The 1958 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Reims on 6 July 1958. It was race 6 of 11 in the 1958 World Championship of Drivers and race 5 of 10 in the 1958 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.

The race was won by Mike Hawthorn driving a Ferrari 246 F1; it was his first Formula One victory since the 1954 Spanish Grand Prix and would prove to be his last. It was also the last Formula One race for five-time World Champion Juan Manuel Fangio. On the final lap, Hawthorn eased up to let Fangio, running fifth at the time, finish on the lead lap of his last race. This turned out to be a blessing, as Peter Collins ran out of fuel on the final lap, allowing Fangio to secure fourth. Collins managed to push his car to finish fifth. Finishing in tenth was Indianapolis 500 winner, American Troy Ruttman driving a Maserati 250F for Scuderia Centro Sud in what would be his only Grand Prix appearance outside of the 500. Ruttman had qualified 15 seconds away from pole position and finished five laps down on Hawthorn.

Fatalities The F1 race was marred by Ferrari driver Luigi Musso's fatal accident at the Courbe du Calvaire. His car hurtled off course and crashed into a ditch. Musso was thrown out of the car, was critically injured and died later that day at a hospital near the track.

Of the 21 starters, six died in racing cars within the next three years. Musso died in the race itself, while Peter Collins died four weeks later in the 1958 German Grand Prix, Lewis-Evans at the Moroccan Grand Prix, Jean Behra in a support race for the 1959 German Grand Prix, Harry Schell in practice for the 1960 BRDC International Trophy, and Wolfgang von Trips and a dozen spectators died at the 1961 Italian Grand Prix.

Formula 2 The "II Coupe Internationale de Vitesse 1958" 1500cc Formula Two race was held on the same day, over 30 laps. Several current and future F1 pilots entered both events, with F2 already using Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout cars from Cooper, and even sportscars with enveloping bodywork from Porsche and OSCA that were heavier but seemingly made up time on the long straights of Reims, a circuit similar to Le Mans. Pole (2'34.1") and victory by Jean Behra in a Porsche 718 RSK (converted central seat sportscar) ahead of Collins in a front engine Ferrari Dino 156 F2.

Classification Qualifying Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap1 4 Mike Hawthorn Ferrari 2:21.7—2 2 Luigi Musso Ferrari 2:22.4 +0.73 16 Harry Schell BRM 2:23.1 +1.44 42 Peter Collins Ferrari 2:23.3 +1.65 10 Tony Brooks Vanwall 2:23.4 +1.76 8 Stirling Moss Vanwall 2:23.7 +2.07 18 Maurice Trintignant BRM 2:23.7 +2.08 34 Juan Manuel Fangio Maserati 2:24.0 +2.39 14 Jean Behra BRM 2:24.2 +2.510 12 Stuart Lewis-Evans Vanwall 2:25.3 +3.611 40 Paco Godia Maserati 2:27.1 +5.412 22 Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax 2:27.3 +5.613 36 Phil Hill Maserati 2:29.5 +7.814 20 Roy Salvadori Cooper-Climax 2:30.0 +8.315 32 Gerino Gerini Maserati 2:30.7 +9.016 38 Jo Bonnier Maserati 2:30.9 +9.217 28 Carroll Shelby Maserati 2:32.0 +10.318 30 Troy Ruttman Maserati 2:36.0 +14.319 24 Graham Hill Lotus-Climax 2:40.9 +19.220 26 Cliff Allison Lotus-Climax 2:49.7 +28.021 6 Wolfgang von Trips Ferrari Source:

Race Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 4 Mike Hawthorn Ferrari 50 2:03:21.3 1 9 2 8 Stirling Moss Vanwall 50 + 24.6 6 6 3 6 Wolfgang von Trips Ferrari 50 + 59.7 21 4 4 34 Juan Manuel Fangio Maserati 50 + 2:30.6 8 3 5 42 Peter Collins Ferrari 50 + 5:24.9 4 2 6 22 Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax 49 + 1 Lap 12   7 36 Phil Hill Maserati 49 + 1 Lap 13   8 38 Jo Bonnier Maserati 48 + 2 Laps 16   9 32 Gerino Gerini Maserati 47 + 3 Laps 15   10 30 Troy Ruttman Maserati 45 + 5 Laps 18   11 20 Roy Salvadori Cooper-Climax 37 + 13 Laps 14   16 Harry Schell BRM 41 Overheating 3   14 Jean Behra BRM 41 Fuel Pump 9   12 Stuart Lewis-Evans Tony Brooks Vanwall 35 Engine 10   24 Graham Hill Lotus-Climax 33 Overheating 19   40 Paco Godia Maserati 28 Accident 11   18 Maurice Trintignant BRM 23 Fuel Pump 7   10 Tony Brooks Vanwall 16 Engine 5   2 Luigi Musso Ferrari 9 Fatal Accident 2   28 Carroll Shelby Maserati 9 Engine 17   26 Cliff Allison Lotus-Climax 6 Engine 20   Notes – Includes 1 point for fastest lap

Additional information This was the debut World Championship Formula One race for future world champion Phil Hill.

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings PosDriverPoints 1 Stirling Moss 23 2 Mike Hawthorn 23 3 Luigi Musso 12 4 Harry Schell 10 5 Maurice Trintignant 8Source:

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Ferrari 28 1 2 Vanwall 22 1 3 Cooper-Climax 19 4 BRM 10 1 5 Maserati 6Source:

References