1950 French Grand Prix

The 1950 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 2 July 1950 at Reims-Gueux. It was race 6 of 7 in the 1950 World Championship of Drivers. The 64-lap race was won by Alfa Romeo driver Juan Manuel Fangio after he started from pole position. His teammate Luigi Fagioli finished second and Peter Whitehead took third in a privateer Ferrari.

1950 French Grand Prix
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Race details
Date 2 July 1950
Official name XXXVII Grand Prix de l'A.C.F.
Location Reims-Gueux, Reims, France
Course Temporary road course
Course length 7.815 km (4.856 miles)
Distance 64 laps, 500.160 km (310.785 miles)
Weather Hot and sunny
Pole position
Driver Alfa Romeo
Time 2:30.6
Fastest lap
Driver Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo
Time 2:35.6 on lap 7[1]
Podium
First Alfa Romeo
Second Alfa Romeo
Third Ferrari
Lap leaders

Report

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A total of 22 cars entered the event, four of which did not start the race. Franco Comotti did not attend the event; Eugène Chaboud did not start in his own car, instead sharing Philippe Étancelin's Talbot-Lago; and the two Scuderia Ferrari entries of Luigi Villoresi and Alberto Ascari withdrew in practice.

Fangio put in a stunning display with a 187 km/h (116 mph) practice lap. With Ferrari not starting their 3-litre cars, the main opposition was to come from the Talbots, complete with dual ignition engines with 12 spark plugs. However, they suffered from radiator problems and overheated, allowing Fangio and Fagioli to lead home another Alfa demonstration run, whilst Farina succumbed to fuel pump trouble. Peter Whitehead finished third despite a fractured head gasket in the last two laps.

Entries

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No Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Tyre
2   Nino Farina Alfa Romeo SpA Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 158 Alfa Romeo 158 1.5 L8s P
4   Luigi Fagioli Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 158 Alfa Romeo 158 1.5 L8s P
6   Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 158 Alfa Romeo 158 1.5 L8s P
8   Luigi Villoresi Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari Ferrari 275 Ferrari 275 F1 3.3 V12 P
10   Alberto Ascari Ferrari Ferrari 275 Ferrari 275 F1 3.3 V12 P
12   Raymond Sommer Automobiles Talbot-Darracq Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago T26C-GS Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 D
14   Peter Whitehead Peter Whitehead Ferrari Ferrari 125 Ferrari 125 F1 1.5 V12s P
16   Philippe Étancelin1 Philippe Étancelin Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago T26C-DA Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 D
18   Yves Giraud-Cabantous Automobiles Talbot-Darracq Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago T26C-DA Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 D
20   Louis Rosier Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago T26C-DA Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 D
22   Pierre Levegh Pierre Levegh Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago T26C Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 D
24   Eugène Chaboud Ecurie Lutetia Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago T26C Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 D
26   Charles Pozzi2 Charles Pozzi Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago T26C Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 D
28   Franco Rol Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati Maserati 4CLT/48 Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4s P
30   Louis Chiron Maserati Maserati 4CLT/48 Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4s P
32   Reg Parnell Scuderia Ambrosiana Maserati Maserati 4CLT/48 Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4s D
34   David Hampshire3 Maserati Maserati 4CLT/48 Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4s D
36   José Froilán González Scuderia Achille Varzi Maserati Maserati 4CLT/48 Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4s P
38   Franco Comotti Maserati Maserati 4CLT/48 Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4s P
40   Felice Bonetto Scuderia Milano Maserati-Milano Maserati 4CLT/50 Milano 1.5 L4s P
42   Johnny Claes Ecurie Belge Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago T26C Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 D
44   Robert Manzon Equipe Gordini Simca-Gordini Simca-Gordini T15 Simca-Gordini 15C 1.5 L4s E
Sources: [2][3]
^1 — Philippe Étancelin qualified and drove 26 laps of the race in the #16 Talbot-Lago. Eugène Chaboud, who did not start the race despite qualifying in his own car, took over Étancelin's vehicle for 33 laps of the race.[4]
^2 — Charles Pozzi qualified and drove 14 laps of the race in the #26 Talbot-Lago. Louis Rosier, whose own car had already retired, took over #26 for 42 laps of the race.[4]
^3 — David Hampshire qualified the #34 Maserati and drove it in the race until he was forced to retire. David Murray, named substitute driver for the car, was not used during the Grand Prix.[5]

