1957 French GP

## Track Facts

* Name – Rouen-Les-Essarts
* Location – Grand-Couronne
* Corners – 8
* Laps – 77
* Base (Worst) Lap Time – 3:00.000
* Lap Record (Real Life) – 2:14.800 (Alberto Ascari)
* Lap Record (F1R) – 2:17.459 (Bob Gerard)
* Pit Lane Length – 20 seconds
* Fuel Consumption – Medium
* Tyre Wear – Quite High

## Qualifying

After being edged out for Pole during the last 3 French GPs it is Gerard who takes his 3rd consecutive Pole Position here, and with that achieves this feat for only the 3rd time in F1R history (the other 2 times from Ken Wharton, and Gerard himself!). Collins will start from 2nd place, with Hawthorn in a creditable 3rd for Ferrari.

Trintignant is carrying the home hopes in a strong 4th for Porsche, with countryman Behra in a solid 5th for Cooper. Salvadori will line up 6th for Vanwall, with Maglioli 7th for BRM, von Trips 8th for Ferrari, Moss 9th for Cooper after a late surge - and Gonzalez 10th for Connaught meaning all 7 teams have at least 1 representative in the Top 10!

Just outside the Top 10 are Menditeguy, Simon (with his best qualifying position of the season in his home race), Fairman, Brabham, Flockhart, Perdisa, Castellotti, Gould, Godia and Gibson's BRM rounding out the Top 20. Both Luigi's (Piotti & Musso) miss out on the Top 20, with Gregory 23rd and Scarlatti a respectable 24th in his debut qualifying session.

It's particularly impressive from the debutante when you consider he is 2nd fastest within the Porsche team, behind only home favourite and the incredibly experienced driver Maurice Trintignant! Schell lines up 25th, from de Beaufort, England, Leston…and surprisingly Bonnier at the back of the pack, as he didn't complete 50% of the session. Watch for the Connaught charging through from the back!!!

## Grid

With erstwhile Championship leader Fangio absent again (though with 2 dropped scores this season - he is certainly still well within contention), the door is open for the likes of Gerard, Collins and Fangio's team-mate Hawthorn to take advantage. Meanwhile Behra will be looking to make it 2 points finishes in a row, while Trintignant looks to go one better than he did at the season opener in Buenos Aires…

## Race Commentary

*Lap 1* – Gerard gets a flyer off the line, to open up 7 tenths of a second over 2nd place…! Collins meanwhile has a disaster, as he stalls on the grid and finds himself being collected by Moss, meaning both drivers end their races before they have even begun!!!

As a result, Hawthorn inherits 2nd place off the line, with Behra now into a Podium Position after getting a better start than Trintignant alongside him. However, they are all caught unawares by Umberto Maglioli…the BRM picks up an incredible slipstream down into L’Etoile and manages to move past all bar 1st position and claim 2nd overall!!! That means Hawthorn is 3rd, Behra 4th, Trintignant 5th, von Trips 6th and Gonzalez up to 7th after a great start that sees him move past the slow starting Salvadori, who drops from 6th to 8th despite Collins and Moss crashing out!

Menditeguy is now up to 9th, while Fairman has less wheelspin than Simon to ensure it’s the Vanwall who moves into the Top 10 at this early stage. Further back there are strong starts for Castellotti (overtaking Perdisa and team-mate Flockhart – with the former also losing out to Gould), Schell (getting the better of Rookies Gregory and Scarlatti), England (overtaking de Beaufort off the line) and Bonnier (leaving Leston in his dust!).

*Lap 2* – Action at the front, as Maglioli immediately looks a little out of his depth in 2nd position and out-brakes himself at Beauval, meaning he is forced to defend heavily from Hawthorn on the back-straight…but both ultimately find themselves overhauled by Behra for 2nd place, who picks up a great tow and is clearly on a mission in these opening couple of laps!!!

Meanwhile some start defending by Gonzalez at Nouveau Monde 1 keeps Salvadori at bay…for now! Menditeguy is similarly fending off the advances of a Vanwall, in the shape of Fairman – but he has everyone from said Vanwall in 10th down to Perdisa in 16th queued up behind him!!! Further back Gibson is blocked by Godia, Schell is unable to find a way past Musso, England is blocked by team-mate Scarlatti and Bonnier’s progress is halted by de Beaufort’s Maserati.

