The 1934 Grand Prix season saw the advent of a new GP car Formula with 750 kg upper dry weight (without liquids, tyres and driver) limit in an effort to reduce engine capacity, power and speed, favouring handling and lower costs of nimble cars like the Bugatti Type 51 and Alfa Romeo P3 over big engine sportstourer like the Mercedes-Benz SSK and Bentley Speed Six which had over 6 liter capacity, well over 200 hp, and were twice as heavy and very fast in straight line circuits like Le Mans. Superchargers, used in many race cars already for a decade, were permitted.
To curb the danger of rising speeds, the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR), the precursor to the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), imposed this weight limit, believing that it effectively outlawed the large-capacity engines without actually setting a limit, allowing for development. The incumbent manufacturers Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Bugatti had been preparing their new models with varying success – the best of which was the Alfa Romeo Tipo B. However, it was the state-sponsored arrival of the two German teams, Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union, and their innovative and progressive cars that ignited a new era of motor racing that had begun in the early 1920s, when Benz adopted the rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout and racers designed by Ferdinand that used superchargers.
Their cars started at around 3 litres and 300 hp and gained around a litre and 100 hp each year until the engine size was limited to 3 litres after 1937.
Scuderia Ferrari, running the Alfa Romeos, won the 1934 Monaco Grand Prix on the twisty city circuit with their new signing, the young Franco-Algerian Guy Moll. Then, in a special, aerodynamic Alfa Romeo, he won the Avusrennen on the mostly straight line track in Berlin that saw the first appearance of Auto Union A. His team-leader Louis Chiron had crashed out of the lead at Monaco, but took victory in the French Grand Prix. The German cars were fast but prone to new-car unreliability; however, Hans Stuck was able to claim Auto Union's first victory at their home Grand Prix. A controversial Customs decision kept the German teams out of the 1934 Belgian Grand Prix but they were back with a vengeance in the second half of the season. It started tragically with Faglioli's win at Pescara when Moll was killed closing in on the lead. Mercedes-Benz W25 cars went on to win the Italian and Spanish races, while Auto Union won the inaugural 1934 Swiss Grand Prix at the new Bremgarten circuit.
This was one of the major watershed racing seasons, that saw one of the most abrupt shifts between the old and new regimes as the balance-of-power in European racing moved from Italy to Germany. France was a distant third, while Britain only built cars for smaller classes like Voiturette.
Grand Épreuves Date Name Circuit RaceRegulations Weather RaceDistance Winner'sTime Winning driver Winningconstructor Fastestlap Report 1 2 Apr VI Grand Prix de Monaco Monte Carlo AIACR sunny 320 km 3h 32m Guy Moll Alfa Romeo Tipo B Carlo Felice Trossi Alfa Romeo Report 30 May XXII International 500 Mile Sweepstakes Indianapolis AAA sunny 500 miles 4h 46m Bill Cummings Miller FD not recorded Report 2 1 Jul XXVIII Grand Prix de l’ACF Montlhéry AIACR hot 500 km 3h 39m Louis Chiron Alfa Romeo Tipo B Louis Chiron Alfa Romeo Report 3 15 Jul VII Grosser Preis von Deutschland Nürburgring AIACR overcast 570 km 4h 38m Hans Stuck Auto Union Type A Hans Stuck Auto Union Report 4 29 Jul V Grand Prix de Belgique Spa-Francorchamps AIACR rain 360 km 4h 15m René Dreyfus Bugatti Type 59 Antonio Brivio Bugatti Report 1 Sep XIII RAC Tourist Trophy Ards-Belfast sports,handicap 480 miles 6h 13m Charles Dodson MG NE Magnette Eddie HallBentley Report 5 9 Sep XII Gran Premio d’Italia Monza AIACR hot 500 km 4h 46m Rudolf Caracciola Luigi Fagioli Mercedes-Benz W25 Hans Stuck Auto Union Report 6 23 Sep IX Gran Premio de España Lasarte AIACR sunny 520 km 3h 20m Luigi Fagioli Mercedes-Benz W25 Hans Stuck Auto Union Report A pink background indicates the race was run for Sports Cars or Touring Cars this year, while a grey background indicates the race was not held this year. Sources:Rendall 1993, p.364
