The 1954 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Reims on 4 July 1954. It was race 4 of 9 in the 1954 World Championship of Drivers. The 61-lap race was won by Mercedes driver Juan Manuel Fangio after he started from pole position. His teammate Karl Kling finished second and Ferrari driver Robert Manzon came in third.
Race report
The long-awaited Mercedes W196 with its straight-8 fuel-injection engine made its debut with Juan Manuel Fangio transferring from Maserati to join an otherwise all-German line-up of Hans Herrmann, Karl Kling and pre-war driver Hermann Lang. It was a dominant return with Fangio recording a practice lap of 124.31 mph. He and Kling led away and continued to race side by side around the Reims track. The Ferrari drivers simply couldn't cope with the pace. José Froilán González retired after 12 laps and Mike Hawthorn's car blew up spectacularly. Former Ferrari double World Champion (1952 and 1953) Alberto Ascari drove a Maserati, as the Lancia D50 was not yet ready for racing, and lasted only 1 lap after starting on the outside of the front row. Herrmann set fastest lap before retiring, but Fangio and Kling continued their duel until the last lap when team orders were put in force and Fangio led Kling over the line by a mere 0.1 seconds-half a car length. Only six cars finished the gruelling race.
Entries +TeamNoDriverCarEngineTyre Scuderia Ferrari2 José Froilán GonzálezFerrari 553Ferrari 554 2.5 L44 Maurice TrintignantFerrari 625 F1Ferrari 625 2.5 L46 Mike HawthornFerrari 553Ferrari 554 2.5 L4 Officine Alfieri Maserati10 Alberto AscariMaserati 250FMaserati 250F1 2.5 L612 Onofre Marimón14 Luigi Villoresi40 Sergio Mantovani Roberto Mieres16 Roberto MieresMaserati A6GCMMaserati A6 2.0 L6 Daimler Benz AG18 Juan Manuel FangioMercedes-Benz W196Mercedes M196 2.5 L820 Karl Kling22 Hans Herrmann Equipe Gordini24 Jean BehraGordini T16Gordini 23 2.5 L626 Jacques Pollet28 Paul Frère Georges Berger30 Georges Berger HW Motors32 Lance MacklinHWM 53Alta GP 2.5 L4 Ecurie Rosier34 Robert ManzonFerrari 625 F1Ferrari 625 2.5 L436 Louis Rosier Owen Racing Organisation42 Ken Wharton Gilby Engineering44 Roy SalvadoriMaserati 250FMaserati 250F1 2.5 L6 Birabongse Bhanudej46 Prince Bira Harry Schell48 Harry SchellMaserati A6GCMMaserati A6 2.0 L6
Classification Qualifying Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap 1 18 Juan Manuel Fangio Mercedes 2:29.4 — 2 20 Karl Kling Mercedes 2:30.4 + 1.0 3 10 Alberto Ascari Maserati 2:30.5 + 1.1 4 2 José Froilán González Ferrari 2:30.6 + 1.2 5 12 Onofre Marimón Maserati 2:31.6 + 2.2 6 46 Prince Bira Maserati 2:35.1 + 5.7 7 22 Hans Herrmann Mercedes 2:35.3 + 5.9 8 6 Mike Hawthorn Ferrari 2:35.6 + 6.2 9 4 Maurice Trintignant Ferrari 2:36.1 + 6.7 10 44 Roy Salvadori Maserati 2:36.3 + 6.9 11 16 Roberto Mieres Maserati 2:38.7 + 9.3 12 34 Robert Manzon Ferrari 2:42.0 + 12.6 13 36 Louis Rosier Ferrari 2:42.1 + 12.7 14 14 Luigi Villoresi Maserati 2:42.7 + 13.3 15 32 Lance Macklin HWM-Alta 2:52.5 + 23.1 16 42 Ken Wharton Maserati 3:09.3 + 39.9 17 24 Jean Behra Gordini No time — 18 26 Jacques Pollet Gordini No time — 19 28 Paul Frère Gordini No time — 20 30 Georges Berger Gordini No time — 21 48 Harry Schell Maserati No time — 40 Sergio Mantovani Maserati No time —
Race Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 18 Juan Manuel Fangio Mercedes 61 2:42:47.9 1 8 2 20 Karl Kling Mercedes 61 + 0.1 2 6 3 34 Robert Manzon Ferrari 60 + 1 Lap 12 4 4 46 Prince Bira Maserati 60 + 1 Lap 6 3 5 14 Luigi Villoresi Maserati 58 + 3 Laps 14 2 6 24 Jean Behra Gordini 56 + 5 Laps 17 28 Paul Frère Gordini 50 Axle 19 4 Maurice Trintignant Ferrari 36 Engine 9 36 Louis Rosier Ferrari 27 Engine 13 12 Onofre Marimón Maserati 27 Gearbox 5 16 Roberto Mieres Maserati 24 Engine 11 42 Ken Wharton Maserati 19 Transmission 16 48 Harry Schell Maserati 19 Fuel Pump 21 22 Hans Herrmann Mercedes 16 Engine 7 1 44 Roy Salvadori Maserati 15 Half Shaft 10 2 José Froilán González Ferrari 13 Engine 4 32 Lance Macklin HWM-Alta 10 Engine 15 30 Georges Berger Gordini 9 Engine 20 6 Mike Hawthorn Ferrari 9 Engine 8 26 Jacques Pollet Gordini 8 Engine 18 10 Alberto Ascari Maserati 1 Transmission 3 Notes – 1 point for fastest lap
Championship standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Juan Manuel Fangio 25 2 Maurice Trintignant 9 3 Bill Vukovich 8 4 José Froilán González 6.5 5 Nino Farina 6Source:
References