*Lap 3* – Gerard sets a new Fastest Lap of a 2:17.2 and looks peerless at the front! Meanwhile Hawthorn does emulate Behra this time around and overtakes Maglioli for 3rd place up the inside at Sanson…and it only gets worse for the BRM as Trintignant is alive to the opportunity and follows the Ferrari through into 4th place – much to the delight of the home fans!

Salvadori is again blocked by Gonzalez in their fight over 7th position, while Brabham holds up the Cooper duo of Castellotti and Flockhart for 12th and Gould is forced to defend from Perdisa and Godia – which allows Gibson in the BRM to swerve around both of them and up to 16th place!!! The battle of the Luigi’s (Piotti ahead of Musso) is interrupted by Harry Schell in the Porsche, who forces his way into the Top 20 and between the pair of them!

Further back England continues to pressure Scarlatti, and Bonnier (who is so used to being the one defending valiantly) finds himself being given a taste of his own medicine by de Beaufort over 25th place.

*Lap 4* – If you thought Maglioli’s challenge was over…think again! He executes a deft switch-back at Nouveau Monde 1 and overtakes home favourite Trintignant for 4th place, while Gonzalez is defending from both Salvadori and Menditeguy at this point. Simon sets off a chain reaction this lap, as a robust defence against Brabham concertinas down the pack behind him, slowing everyone down to 14th placed Flockhart!

Meanwhile Gibson consolidates 16th with some good defending against Perdisa and Godia, while Schell claims his 2nd Luigi in as many laps to move into 19th place overall! Bonnier meanwhile is still confounded by de Beaufort at this early stage…

*Lap 5* – Hawthorn challenges Behra over 2nd place at Six Freres but finds himself thwarted by the Cooper and the heavily partisan home following! Maglioli is ready for Trintignant’s advance this time around and moves across to block him. Castellotti is blocked by Brabham, Godia is blocked by Perdisa and Piotti holds firm under pressure from Musso and Gregory.

Meanwhile England’s pressure eventually tells against debutante Scarlatti, as he moves into 23rd position – though no such luck for Bonnier, who is still being frustrated by de Beaufort.

*Lap 6* – Behra is gaining on Gerard, and in the process becomes the 1st man to break the 2:17 barrier to set a new FL of 2:16.9 that puts him within a second of the leader! Salvadori is still pressuring Gonzalez, but to no avail right now – while Fairman holds up Simon, who defends from Brabham, who in turn moves across to block Castellotti…but he moves too late and that allows the Cooper to slip up the inside at Beauval and into 12th position.

England wastes no time in moving up to challenge Gregory for 22nd, though doesn’t manage to overtake him this time around – and of course, Bonnier is still stuck behind de Beaufort at the back!

*Lap 7* – Behra sets a new Fastest Lap of a 2:16.8 to close the gap to Gerard to just half a second, but the Cooper’s Fastest Lap is short-lived as Maglioli goes on to set a 2:16.7 immediately afterwards! Brabham is blocked by Castellotti in the fight for 12th place, while the battle of the Luigi’s continues with Musso claiming Piotti’s 20th position with a deft flick up the inside at Sanson.

*Lap 8* – Gerard picks up the pace a little to keep Behra at arm’s length, while Gonzalez again holds up Salvadori, as the Vanwall must be rueing that slow start! Castellotti passed Brabham last lap, and now moves up to pressure Simon for 11th overall – though with less success this time around.

Meanwhile Godia blocks Schell for 18th place, while England is making incredible strides as he takes a wider line at Beauval to set himself up for a great run down the back-straight, where he passes not only Gregory for 22nd, but Piotti for 21st into the braking zone at L’Etoile too! And despite taking a lap to build up an attack, Bonnier is still unable to pass de Beaufort…though does come as close as he has yet to come to passing the Maserati!

*Lap 9* – Fairman cannot find a way through against Menditeguy in their fight for 9th place, while Gibson is up to 15th position after a strong move at Nouveau Monde 1. Godia again blocks Schell, Piotti holds up Gregory and Scarlatti and Bonnier is thwarted by de Beaufort yet again!

