1954 French Grand Prix

1954 French Grand Prix
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Reims-Gueux layout
Race details
Date	4 July 1954
Official name	XLI Grand Prix de l'ACF
Location	Reims Circuit, Reims, France
Course	Temporary road course
Course length	8.302 km (5.159 miles)
Distance	61 laps, 506.422 km (314.676 miles)
Weather	Overcast, wet
Pole position
Driver	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes
Time	2:29.4
Fastest lap
Driver	Hans Herrmann	Mercedes
Time	2:32.9 on lap 3
Podium
First	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes
Second	Karl Kling	Mercedes
Third	Robert Manzon	Ferrari
Lap leaders

The 1954 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Reims on 4 July 1954, the same date as the 1954 Football World Cup Final. 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. This race was held the same day as the 1954 FIFA World Cup Final in Bern, Switzerland, but that event took place later in the day from this Grand Prix.

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 Rheims 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 & 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.

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	—
DNA	40	Sergio Mantovani	Maserati	No time	—
Source:

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
Ret	28	Paul Frère	Gordini	50	Axle	19
Ret	4	Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari	36	Engine	9
Ret	36	Louis Rosier	Ferrari	27	Engine	13
Ret	12	Onofre Marimón	Maserati	27	Gearbox	5
Ret	16	Roberto Mieres	Maserati	24	Engine	11
Ret	42	Ken Wharton	Maserati	19	Transmission	16
Ret	48	Harry Schell	Maserati	19	Fuel Pump	21
Ret	22	Hans Herrmann	Mercedes	16	Engine	7	11
Ret	44	Roy Salvadori	Maserati	15	Half Shaft	10
Ret	2	José Froilán González	Ferrari	13	Engine	4
Ret	32	Lance Macklin	HWM-Alta	10	Engine	15
Ret	30	Georges Berger	Gordini	9	Engine	20
Ret	6	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	9	Engine	8
Ret	26	Jacques Pollet	Gordini	8	Engine	18
Ret	10	Alberto Ascari	Maserati	1	Transmission	3
Source:

Notes

• ^1 – 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	6
Source:

• Note: Only the top five positions are included. Only the best 5 results counted towards the Championship.