a cause yet to be confirmed. The news was officially announced by Formula E on Monday morning (20).

“We are all deeply saddened by the loss of Cyril. Many in the team knew him and worked with him for years. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and colleagues across the paddock. Cyril was a firm believer in this team, and we will honor his family’s wishes to pay tribute to him the best way we can—by continuing to race in his memory with the exact dedication and passion he instilled in all of us,” said Beth Paretta, Citroën’s Team Director.

Formula E returns this weekend, on July 25 and 26, for the Tokyo ePrix. GRANDE PRÊMIO will broadcast all the track action LIVE with FULL VIDEO COVERAGE for Brazilian territory.