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1952 French Grand Prix

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1952 French Grand Prix
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Race details
Date 6 July 1952 (1952-07-06)
Official name XXXIX Grand Prix de l'ACF
Location Rouen-Les-Essarts, Grand-Couronne, France
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 5.100 km (3.169 miles)
Distance 77 laps, 392.700 km (244.012 miles)
Weather Rain
Pole position
Driver Ferrari
Time 2:14.8
Fastest lap
Driver Italy Alberto Ascari Ferrari
Time 2:17.3 on lap 28
Podium
First Ferrari
Second Ferrari
Third Ferrari
Lap leaders

The 1952 French Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on 6 July 1952 at Rouen-Les-Essarts. It was race 4 of 8 in the 1952 World Championship of Drivers, in which each Grand Prix was run to Formula Two rules rather than the Formula One regulations normally used. Unusually this race was run over a duration of 3 hours, rather than a fixed distance.[1]

Report

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Having won the previous weekend's Grand Prix de la Marne, Jean Behra, racing for Equipe Gordini, was among the favourites for the first French Grand Prix to be held at Rouen-Les-Essarts. Also driving for Gordini were regulars Robert Manzon and Prince Bira, alongside Maurice Trintignant, who replaced Johnny Claes from the lineup for the previous round. Claes entered the race in a Simca-Gordini under his own 'Ecurie Belge' label, which he had used in the 1950 and 1951 seasons. Ferrari retained their lineup of Ascari, Farina and Taruffi, who had locked out the front row of the grid in Belgium. There were also several privateer Ferrari entries: the Swiss duo of Rudi Fischer and Peter Hirt, representing Ecurie Espadon, the Italian pairing of Franco Comotti and Piero Carini, for Scuderia Marzotto, and Louis Rosier. HWM again ran regular drivers Lance Macklin and Peter Collins, this time alongside Frenchman Yves Giraud-Cabantous. While the factory Maserati team remained absent, their new car, the A6GCM, made its World Championship debut, driven by Philippe Étancelin of Escuderia Bandeirantes. Enrico Platé entered a pair of older Maseratis, the 4CLT/48 model, for Toulo de Graffenried and Harry Schell. Completing the grid were Peter Whitehead, in a privately run Alta, and Mike Hawthorn, who again took part in a Cooper-Bristol.

Ascari took his second consecutive pole position, with his Ferrari teammates Farina and Taruffi again joining him on the front row of the grid. The Gordini team locked out the second row, with Behra and Manzon qualifying in fourth and fifth, respectively. Their teammates Trintignant and Bira started from the third row, alongside Peter Collins in the fastest of the HWMs. The new Maserati A6GCM proved a disappointment, with Philippe Étancelin only managing to qualify on the seventh row of the grid (out of eight).

The Ferraris once again dominated the race, with Alberto Ascari leading Farina from start to finish, thus taking his second consecutive victory in the World Championship. Despite a good start from the Gordinis of Manzon and Behra, that saw them take third and fourth place, respectively, by the end of the first lap, Piero Taruffi managed to regain third place on lap 4 and subsequently held it for the remainder of the race, ensuring that it was an all-Ferrari podium. Manzon finished fourth, a lap behind Taruffi, while his teammate Maurice Trintignant took the final points-scoring position of fifth. HWM driver Peter Collins took sixth, two laps behind Trintignant, ahead of Jean Behra, for whom seventh represented something of a recovery, having been in last place at the end of lap 3. His race had been compromised when he crashed and consequently needed to pit.[2]

Ascari's win, and fastest lap, ensured that he took a five-point lead in the Drivers' Championship, ahead of fellow Ferrari driver Piero Taruffi. Farina's second consecutive second-place finish took him to third in the standings, one point adrift of Taruffi. Indianapolis 500 winner Troy Ruttman was a further four points behind in fourth, one point ahead of Gordini driver Robert Manzon.

