# 1950 Monaco Grand Prix

43°44′4.74″N 7°25′16.8″E﻿ / ﻿43.7346500°N 7.421333°E﻿ / 43.7346500; 7.421333
The 1950 Monaco Grand Prix, formally titled the Prix de Monte-Carlo et XI$^e$ Grand Prix Automobile, was a Formula One motor race held on 21 May 1950 at Monaco. It was race two of seven in the 1950 World Championship of Drivers. The 100-lap race was held at an overall distance of 318.1 km (197.1 mi) and was won by Juan Manuel Fangio for the Alfa Romeo team after starting from pole position. Alberto Ascari finished second for Ferrari and Louis Chiron finished third for Maserati. It was also the first race for Ferrari in Formula One.

## Report

After two qualifying sessions, on Thursday and Saturday, which Charles Pozzi, Yves Giraud-Cabantous, Pierre Levegh and Clemente Biondetti did not start, the race was dominated from start to finish by Juan Manuel Fangio, who scored his first ever victory in a World Championship event, driving an Alfa Romeo. The starting grid consisted of alternating rows of three and two, starting with three on the front row and continuing up to two on the 8th row. The first two rows of the grid (positions 1 to 5) were made up of the fastest five drivers from the Thursday qualifying session, with the remaining positions based on the other 16 drivers' times in the second session on the Saturday. This format meant that Luigi Villoresi started 6th, despite his time being fast enough for 2nd place on the grid.
Due to an accident in practice, Alfredo Piàn did not start the race, with Peter Whitehead another non-starter. The race was marred by a large pile-up during the first lap, when a wave from the harbour flooded the track at Tabac Corner. Nino Farina in 2nd, spun and crashed while Fangio managed to escape the chaos. Those who were behind them tried to stop or avoid the carnage, but eight more drivers (from a field of 19 drivers) crashed and retired. None of them was injured, but José Froilán González, who damaged his Maserati in the pile-up but was subsequently running second, crashed during the second lap. His car caught fire and he suffered burns. The race went on with many cars going off at Tabac Corner, nearly causing other accidents. Ferrari driver Luigi Villoresi charged his way from the back of the field after being delayed by the pile-up, but did not finish.
Harry Schell's Cooper was the first rear-engined car to start in a championship race. Chiron's 3rd-place finish made him the only Monegasque driver to score points in Formula One until Charles Leclerc finished 6th in the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix some 68 years later.

## Entries

| No | Driver | Entrant | Constructor | Chassis | Engine | Tyre |
| 2 | José Froilán González | Scuderia Achille Varzi | Maserati | Maserati 4CLT/48 | Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4 s | P |
| 4 | Alfredo Piàn | Scuderia Achille Varzi | Maserati | Maserati 4CLT/48 | Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4 s | P |
| 6 | Johnny Claes | Ecurie Belge | Talbot-Lago | Talbot-Lago T26C | Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 | D |
| 8 | Harry Schell | Horschell Racing Corporation | Cooper | Cooper T12 | JAP 1.1 V2 | D |
| 10 | Robert Manzon | Equipe Gordini | Simca-Gordini | Simca-Gordini T15 | Simca-Gordini 15C 1.5 L4 s | E |
| 12 | Maurice Trintignant | Equipe Gordini | Simca-Gordini | Simca-Gordini T15 | Simca-Gordini 15C 1.5 L4 s | E |
| 14 | Philippe Étancelin | Philippe Étancelin | Talbot-Lago | Talbot-Lago T26C | Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 | D |
| 16 | Louis Rosier | Ecurie Rosier | Talbot-Lago | Talbot-Lago T26C | Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 | D |
| 18 | Charles Pozzi | Ecurie Rosier | Talbot-Lago | Talbot-Lago T26C | Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 | D |
| 20 | Yves Giraud-Cabantous | Automobiles Talbot-Darracq | Talbot-Lago | Talbot-Lago T26C | Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 | D |
| 22 | Pierre Levegh | Pierre Levegh | Talbot-Lago | Talbot-Lago T26C | Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 | D |
| 24 | Cuth Harrison | Cuth Harrison | ERA | ERA B/C | ERA 1.5 L6 s | D |
| 26 | Bob Gerard | Bob Gerard | ERA | ERA A | ERA 1.5 L6 s | D |
| 28 | Peter Whitehead | Peter Whitehead | Ferrari | Ferrari 125 | Ferrari 125 F1 1.5 V12 s | D |
| 32 | Nino Farina | Alfa Romeo SpA | Alfa Romeo | Alfa Romeo 158 | Alfa Romeo 158 1.5 L8 s | P |
| 34 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Alfa Romeo SpA | Alfa Romeo | Alfa Romeo 158 | Alfa Romeo 158 1.5 L8 s | P |
| 36 | Luigi Fagioli | Alfa Romeo SpA | Alfa Romeo | Alfa Romeo 158 | Alfa Romeo 158 1.5 L8 s | P |
| 38 | Luigi Villoresi | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | Ferrari 125 | Ferrari 125 F1 1.5 V12 s | P |
| 40 | Alberto Ascari | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | Ferrari 125 | Ferrari 125 F1 1.5 V12 s | P |
| 42 | Raymond Sommer | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | Ferrari 125 | Ferrari 125 F1 1.5 V12 s | P |
| 44 | Franco Rol | Officine Alfieri Maserati | Maserati | Maserati 4CLT/48 | Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4 s | P |
| 46 | Clemente Biondetti | Scuderia Milano | Maserati | Maserati 4CLT/50 | Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4 s | P |
| 48 | Louis Chiron | Officine Alfieri Maserati | Maserati | Maserati 4CLT/48 | Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4 s | P |
| 50 | Prince Bira | Enrico Platé | Maserati | Maserati 4CLT/48 | Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4 s | P |
| 52 | Toulo de Graffenried | Enrico Platé | Maserati | Maserati 4CLT/48 | Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4 s | P |
| 54 | André Simon | Equipe Gordini | Simca-Gordini | Simca-Gordini T15 | Simca-Gordini 15C 1.5 L4 s | E |
| Sources: |||||||
    ^1 — Entry withdrawn prior to event.