Major Races Multiple classes are mentioned when they were divided and run to different race lengths. Date Name Circuit RaceRegulations Weather RaceDistance Winner'sTime Winning driver Winningconstructor Report18 Feb I Vallentunaloppet Vallentunasjön Formula Libre sunny 40 km 20m Paul Pietsch Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza Report Grand Prix de Pau Pau cancelled 25 Feb Sveriges Vinter Grand Prix Lake Rämen cancelled I Norges Grand Prix (III Mjøsløpet) Lake Mjøsa, Lillehammer Formula Libre 150 km 1h 20m Per-Viktor Widengren Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza Report 19 Mar VII Australian Grand Prix Phillip Island Formula Librehandicap sunny 200 miles 3h 12m Bob Lea-Wright Singer Nine Report 22 Apr X Circuito di Alessandria(Circuito Pietro Bordino) Alessandria Formula Libre,heats heavy rain 120 km 53m Achille Varzi Alfa Romeo Tipo B Report 29 Apr Grand Prix de Tunisie Carthage cancelled A 6 May VIII Gran Premio di Tripoli (II Lotteria di Tripoli) Mellaha Formula Libre sunny 525 km 2h 49m Achille Varzi Alfa Romeo Tipo B Report 13 May III Eläintarhanajot(Djurgårdsloppet) Eläintarharata Formula Libre overcast 100 km 59m Eugen Bjørnstad Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza Report 20 May XXV Targa Florio Piccolo Madonie Targa Florio heavy rain 430 km 6h 14m Achille Varzi Alfa Romeo Tipo B Report IX Grand Prix des Frontières Chimay Formula Libre 160 km 1h 23m Willy Longueville Bugatti Type 35B Report III Grand Prix de Casablanca / (Grand Prix du Maroc) Anfa Circuit Formula Libre hot 380 km 2h 56m Louis Chiron Alfa Romeo Tipo B Report Grand Prix de Nîmes Nîmes cancelled 21 May Budapest Grand Prix Népliget Park cancelled B27 May IV Internationales Avusrennen AVUS Formula LibreVoiturette rain then overcast 290 km 1h 26m Guy Moll Alfa Romeo Tipo B streamliner Report X Grand Prix de Picardie Péronne Formula Libre sunny 200 km 1h 32m Benoît Falchetto Maserati 8CM Report 2 Jun /(14 Jun) II Mannin Moar Douglas Formula Libre hot 180 miles 2h 26m Brian Lewis, Baron Essendon Alfa Romeo Tipo B Report C3 Jun XII Eifelrennen Nürburgring Formula LibreVoiturette overcast 340 km 2h 48m Manfred von Brauchitsch Mercedes-Benz W25 Report Grand Prix de Montreaux Montreux AIACR sunny 105 km 2h 57m Conde Carlo Felice Trossi Alfa Romeo Tipo B Report 5 Jun Grand Prix Lwowa(Großer Preis von Lemberg) LvivGeorgano 1971, p.109-110 cancelled 17 Jun IV Gran Premio de Penya Rhin Montjuïc Park Formula Libre sunny 270 km 2h 33m Achille Varzi Alfa Romeo Tipo B Report 24 Jun Gran Premio di Monza Monza cancelled Grand Prix de Lorraine Seichamps cancelled D 8 Jul IX Grand Prix de la Marne Reims-Gueux Formula Libre hot 500 km 3h 26m Louis Chiron Alfa Romeo Tipo B Report 15 Jul Grand Prix de Vichy Vichy Formula Libre,heats rain then overcast 140 km 1h 46m Conde Carlo Felice Trossi Alfa Romeo Tipo B Report 22 Jul VIII Coppa Ciano Montenero Formula LibreVoiturette sunny 240 km 2h 50m Achille Varzi Alfa Romeo Tipo B Report II Grand Prix de l'Albigeois Les Planques, AlbiGeorgano 1971, p.60 Formula Libre 270 km 1h 52m Rupert "Buddy" Featherstonhaugh Maserati Tipo 26M Report VI Grand Prix de Dieppe Dieppe Formula Libre,heats sunny 242 km(winner) 2 hours Philippe Étancelin Maserati 8CM Report 5 Aug Sveriges Sommer Grand Prix Norra Vram cancelled Grosser Preis von Luxemburg cancelled 12 Aug Grand Prix de la Baule La Baule beach cancelled E 15 Aug X Coppa Acerbo PescaraGeorgano 1971, p.129-30 Formula Libre rain 520 km 3h 59m Luigi Fagioli Mercedes-Benz W25 Report 19 Aug III Grand Prix de Nice Nice Formula Libre hot 320 km 3h 02m Achille Varzi Alfa Romeo Tipo B Report Grand Prix de Marseille Miramas cancelled F26 Aug I Grosser Preis der Schweiz Bremgarten Formula Libre sunny 510 km 3h 38m Hans Stuck Auto Union Type A Report X Grand Prix du Comminges Saint-Gaudens Formula Libre sunny 390 km 2h 41m Gianfranco Comotti Alfa Romeo Tipo B Report 2 Sep Circuito di Biella Biella Formula Libre,heats sunny 90 km 1h 03m Conde Carlo Felice Trossi Alfa Romeo Tipo B Report 9 Sep I Grand Prix de l’UMF Montlhéry Formula LibreVoiturette ? 