*Lap 10* – Gerard reclaims the Fastest Lap with a faster 2:16.7, while Schell blocks Godia and Bonnier continues to struggle to make progress behind de Beaufort.

*Lap 11* – Behra and Gerard are swapping Fastest Laps at the front, as the Cooper sets a 2:16.5 to take the Fastest Lap back. Simon blocks Castellotti in the fight over 11th, while Gould has a trio of cars behind him applying pressure at this early stage of the race…

*Lap 12* – Gerard now manages a 2:16.3 to re-establish a lead of 1 second! Castellotti is again stuck behind Simon and unable to make progress, while Godia is forced to slam on the brakes to prevent himself from running into the back of Perdisa…which allows Schell to move past the Connaught at Beauval, and then take Perdisa as they enter the braking zone at L’Etoile.

And despite another re-group Bonnier fails to pass de Beaufort – and the Swede must be desperate for the Dutchman in front to pit ASAP!

*Lap 13* – Schell, Perdisa and Godia are all stuck behind Gould – who is driving the widest Ferrari on track right now! And meanwhile another attempt by Bonnier on de Beaufort passes without a change in positions in their own private battle…

*Lap 14* – Behra set a 2:16.2 to halve the gap to Gerard to make it 0.4 seconds at the front! Meanwhile Castellotti finally makes his pressure tell against Simon to move into 11th place, and Schell also takes the initiative at Nouveau Monde 1 to overtake Gould and claim 16th overall. Further back Gregory comes within inches of taking 22nd off Piotti, but a late swerve at L’Etoile is enough to keep the Maserati ahead – before a carbon copy of that move happens between de Beaufort and Bonnier…though both drivers are now within touching distance of making a pass…

*Lap 15* – Gerard now reclaims FL with a faster 2:16.2 – as the gap at the front continues to yo-yo between the pair of them. Menditeguy now has both Fairman and Castellotti on his back, but with the 1st stops imminent we could well see some changes to their order soon! Gibson is in from 15th, which promotes Schell to that position (despite pressure from Gould in what is now 16th) and it is Godia who really capitalises, as he passes Perdisa at L’Etoile to move into 17th this lap.

England may have been thwarted by Musso in his efforts to pass him at Sanson, but he is now inside the Top 20 while it’s a double celebration for Bonnier who moves past de Beaufort with a superb run round the outside at Nouveau Monde 1 to move into 25th before Gibson’s stop promotes him to 24th overall! Gibson emerges at the rear of the field but with some 11 seconds of clear air in front of him to attack…

*Lap 16* – Behra gets the FL back again with a 2:16.1!!! Maglioli has been quiet for a while in 4th, but springs into action to pressure Hawthorn at Beauval, though without success this time. The main action this lap is Cooper’s stop for Castellotti from 11th, who cycles back into 26th place in the middle of the clean air that Gibson was enjoying for a lap! That gifts Piotti 20th place, though he has to withstand pressure from Gregory in order to keep it…

*Lap 17* – And Gerard sets a 2:16.0 to move a little further ahead of Behra, but there is still nothing concrete between the pair of them! On this lap Maglioli (4th), von Trips (6th) and Flockhart (13th) all come into the pits, meaning Trintignant inherits 4th, Gonzalez 5th, Salvadori 6th, Menditeguy 7th (despite pressure from Fairman who is now in 8th), Simon 9th and Brabham now sits inside the Top 10. Maglioli emerges in 15th narrowly ahead of team-mate Musso, with England 17th and Gregory making the most of the opportunity to move into what is now 18th ahead of Piotti in 19th.

Scarlatti is now inside the Top 20 on his debut, with von Trips out in 21st ahead of Bonnier et al. Flockhart emerges in 26th just behind Castellotti as the Cooper team look a little shaken by how far back they now are with 2 of their top drivers.

*Lap 18* – Gerard is the 1st man to break the 2:16 barrier, and that will seal his position as the FL holder for now as Behra enters the pits from 2nd position and impressively comes out in 10th place with 4 seconds of clear air in front of him…which means Hawthorn is now 2nd, Trintignant 3rd, Gonzalez 4th, Salvadori 5th, Menditeguy 6th, Fairman 7th, Simon 8th and Brabham 9th.

Musso is applying pressure to Maglioli this time around but can’t get past. Meanwhile Godia pits from 13th and emerges in 26th with Gibson literally right on his rear wing!