## Classification
### Qualifying

Positions 1-5 determined by Thursday practice. The rest of the field was set on Saturday.
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Lap | Gap |
| 1 | 34 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Alfa Romeo | 1:50.2 | – |
| 2 | 32 | Nino Farina | Alfa Romeo | 1:52.8 | + 2.6 |
| 3 | 2 | José Froilán González | Maserati | 1:53.7 | + 3.5 |
| 4 | 14 | Philippe Étancelin | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 1:54.1 | + 3.9 |
| 5 | 36 | Luigi Fagioli | Alfa Romeo | 1:54.2 | + 4.0 |
| 6 | 38 | Luigi Villoresi | Ferrari | 1:52.3 | + 2.1 |
| 7 | 40 | Alberto Ascari | Ferrari | 1:53.8 | + 3.6 |
| 8 | 48 | Louis Chiron | Maserati | 1:56.3 | + 6.1 |
| 9 | 42 | Raymond Sommer | Ferrari | 1:56.6 | + 6.4 |
| 10 | 16 | Louis Rosier | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 1:57.7 | + 7.5 |
| 11 | 10 | Robert Manzon | Simca-Gordini | 2:00.4 | + 10.2 |
| 12 | 52 | Toulo de Graffenried | Maserati | 2:00.7 | + 10.5 |
| 13 | 12 | Maurice Trintignant | Simca-Gordini | 2:01.4 | + 11.2 |
| 14 | 24 | Cuth Harrison | ERA | 2:01.6 | + 11.4 |
| 15 | 50 | Prince Bira | Maserati | 2:02.2 | + 12.0 |
| 16 | 26 | Bob Gerard | ERA | 2:03.4 | + 13.2 |
| 17 | 44 | Franco Rol | Maserati | 2:04.5 | + 14.3 |
| 18 | 4 | Alfredo Piàn | Maserati | No time | – |
| 19 | 6 | Johnny Claes | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 2:12.0 | + 21.8 |
| 20 | 8 | Harry Schell | Cooper-JAP | No time | – |
| 21 | 28 | Peter Whitehead | Ferrari | No time | – |
| DNA | 18 | Charles Pozzi | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | – | – |
| DNA | 20 | Yves Giraud-Cabantous | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | – | – |
| DNA | 22 | Pierre Levegh | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | – | – |
| DNA | 46 | Clemente Biondetti | Maserati | – | – |
| Source: ||||||

### Race

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 34 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Alfa Romeo | 100 | 3:13:18.7 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | 40 | Alberto Ascari | Ferrari | 99 | + 1 lap | 7 | 6 |
| 3 | 48 | Louis Chiron | Maserati | 98 | + 2 laps | 8 | 4 |
| 4 | 42 | Raymond Sommer | Ferrari | 97 | + 3 laps | 9 | 3 |
| 5 | 50 | Prince Bira | Maserati | 95 | + 5 laps | 15 | 2 |
| 6 | 26 | Bob Gerard | ERA | 94 | + 6 laps | 16 | |
| 7 | 6 | Johnny Claes | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 94 | + 6 laps | 19 | |
| Ret | 38 | Luigi Villoresi | Ferrari | 63 | Rear axle | 6 | |
| Ret | 14 | Philippe Étancelin | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 36 | Oil leak | 4 | |
| Ret | 2 | José Froilán González | Maserati | 1 | Accident | 3 | |
| Ret | 32 | Nino Farina | Alfa Romeo | 0 | Accident | 2 | |
| Ret | 36 | Luigi Fagioli | Alfa Romeo | 0 | Accident | 5 | |
| Ret | 16 | Louis Rosier | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 0 | Accident | 10 | |
| Ret | 10 | Robert Manzon | Simca-Gordini | 0 | Accident | 11 | |
| Ret | 52 | Toulo de Graffenried | Maserati | 0 | Accident | 12 | |
| Ret | 12 | Maurice Trintignant | Simca-Gordini | 0 | Accident | 13 | |
| Ret | 24 | Cuth Harrison | ERA | 0 | Accident | 14 | |
| Ret | 44 | Franco Rol | Maserati | 0 | Accident | 17 | |
| Ret | 8 | Harry Schell | Cooper-JAP | 0 | Collision | 20 | |
| DNS | 28 | Peter Whitehead | Ferrari | | Engine | 21 | |
| DNS | 4 | Alfredo Piàn | Maserati | | Practice accident | 18 | |
| Source: ||||||||

#### Notes

* ^2 – Includes 1 point for fastest lap

## Championship standings after the race
### Drivers' Championship standings

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Nino Farina | 9 |
| 11 | 2 | Juan Manuel Fangio | 9 |
| 1 | 3 | Luigi Fagioli | 6 |
| 18 | 4 | Alberto Ascari | 6 |
| 8 | 5 | Louis Chiron | 4 |
| Source: ||||
* Note: Only the top five positions are listed. Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship.