1950 French Grand Prix
# 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.

## Report

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 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

| 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 SpA | Alfa Romeo | Alfa Romeo 158 | Alfa Romeo 158 1.5 L8s | P |
| 6 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Alfa Romeo SpA | 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 | Scuderia Ferrari | 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 Étancelin | 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 | Automobiles Talbot-Darracq | 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 Pozzi | 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 | Officine Alfieri Maserati | 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 Hampshire | Scuderia Ambrosiana | 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 | Scuderia Achille Varzi | 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: |||||||

    ^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.
    ^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.
    ^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.

## Classification

### Qualifying

| 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: ||||||

### Race

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 6 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Alfa Romeo | 64 | 2:57:52.8 | 1 | 9 |
| 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: ||||||||

**Notes**

* ^1 – Includes 1 point for fastest lap

## Shared drives

* Car #16: Philippe Étancelin (first 26 laps) then Eugène Chaboud (33 laps). They shared the points for 5th place.
* Car #26: Charles Pozzi (14 laps) then Louis Rosier (42 laps)

## Championship standings after the race

### 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: ||||

* Note: Only the top five positions are listed. Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship.