*Lap 19* – Hawthorn pits from 2nd place, which moves Trintignant into 2nd for Porsche, Gonzalez up to 3rd for Connaught, Salvadori up to 4th, Menditeguy up to 5th, Fairman up to 6th (though keeping the pressure up on Menditeguy ahead), Simon 7th for BRM, Brabham for 8th, Behra 9th, Schell into the Top 10 and then it’s Hawthorn who is next round in 11th place after his stop.

Further back Gregory comes in from 17th place, moving Piotti up to that position despite some serious pressure from the improving Scarlatti behind him. Gregory comes out in 26th, while de Beaufort also pits and emerges at the rear of the field.

*Lap 20* – Gerard pits on this lap to the delight of the home fans, who see their local favourite Maurice Trintignant lead at the French Grand Prix! Several other drivers pit this lap, which means Salvadori is now 2nd, Menditeguy is now 3rd and Gerard emerges in 4th place some 2 seconds ahead of Behra after a slow lap for the Cooper with a full tank of fuel and cold tyres.

Hawthorn is now back up to 6th place, with Gould now 7th (though yet to pit – just like the other drivers down to 12th place), Perdisa 8th, Maglioli 9th and Musso 10th. Piotti is up to 11th, with Scarlatti an impressive 12th and Gonzalez out in 13th ahead of von Trips in 14th meaning that’s a net change in position between the 2 of them!

Bonnier is narrowly behind the pair of them in 15th with the group that pitted mostly behind him – as Fairman is out in 16th, Simon 17th and Brabham 18th, with Castellotti now 19th, Flockhart 20th, Schell out in 21st, Godia back up to 22nd despite pressure from Gibson in 23rd – and both of them only just get past the pit exit before England comes out in 24th place. Gregory is 25th and Leston emerges in 26th place, meaning de Beaufort is still 27th and last out of those still running.

*Lap 21* – Almost everyone has now pitted, including all of those in the Top last lap…which means Gerard is now back into the lead ahead of Behra by 1.7 seconds, with Hawthorn back up to 3rd place. Trintignant emerges from the pits in 4th position in what is starting to look like a great race for the Porsche driver, though he has Maglioli in 5th less than a second behind him and with warmer tyres…

Piotti is up to 6th by virtue of not yet having stopped, while Gonzalez is now 7th, von Trips 8th and Salvadori comes out in 9th position with Bonnier up to 10th due to also not having stopped. Menditeguy is into 11th, with Fairman 12th, Simon 13th, Brabham 14th, Castellotti 15th, Flockhart 16th, Schell 17th and Gould out in 18th place with Perdisa emerging right behind him.

Musso comes out inside the Top 20, with Godia now 21st, Gibson 22nd, England 23rd, Gregory 24th and Scarlatti emerging from the pits in 25th position literally a few thousandths behind the BRM ahead!

*Lap 22* – Trintignant moves across to block Maglioli as their fight for 4th place is renewed! The last 2 drivers to pit come in on this lap, as Piotti drops from 6th to 22nd and Bonnier goes from 10th to 25th overall. That means Gonzalez is 6th, von Trips 7th, Salvadori 8th, Menditeguy 9th and Fairman now into 10th position.

*Lap 23* – Godia blocks Gibson for 19th place, which is definitely not part of the BRM’s plan for this race! Gregory meanwhile gets the better of Piotti for 22nd place with a firm pass at the inside of L’Etoile.

*Lap 24* – Maglioli again has a look at passing Trintignant but doesn’t manage to get the better of the Porsche this time around. Gibson does manage to overtake Godia for 19th overall, while Gregory must defend from the man he just overtook as he battles to maintain 22nd position.

*Lap 25* – The gap at the front is holding steady at 2.3 seconds as Gerard and Behra continue to trade lap-times. Piotti blocks Scarlatti on an otherwise uneventful lap, as the race seems to have settled down into a rhythm at this stage…

*Lap 26* – Gonzalez blocks von Trips for 6th place, while Castellotti is blocked by Brabham over 12th position and Musso holds up both Gibson and Godia with some strong defensive driving. De Beaufort is now on Leston’s tail as they duel to avoid being the last runner on track.

