1954 French Grand Prix

The 1954 French Grand Prix was the fourth race of the season. Held again at the Reims-Gueux circuit, it featured the overwhelming return to racing of . Silver Arrows drivers Juan Manuel Fangio and Karl Kling finished 1-2, a tenth of a second apart and a lap ahead of the field, while the third driver, Hans Herrmann, recorded the fastest lap before retiring with engine problems. The final spot on the podium was claimed by private driver Robert Manzon, but the Scuderia was clearly outclassed this weekend.
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==Background==
The Reims circuit had been slightly modified to shortcut the brick roundabout at Thillois.
 was missing Giuseppe Farina, who had crashed heavily while leading in the Mille Miglia. Among his injuries was a broken arm.
==Entry list==
The full entry list for the is outlined below:
No.	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Model 	Tyre
2 	José Froilán González	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	553 	 	554 2.5 L4 	
4 	Maurice Trintignant 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	625 	 	625 2.5 L4 	
6 	Mike Hawthorn 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	553 	 	554 2.5 L4 	
8 	Giuseppe Farina 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	625 	 	625 2.5 L4 	
10 	Alberto Ascari 	Officine Alfieri Maserati	 	250F 	 	250F1 2.5 L6	
12 	Onofre Marimón 	Officine Alfieri Maserati	 	250F 	 	250F1 2.5 L6	
14 	Luigi Villoresi 	Officine Alfieri Maserati	 	250F 	 	250F1 2.5 L6	
16 	Roberto Mieres 	Privateer 	 	A6GCM 	 	A6 2.0 L6 	
18 	Juan Manuel Fangio 	Daimler-Benz AG 	 	W196S 	 	M196 2.5 L8 	
20 	Karl Kling 	Daimler-Benz AG 	 	W196S 	 	M196 2.5 L8 	
22 	Hans Herrmann 	Daimler-Benz AG 	 	W196S 	 	M196 2.5 L8 	
24 	Jean Behra 	Equipe Gordini 	 	T16 	 	23 2.5 L6 	
26 	Jacques Pollet 	Equipe Gordini 	 	T16 	 	23 2.5 L6 	
28 	Paul Frère 	Equipe Gordini 	 	T16 	 	23 2.5 L6 	
30 	Georges Berger 	Equipe Gordini 	 	T16 	 	23 2.5 L6 	
32 	Lance Macklin 	H&W Motors 	 	53 	 	GP 2.5 L4 	
34 	Robert Manzon 	Ecurie Rosier 	 	625 	 	625 2.5 L4 	
36 	Louis Rosier 	Ecurie Rosier 	 	500/625	 	625 2.5 L4 	
38 	Jacques Swaters 	Ecurie Francorchamps 	 	500/625	 	625 2.5 L4 	
40 	Sergio Mantovani 	Officine Alfieri Maserati	 	250F 	 	250F1 2.5 L6	
42 	Ken Wharton 	Owen Racing Organisation 	 	250F 	 	250F1 2.5 L6	
44 	Roy Salvadori 	Gilby Engineering 	 	250F 	 	250F1 2.5 L6	
46 	Prince Bira 	Privateer 	 	250F 	 	250F1 2.5 L6	
48 	Harry Schell 	Privateer 	 	A6GCM 	 	A6 2.0 L6 	
50 	Peter Collins 	G.A. Vandervell 	 	Special	 	254 2.5 L4 	
==Practice Overview==
===Qualifying Results===
The full qualifying results for the are outlined below:
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Time 	Gap 	Ave. Speed