90 km 39mins Benoît Falchetto Maserati 8CM Report G 30 Sep V Masarykuv Okruh Masaryk-Ring,Cimarosti 1997, p.88Brno Formula Libre hot 500 km 3h 53m Hans Stuck Auto Union Type A Report 3 Oct II Grande Prêmio da Cidade de Rio de Janeiro Gávea Formula Libre sunny 280 km 3h 56m Irineu Corrêa Ford Special Report 6 Oct II Donington Park Trophy Donington Park Formula Libre rain 85 km 46mins / Whitney Straight Maserati 8CM Report 14 Oct III Circuito di Modena Modena Formula Libre overcast 130 km 1h 11m Tazio Nuvolari Maserati 6C-34 Report 21 Oct Coppa Principessa di Piemonte Posillipo Formula Libre,heats rain 200 km 2h 10m Tazio Nuvolari Maserati 6C-34 Report 28 Oct IV Grand Prix d'Algérie Bouzaréah,Algiers Formula Libre,heats hot 120 km 2h 28m Jean-Pierre Wimille Bugatti Type 59 Report 27 Dec I South African Grand Prix(Border 100) Prince George Circuit Formula Libre,handicap sunny 95 miles ? / Whitney Straight Maserati 8CM Report
Regulations The 1934 season was a landmark year, which saw the introduction of the new 750 kg formula. The trend to now from the manufacturers had been to build bigger engines to get more power. So it was seen as the way to limit increasing speeds because the bigger engines and superchargers would weigh more. It effectively outlawed the Italian twin-engine models. However, it underestimated the advances made in metallurgy and using lightweight materials.Rendall 1993, p.136 The regulations stipulated a maximum weight of 750 kg, calculated excluding the driver, fluids and tyres. The minimum width, at the driver's seat, had to be 850mm. There was no restriction on the choice of fuel that could be used.Cimarosti 1997, p.97 In the USA the | AAA, facing the same issues, chose a fuel-consumption formula instead – 45 US gallons for the Indianapolis 500.
The AIACR also stipulated that their Grand Épreuves had to run for a minimum of 500 km. They also formally recognised the voiturette class, with a 1.5-litre maximum. However, the revived interest in Grand Prix racing by both manufacturers and spectators saw the smaller category slip back into the shadow. This would later change as it got more expensive to be competitive and privateers retreated back to the smaller class.
Technical Innovation The three incumbent manufacturers in Gran Prix racing: Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Bugatti already had racing models close to the required weights, and those required only minor modification to conform to the regulations. Two additional manufacturers, from Germany, had shown intent to develop cars for the new formula. Mercedes-Benz had, of late, been more involved with sports-car racing with the powerful SSK while Auto Union was an unknown quantity. Both had been building and testing new grand prix cars in the previous year. The new German regime saw value in promoting motor-racing to the public and allocated RM450,000, split equally between the companies, to subsidise their development. Additional victory bonuses (20000, 10000, 5000) would be given for podium finishes. However, both companies estimated that the subsidies only covered about 10-20% of their total annual costs.Ludvigsen 2009, p.61Fox 1973, p.60Cimarosti 1997, p.98 Alfa Romeo, having been recently nationalised under the Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale (IRI), was also able to draw on national funding indirectly, albeit to a lesser extent. Unlike Hitler, Mussolini was an avid motor-racing fan and very knowledgeable.