*Lap 27* – Castellotti continues to up the pressure on Brabham, though another attempted pass at Beauval is ultimately unsuccessful – and Musso is again keeping both Gibson and Godia at bay.

*Lap 28* – The gap at the front is out to 3.2 seconds, while further back Castellotti is again unable to pass Brabham despite a valiant attempt at a switch-back at Nouveau Monde 1.

*Lap 29* – Not much action to report on track this lap…with the closest battles on track over 3rd place (Hawthorn v Trintignant v Maglioli), 6th place (Gonzalez v von Trips), 12th place (Brabham v Castellotti), 18th place (Musso v Gibson v Godia) and of course over 26th position between Leston and de Beaufort to avoid the wooden spoon!

*Lap 30* – Maglioli has bided his time to have an attempt at passing Trintignant for 4th position, but when he finally strikes it is with precision and purpose as the Italian leaves the home favourite in his tracks at Sanson! Bonnier meanwhile is now on the back of Scarlatti in their fight over 24th place.

*Lap 31* – It’s 2 unsuccessful attempts in 2 laps to pass Scarlatti for Bonnier, who has had no luck with traffic so far this race!

*Lap 32* – Von Trips has a look up the inside of Gonzalez at L’Etoile, but finds the door slammed shut by the Connaught. Castellotti tries a similar move against Brabham but ends up with a very similar result! Finally, de Beaufort has not given up hope against Leston – but the Dutchman is unfortunate to run out of traction at Beauval meaning he slides wide and fails to keep the position he had just gained this lap.

*Lap 33* – Von Trips is again held by Gonzalez, and both of them have their hopes of points rapidly decreasing, given the 15 second gap to Trintignant in 5th overall. Castellotti is again blocked by Brabham, while Gibson looks like he is eager to make as many passes as possible as he now takes 18th away from team-mate Musso at the main passing place on track at L’Etoile.

*Lap 34* – Gonzalez is still defending rigorously from von Trips as the battle over 6th rages on. Gibson pits from 18th place and drops to 27th place overall, meaning Musso is into 18th, Godia 19th and England into 20th place.

*Lap 35* – Talking of BRM’s coming into the pits brings us to Maglioli, who pits from 4th place and comes out in 10th…but in a crucial move for his podium hopes he ends up right behind Menditeguy and Fairman, which means he will have some serious work to do in order to make this strategy work!

Trintignant of course moves back into 4th, with Gonzalez 5th, von Trips 6th and Salvadori now in 7th place overall.

*Lap 36* – Castellotti pits from 13th place and comes out in 21st position, meaning Gregory in the BRM is now back inside the Top 20. De Beaufort has a go at passing Leston again, but once more finds the Porsche an immovable object!

*Lap 37* – Von Trips pits on the same lap as Simon, Flockhart and Godia – meaning Salvadori is now 6th, Menditeguy 7th, Fairman 8th, Maglioli 9th and Brabham now inside the Top 10. Schell is up to 11th place, Gould is into 12th and that is a disaster for von Trips as he is now in 13th position after his stop and stuck behind his team-mate!

Perdisa is 14th, Musso is 15th, England is 16th and Simon emerges in 17th position. Gregory is 18th overall, with Castellotti 19th and Flockhart out in 20th place. Piotti is now 21st, with Scarlatti 22nd despite Bonnier’s efforts and Leston is still blocking de Beaufort, but now over 24th position as Godia comes out in 26th with only Gibson behind him.

*Lap 38* – Behra stops from 2nd place, meaning Hawthorn is back into 2nd position (though some 8 seconds behind the leader), Trintignant is now 3rd, Gonzalez 4th and Behra is now 5th after his 2nd stop of the race. Gregory stops from 18th position, coming out in 26th place thanks to de Beaufort also stopping (much to Leston’s relief!) and dropping to the rear of the field.

*Lap 39* – Hawthorn (2nd), Gonzalez (4th), Fairman (8th) and Leston (23rd) all come into the pits on this lap…and that means Trintignant is now 2nd, Behra back up to 3rd, Salvadori 4th and Hawthorn out in 5th sandwiched between the Brit in the Vanwall in front and the Argentine behind him in the Connaught.

