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1954 French Grand Prix

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1954 French Grand Prix
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Reims-Gueux layout
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 Mercedes
Time 2:29.4
Fastest lap
Driver Germany Hans Herrmann Mercedes
Time 2:32.9 on lap 3
Podium
First
  • Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio
Mercedes
Second Mercedes
Third 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

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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

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Qualifying

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Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap
1 18 Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio Mercedes 2:29.4
2 20 Germany Karl Kling Mercedes 2:30.4 + 1.0
3 10 Italy Alberto Ascari Maserati 2:30.5 + 1.1
4 2 Argentina José Froilán González Ferrari 2:30.6 + 1.2
5 12 Argentina Onofre Marimón Maserati 2:31.6 + 2.2
6 46 Thailand Prince Bira Maserati 2:35.1 + 5.7
7 22 West Germany Hans Herrmann Mercedes 2:35.3 + 5.9
8 6 United Kingdom Mike Hawthorn Ferrari 2:35.6 + 6.2
9 4 France Maurice Trintignant Ferrari 2:36.1 + 6.7
10 44 United Kingdom Roy Salvadori Maserati 2:36.3 + 6.9
11 16 Argentina Roberto Mieres Maserati 2:38.7 + 9.3
12 34 France Robert Manzon Ferrari 2:42.0 + 12.6
13 36 France Louis Rosier Ferrari 2:42.1 + 12.7
14 14 Italy Luigi Villoresi Maserati 2:42.7 + 13.3
15 32 United Kingdom Lance Macklin HWM-Alta 2:52.5 + 23.1
16 42 United Kingdom Ken Wharton Maserati 3:09.3 + 39.9
17 24 France Jean Behra Gordini No time
18 26 France Jacques Pollet Gordini No time
19 28 Belgium Paul Frère Gordini No time
20 30 Belgium Georges Berger Gordini No time
21 48 United States Harry Schell Maserati No time
DNA 40 Italy Sergio Mantovani Maserati No time
Source:[1]

Race

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Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 18 Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio Mercedes 61 2:42:47.9 1 8
2 20 Germany Karl Kling Mercedes 61 + 0.1 2 6
3 34 France Robert Manzon Ferrari 60 + 1 Lap 12 4
4 46 Thailand Prince Bira Maserati 60 + 1 Lap 6 3
5 14 Italy Luigi Villoresi Maserati 58 + 3 Laps 14 2
6 24 France Jean Behra Gordini 56 + 5 Laps 17  
Ret 28 Belgium Paul Frère Gordini 50 Axle 19  
Ret 4 France Maurice Trintignant Ferrari 36 Engine 9  
Ret 36 France Louis Rosier Ferrari 27 Engine 13  
Ret 12 Argentina Onofre Marimón Maserati 27 Gearbox 5  
Ret 16 Argentina Roberto Mieres Maserati 24 Engine 11  
Ret 42 United Kingdom Ken Wharton Maserati 19 Transmission 16  
Ret 48 United States Harry Schell Maserati 19 Fuel Pump 21  
Ret 22 Germany Hans Herrmann Mercedes 16 Engine 7 11
Ret 44 United Kingdom Roy Salvadori Maserati 15 Half Shaft 10  
Ret 2 Argentina José Froilán González Ferrari 13 Engine 4  
Ret 32 United Kingdom Lance Macklin HWM-Alta 10 Engine 15  
Ret 30 Belgium Georges Berger Gordini 9 Engine 20  
Ret 6 United Kingdom Mike Hawthorn Ferrari 9 Engine 8  
Ret 26 France Jacques Pollet Gordini 8 Engine 18  
Ret 10 Italy Alberto Ascari Maserati 1 Transmission 3  
Source:[2]
Notes
  • ^1 – 1 point for fastest lap

Championship standings after the race

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Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1 Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio 25
2 France Maurice Trintignant 9
3 United States Bill Vukovich 8
4 Argentina José Froilán González 6.5
5 Italy Nino Farina 6
Source: [3]
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included. Only the best 5 results counted towards the Championship.

References

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  1. ^ "France 1954 - Qualifying". statsf1.com. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  2. ^ "1954 French Grand Prix". formula1.com. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  3. ^ "France 1954 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 15 March 2019.


Previous race:
1954 Belgian Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1954 season
Next race:
1954 British Grand Prix
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1953 French Grand Prix
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1956 French Grand Prix