Classification

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Qualifying

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Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap
1 6   Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo 2:30.6
2 2   Nino Farina Alfa Romeo 2:32.5 + 1.9
3 4   Luigi Fagioli Alfa Romeo 2:34.7 + 4.1
4 16   Philippe Étancelin Talbot-Lago-Talbot 2:39.0 + 8.4
5 18   Yves Giraud-Cabantous Talbot-Lago-Talbot 2:42.7 + 12.1
6 20   Louis Rosier Talbot-Lago-Talbot 2:46.0 + 15.4
7 28   Franco Rol Maserati 2:46.7 + 16.1
8 36   José Froilán González Maserati 2:48.0 + 17.4
9 22   Pierre Levegh Talbot-Lago-Talbot 2:49.0 + 18.4
10 24   Eugène Chaboud Talbot-Lago-Talbot Unknown
11 40   Felice Bonetto Maserati-Milano 2:51.0 + 20.4
12 32   Reg Parnell Maserati 2:54.0 + 23.4
13 44   Robert Manzon Simca-Gordini 2:55.5 + 24.9
14 30   Louis Chiron Maserati 2:55.9 + 25.3
15 42   Johnny Claes Talbot-Lago-Talbot 2:57.4 + 26.8
16 26   Charles Pozzi Talbot-Lago-Talbot 2:58.0 + 27.4
17 12   Raymond Sommer Talbot-Lago-Talbot 2:59.3 + 28.7
18 34   David Hampshire Maserati 2:59.5 + 28.9
19 14   Peter Whitehead Ferrari 3:01.0 + 30.4
WD 8   Luigi Villoresi Ferrari
WD 10   Alberto Ascari Ferrari
DNA 38   Franco Comotti Maserati
Source:[6][7]

Race

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Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 6   Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo 64 2:57:52.8 1 91
2 4   Luigi Fagioli Alfa Romeo 64 + 25.7 3 6
3 14   Peter Whitehead Ferrari 61 + 3 Laps 18 4
4 44   Robert Manzon Simca-Gordini 61 + 3 Laps 12 3
5 16   Philippe Étancelin
  Eugène Chaboud
Talbot-Lago-Talbot 59 + 5 Laps 4 1
1
6 26   Charles Pozzi
  Louis Rosier
Talbot-Lago-Talbot 56 + 8 Laps 15  
7 2   Nino Farina Alfa Romeo 55 Fuel Pump 2  
8 18   Yves Giraud-Cabantous Talbot-Lago-Talbot 52 + 12 Laps 5  
Ret 22   Pierre Levegh Talbot-Lago-Talbot 36 Engine 9  
Ret 40   Felice Bonetto Maserati-Milano 14 Engine 10  
Ret 42   Johnny Claes Talbot-Lago-Talbot 11 Overheating 14  
Ret 20   Louis Rosier Talbot-Lago-Talbot 10 Overheating 6  
Ret 32   Reg Parnell Maserati 9 Engine 11  
Ret 28   Franco Rol Maserati 6 Engine 7  
Ret 30   Louis Chiron Maserati 6 Engine 13  
Ret 34   David Hampshire Maserati 5 Engine 17  
Ret 12   Raymond Sommer Talbot-Lago-Talbot 4 Overheating 16  
Ret 36   José Froilán González Maserati 3 Engine 8  
DNS 24   Eugène Chaboud Talbot-Lago-Talbot Practice only  
DNS 8   Luigi Villoresi Ferrari Withdrawn  
DNS 10   Alberto Ascari Ferrari Withdrawn  
Source:[8]
Notes
  • ^1 – Includes 1 point for fastest lap

Shared drives

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Championship standings after the race

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Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
  2 1   Juan Manuel Fangio 26
  2   Luigi Fagioli 24
  2 3   Giuseppe Farina 22
  4   Louis Rosier 10
  5   Johnnie Parsons 9
Source: [9]
  • Note: Only the top five positions are listed. Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship.

References

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  1. ^ "Manipe F1". Archived from the original on 8 May 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  2. ^ "1950 French Grand Prix - Race Entries". manipef1.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  3. ^ "1950 ACF GP - Entry List". ChicaneF1.com. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  4. ^ a b "French Grand Prix 1950 - Results". ESPN F1. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  5. ^ "France 1950 - Race entrants". Stats F1. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  6. ^ "XXXVII Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France". Silhouet.com. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  7. ^ "France 1950". Stats F1. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  8. ^ "1950 French Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  9. ^ "France 1950 - Championship". statsf1.com. Retrieved 1 March 2019.

Further reading

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  • Lang, Mike (1981). Grand Prix! Vol 1. Haynes Publishing Group. pp. 21–22. ISBN 0-85429-276-4.
  • Sheldon and Rabagliati, A Record of Grand Prix and Voiturette Racing, Volume 5, 1950–1953, 1988


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