1 	18 	Juan Manuel Fangio 	 	2:29.4 	— 	200.048 km/h
2 	20 	Karl Kling 	 	2:30.4 	+1.0s 	198.718 km/h
3 	10 	Alberto Ascari 	 	2:30.5 	+1.1s 	198.586 km/h
4 	2 	José Froilán González	 	2:30.6 	+1.2s 	198.454 km/h
5 	12 	Onofre Marimón 	 	2:31.6 	+2.2s 	197.145 km/h
6 	46 	Prince Bira 	 	2:35.1 	+5.7s 	192.696 km/h
7 	22 	Hans Herrmann 	 	2:35.3 	+5.9s 	192.448 km/h
8 	6 	Mike Hawthorn 	 	2:35.6 	+6.2s 	192.077 km/h
9 	4 	Maurice Trintignant 	 	2:36.1 	+6.7s 	191.462 km/h
10 	44 	Roy Salvadori 	 	2:36.3 	+6.9s 	191.217 km/h
11 	16 	Roberto Mieres 	 	2:38.7 	+9.3s 	188.325 km/h
12 	34 	Robert Manzon 	 	2:42.0 	+12.6s 	184.489 km/h
13 	36 	Louis Rosier 	 	2:42.1 	+12.7s 	184.375 km/h
14 	14 	Luigi Villoresi 	 	2:42.7 	+13.3s 	183.695 km/h
15 	32 	Lance Macklin 	 	2:52.5 	+23.1s 	173.259 km/h
16 	42 	Ken Wharton 	 	3:09.3 	+39.9s 	157.883 km/h
NC* 	24 	Jean Behra 	 	— 	— 	—
NC* 	26 	Jacques Pollet 	 	— 	— 	—
NC* 	28 	Paul Frère 	 	— 	— 	—
NC* 	30 	Georges Berger 	 	— 	— 	—
NC* 	48 	Harry Schell 	 	— 	— 	—
WD 	8 	Giuseppe Farina 	 	Injury 	Injury 	Injury
WD 	38 	Jacques Swaters 	 	Withdrawn	Withdrawn	Withdrawn
WD 	40 	Sergio Mantovani 	 	Withdrawn	Withdrawn	Withdrawn
WD 	50 	Peter Collins 	 	Withdrawn	Withdrawn	Withdrawn
*Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.
** Behra, Pollet, Frère, Berger, and Schell had taken the start at the back of the grid as they did not set their time in practice.
===Grid===
==Race==
===Results===
Pos 	No 	Driver 	Constructor	Laps 	Time/Retired	Grid 	Points
1 	18 	Juan Manuel Fangio 	 	61 	2:42:47.9 	1 	8
2 	20 	Karl Kling 	 	61 	+ 0.1 	2 	6
3 	34 	Robert Manzon 	 	60 	+ 1 Lap 	12 	4
4 	46 	Prince Bira 	 	60 	+ 1 Lap 	6 	3
5 	14 	Luigi Villoresi 	 	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 	 	36 	Engine 	9 	 
Ret 	36 	Louis Rosier 	 	27 	Engine 	13 	 
Ret 	12 	Onofre Marimón 	 	27 	Gearbox 	5 	 
Ret 	16 	Roberto Mieres 	 	24 	Engine 	11 	 
Ret 	42 	Ken Wharton 	 	19 	Transmission	16 	 
Ret 	48 	Harry Schell 	 	19 	Fuel Pump 	21 	 
Ret 	22 	Hans Herrmann 	 	16 	Engine 	7 	1
Ret 	44 	Roy Salvadori 	 	15 	Half Shaft 	10 	 
Ret 	2 	José Froilán González	 	13 	Engine 	4 	 
Ret 	32 	Lance Macklin 	 	10 	Engine 	15 	 
Ret 	30 	Georges Berger 	Gordini 	9 	Engine 	20 	 
Ret 	6 	Mike Hawthorn 	 	9 	Engine 	8 	 
Ret 	26 	Jacques Pollet 	Gordini 	8 	Engine 	18 	 
Ret 	10 	Alberto Ascari 	 	1 	Transmission	3 	 
Source:	Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source:
==Milestones==
* First races for Karl Kling, Jacques Pollet and Continental Tire.
* First modern race for .
* First victory for Mercedes, Continental and a non-Italian constructor.
==Standings after race==
==References==
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:1954 Grands Prix
Category:French Grand Prix
Category:Formula One races in France