page_title: 1921 Grand Prix season
section_title: Season review
hierarchical_section_title: 1921 Grand Prix season / Season review
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: Giulio Masetti su Fiat S57/14B dopo la vittoria nella Targa Florio del 1921
context_page_description: The 1921 Grand Prix season saw motor racing in Europe blossom again. The French Grand Prix was held for the first time since 1914, at La Sarthe, Le Mans. and the inaugural Italian Grand Prix was held in Montichiari, near Brescia. The 3-litre formula of the AIACR, already in use at Indianapolis, was adopted by those Grand Prix meaning manufacturers could design on a common formula.
  Wealthy privateer Conte Giulio Masetti, gave FIAT’s only win in the Targa Florio, heading home a big field including a strong challenge from Max Sailer’s Mercedes.
  This year was the swansong of European involvement in the Indianapolis 500. For the third year in a row, Ralph DePalma recorded the fastest time in practise, but it was former Duesenberg driver Tommy Milton who comfortably won for Louis Chevrolet’s Frontenac team, on his way to claiming the AAA championship for 1921.
  An international field lined up for the French Grand Prix, with entries from France, Great Britain, Italy and a late entry from the American Duesenberg team. Those cars had innovative hydraulically operated four-wheel brakes giving them a decided advantage on the sharp corners of the Le Mans course.
context_section_description: The season opened in Italy in May. A number of local events were held across the country this year. In the first, the northern Circuito del Garda, was entered a 30-year old motorcyclist, now trying his hand at four-wheel racing – Tazio Nuvolari, driving an Ansaldo.
  The Targa Florio returned to its springtime date and attracted one of its biggest and best fields to date. It included a number of Italian grand prix and sports cars, as well as a 1914 works Mercedes driven by Max Sailer from Stuttgart for the event. The Alfa Corse team returned with a 6-litre 40/60 for team leader Giuseppe Campari, and there were 20/30 hp ES sports models for Antonio Ascari, Enzo Ferrari, Ugo Sivocci and Giuseppe Baldoni. The FIAT team had a pair of 3-litre 801s for Ferdinando Minoia and Pietro Bordino, while wealthy privateer, the Conte Giulio Masetti drove a S57/14B. Other privateers filled the field with a range of Italian cars including Diatto and SCAT, Ceirano and Itala from the Ceirano brothers.
  Sailer set the pace from the start, taking the lead with the fastest lap of the race on the first lap. But Masetti’s skill got him the lead the next time around. Despite Sailer’s pressure, he held on to win by two minutes in what was to be FIAT’s only win in this iconic Italian event. The three Alfa Romeos of Campari, Sivocci and Ferrari were next.
  
  Once again, a solid field lined up for the Indianapolis 500, but the European presence was reduced. Ballot only had a single car, for Ralph DePalma, and Peugeot just had a pair of cars for Howdy Wilcox and Jean Chassagne. Sunbeam had three cars for  René Thomas, André Boillot and Ora Haibe while another for former champion Dario Resta did not eventuate.
  Louis Chevrolet had a four-strong team in his new Frontenacs. After his brother had been killed at the end of the previous year, Tommy Milton had been brought in from Duesenberg to lead the team, that included veteran Ralph Mulford and the team’s engineer-driver Cornelius van Ranst.
  The Duesenberg brothers entered a big team of seven cars with their new straight-eights. French veteran Albert Guyot joined Jimmy Murphy, Joe Boyer and Roscoe Sarles (both latterly of Frontenac).
  For the third year running, DePalma set the fastest qualifying lap, sharing the front row with Milton’s Frontenac and Ira Vail’s Miller-engined special. DePalma led for the first half of the race, but then he got tied up trying to lap Thomas’s Sunbeam. In the process he damaged his engine and had to retire. This moved Milton’s Frontenac into the lead with Sarles in second. The Duesenberg pit vigorously exhorted Sarles to chase down Milton. To prove a point to his former team, Milton slowed to let him pass before blasting straight back around him and then cruised off to take a comfortable victory of nearly four minutes. Only eight cars finished the race, with Bennett Hill finishing 45 minutes behind Milton in 7th. Frontenac and Duesenberg dominated the results and the only European car to finish this year was Haibe’s Sunbeam in 5th.
  Three wins, five seconds and competing in 19 of the 20 Championship races (more than any other driver), gave Milton sufficient points to comfortably win the 1921 AAA championship from Sarles and Eddie Hearne when it was retroactively calculated in 1927.
  
  Without doubt, the premier event of the year was the return of the French Grand Prix, in what promised to be an exciting showdown between some of the best cars from Europe and the United States. The ACO, having held the Coupe des Voiturettes the previous year on its new circuit just south of Le Mans, was awarded the honour of the first post-war Grand Prix. A strong field was entered, with the favourites being the Ballot team. Louis Wagner, Chassagne and DePalma were in the 3-litre cars while Jules Goux ran a new 2-litre sports-car prototype.
  Émile Mathis was the sole other French entrant with a car of his own manufacture. Still so close to war’s end, German teams were not invited. The Anglo-French STD (Sunbeam) company had seven cars entered, however ten days out from the race Louis Coatalen, racing dir
caption: Giulio Masetti, Targa Florio winner in his pre-war FIAT
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