Entries

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No Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Tyre
2 France Robert Manzon Equipe Gordini Gordini Gordini T16 Gordini 20 2.0 L6 E
4 France Jean Behra Gordini Gordini T16 Gordini 20 2.0 L6 E
6 Thailand Prince Bira Gordini Gordini T16 Gordini 20 2.0 L6 E
8 Italy Alberto Ascari Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari Ferrari 500 Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 P
10 Italy Nino Farina Ferrari Ferrari 500 Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 P
12 Italy Piero Taruffi1 Ferrari Ferrari 500 Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 P
14 France Louis Rosier Ecurie Rosier Ferrari Ferrari 500 Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 D
16 Switzerland Toulo de Graffenried2 Enrico Platé Maserati-Platé Maserati 4CLT-48 Platé 2.0 L4 P
18 United States Harry Schell Maserati-Platé Maserati 4CLT-48 Platé 2.0 L4 P
20 United Kingdom Lance Macklin HW Motors HWM-Alta HWM 52 Alta F2 2.0 L4 D
22 United Kingdom Peter Collins HWM-Alta HWM 52 Alta F2 2.0 L4 D
24 France Yves Giraud-Cabantous HWM-Alta HWM 52 Alta F2 2.0 L4 D
26 United Kingdom Peter Whitehead Peter Whitehead Alta Alta Alta F2 2.0 L4 D
28 France Philippe Étancelin3 Escuderia Bandeirantes Maserati Maserati A6GCM Maserati A6G 2.0 L6 P
30 Brazil Chico Landi4 Maserati Maserati A6GCM Maserati A6G 2.0 L6 P
32 Belgium Johnny Claes Ecurie Belge Simca-Gordini Simca-Gordini T15 Gordini 1500 1.5 L4 E
34 Switzerland Rudi Fischer5 Ecurie Espadon Ferrari Ferrari 500 Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 P
36 Ferrari 212 Ferrari 166 2.0 V12
38 Italy Franco Comotti6 Scuderia Marzotto Ferrari Ferrari 166F2-50 Ferrari 166 2.0 V12 P
40 Italy Piero Carini6 Ferrari Ferrari 166F2-50 Ferrari 166 2.0 V12 P
42 United Kingdom Mike Hawthorn6 Archie Bryde Cooper-Bristol Cooper T20 Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 D
44 France Maurice Trintignant Equipe Gordini Simca-Gordini Simca-Gordini T15 Gordini 1500 1.5 L4 E
Sources: [3][4]
^1 — Piero Taruffi qualified and drove the entire race in the #12 Ferrari. Luigi Villoresi, who was also entered in the same car, was unable to participate due to injury.[5]
^2 — Toulo de Graffenried qualified and drove 26 laps of the race in the #16 Maserati. Harry Schell, whose own vehicle had already retired, took over the car for a further 8 laps before again being forced to retire.[6]
^3 — Philippe Étancelin qualified and drove the entire race in the #28 Maserati. Eitel Cantoni was also entered in the car, but took no part in the Grand Prix after being fired.[5]
^4 — Chico Landi withdrew from the event prior to practice.[5]
^5 — Rudi Fischer qualified and drove 37 laps of the race in the #36 Ferrari. He was initially due to drive the #34 Ferrari 500, but engine problems in practice meant that he instead participated in a 212. Peter Hirt took over the car for the remainder of the race.[6] Rudolf Schoeller, named substitute driver for the car, was not used during the Grand Prix.[7]
^6Vittorio Marzotto, Sergio Sighinolfi and Reg Parnell were the designated substitute drivers for cars #38, #40 and #42, respectively. None of the three was used during the Grand Prix.[7]

Classification

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Qualifying

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Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap
1 8 Italy Alberto Ascari Ferrari 2:14.8
2 10 Italy Nino Farina Ferrari 2:16.2 + 1.4
3 12 Italy Piero Taruffi Ferrari 2:17.1 + 2.3
4 4 France Jean Behra Gordini 2:19.3 + 4.5
5 2 France Robert Manzon Gordini 2:20.4 + 5.6
6 44 France Maurice Trintignant Simca-Gordini-Gordini 2:21.6 + 6.8
7 22 United Kingdom Peter Collins HWM-Alta 2:21.9 + 7.1
8 6 Thailand Prince Bira Gordini 2:23.0 + 8.2
9 14 France Louis Rosier Ferrari 2:27.0 + 12.2
10 24 France Yves Giraud-Cabantous HWM-Alta 2:27.5 + 12.7
11 16 Switzerland Toulo de Graffenried Maserati 2:28.6 + 13.8
12 18 United States Harry Schell Maserati 2:29.0 + 14.2
13 26 United Kingdom Peter Whitehead Alta 2:29.5 + 14.7
14 20 United Kingdom Lance Macklin HWM-Alta 2:30.9 + 16.1
15 42 United Kingdom Mike Hawthorn Cooper-Bristol 2:32.0 + 17.2
16 28 France Philippe Étancelin Maserati 2:33.7 + 18.9
17 36 Switzerland Rudi Fischer Ferrari 2:34.6 + 19.8
18 38 Italy Franco Comotti Ferrari 2:36.0 + 21.2
19 40 Italy Piero Carini Ferrari 2:37.7 + 22.9
20 32 Belgium Johnny Claes Simca-Gordini-Gordini 2:39.6 + 24.8

Race

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Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 8 Italy Alberto Ascari Ferrari 77 3:02:42.6 1 91
2 10 Italy Nino Farina Ferrari 76 + 1 lap 2 6
3 12 Italy Piero Taruffi Ferrari 75 + 2 laps 3 4
4 2 France Robert Manzon Gordini 74 + 3 laps 5 3
5 44 France Maurice Trintignant Simca-Gordini-Gordini 72 + 5 laps 6 2
6 22 United Kingdom Peter Collins HWM-Alta 70 + 7 laps 8
7 4 France Jean Behra Gordini 70 + 7 laps 4
8 28 France Philippe Étancelin Maserati 70 + 7 laps 18
9 20 United Kingdom Lance Macklin HWM-Alta 70 + 7 laps 14
10 24 France Yves Giraud Cabantous HWM-Alta 68 + 9 laps 10
11 36 Switzerland Rudi Fischer
Switzerland Peter Hirt
Ferrari 66 + 11 laps 17
12 38 Italy Franco Comotti Ferrari 63 + 14 laps 16
Ret 6 Thailand Prince Bira Gordini 56 Axle 7
Ret 42 United Kingdom Mike Hawthorn Cooper-Bristol 51 Ignition 15
Ret 16 Switzerland Toulo de Graffenried
United States Harry Schell
Maserati 34 Brakes 12
Ret 26 United Kingdom Peter Whitehead Alta 17 Clutch 13
Ret 14 France Louis Rosier Ferrari 17 Engine 9
Ret 32 Belgium Johnny Claes Simca-Gordini-Gordini 15 Engine 20
Ret 18 United States Harry Schell Maserati 7 Gearbox 11
Ret 40 Italy Piero Carini Ferrari 2 Engine 19
DNS 34 Switzerland Rudi Fischer Ferrari 0 Engine
Source: [8]
Notes
  • ^1 – Includes 1 point for fastest lap

Shared drives

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  • Car #34: Fischer (33 laps) then Hirt (33 laps)
  • Car #16: de Graffenried (20 laps) then Schell (14 laps)

Championship standings after the race

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Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1 1 Italy Alberto Ascari 18
1 2 Italy Piero Taruffi 13
1 3 Italy Nino Farina 12
1 4 United States Troy Ruttman 8
3 5 France Robert Manzon 7
Source: [9]
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included. Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship.

References

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  1. ^ Hodges, David (1967). The French Grand Prix. pp. 152–155.
  2. ^ "French GP, 1952 Race Report". Grandprix.com. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  3. ^ "1952 French Grand Prix - Race Entries". manipef1.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  4. ^ "1952 ACF GP - Entry List". chicanef1.com. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  5. ^ a b c "France 1952 - Result". statsf1.com. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  6. ^ a b "French Grand Prix 1952 - Results". ESPN F1. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  7. ^ a b "France 1952 - Race entrants". statsf1.com. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  8. ^ "1952 French Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  9. ^ "France 1952 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 1 March 2019.


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