Maglioli is up to 7th, with Brabham 8th, Schell 9th and Gonzalez out in 10th position after his stop. Gould is now 11th with von Trips 12th, Perdisa 13th and Fairman out in 14th place after his stop. Meanwhile Piotti moves past Flockhart into 19th after a deft flick of the wheel takes him up the inside at Sanson with greater traction than his rival.

Bonnier is stuck behind Scarlatti still despite another passing attempt, while Leston’s stop sees him come in and emerge in 26th ahead of de Beaufort.

*Lap 40* – Gerard’s 2nd stop is a good one, and he comes out in 2nd place some 6 seconds ahead of Behra – though the home fans are briefly delighted to see their man Trintignant into the race lead! Menditeguy, Brabham, Schell and England all stop this time around and that means Maglioli is 6th, Gonzalez is 7th, Gould is up to 8th, von Trips 9th and Menditeguy out in 10th place.

Perdisa is 11th, Fairman 12th, Musso 13th, and Brabham out in 14th place overall. Simon is now 15th, Castellotti 16th, Schell is out in 17th place, Piotti is up to 18th, Flockhart 19th and Scarlatti 20th despite pressure from Bonnier increasing! England comes out in 22nd position ahead of Godia in 23rd with Gibson desperately trying to pass the Connaught but having little success in that regard.

*Lap 41* – Most of those yet to take their 2nd stop come in this lap, and that restores the status quo at the front with Gerard leading Behra by 6.8 seconds with Hawthorn back into 3rd place. Trintignant is out in 4th place less than a second behind Hawthorn but with a 3 second cushion back to Maglioli in 5th.

Gonzalez is 6th from Salvadori out in 7th, von Trips 8th (which is a net change of position between the aforementioned pair), Menditeguy 9th and Fairman 10th. Musso is still 11th by virtue of not having yet stopped, with Brabham 12th, Simon 13th, Castellotti 14th and Schell 15th all ready to inherit his spot! The other Luigi (Piotti) is also yet to come in for a 2nd time in 16th, while Flockhart is 17th, Bonnier 18th (with his 2nd stop still to take), Gould is out in 19th with Perdisa still some 3 seconds behind him in 20th position.

England is up to 21st, from Godia and Gibson who are fighting over 22nd, then Gregory 24th ahead of the final man to stop on this lap, newcomer Scarlatti in the Porsche, who emerges in 25th position.

*Lap 42* – Musso and Piotti both pit with the BRM out in 19th and the Maserati out in 24th position. A strong challenge by Gibson on Godia is again knocked back, as it looks like the BRM may have opted for the wrong strategic decision this race…

*Lap 43* – Brabham blocks Simon as they quarrel over 11th place, while Gibson at last makes good on his attempts to pass Godia with a strong pass up the inside at Beauval to claim 21st position.

*Lap 44* – Bonnier finally pits this time around, meaning everyone in the field has now stopped twice. The Swede drops from 16th to 24th, though is unlucky to emerge narrowly behind Piotti’s Maserati.

*Lap 45* – Brabham continues to put a solid defence against all of Simon’s endeavours to overtake him, in an otherwise uneventful lap…

*Lap 46* – Behra is the fastest man on track as he cuts Gerard’s lead down to 6.6 seconds at this point.

*Lap 47* – Scarlatti has a crack at passing Bonnier, but despite his colder tyres the Swede manages to hold onto the place. Again, Behra is the fastest driver and this time takes the gap down to 6.3 seconds…

*Lap 48* – Simon is using every trick in the book to get past the Ferrari ahead of him, but he had better do it soon as Castellotti is now less than a second behind the pair of them! Gibson meanwhile clearly has a strategy that relies on making passes, and he is having some difficulty with that as he comes up to the back of England and is unable to make any further headway!

*Lap 49* – Trintignant has a look at Hawthorn for 3rd place, but the Ferrari driver shuts the door on the ambitious Porsche to retain the position. Meanwhile Simon dives up the inside at L’Etoile…and makes the pass on Brabham! However, he overcooks his braking and finds himself being re-taken before they reach the start/finish line – and Castellotti is now right on their tail!

Gibson again finds himself unable to overtake England, while Scarlatti is finding out exactly why Bonnier has such a great reputation for defensive driving as the newcomer tries to move into 24th but finds his way heavily blocked at every turn.

*Lap 50* – Castellotti does catch the Brabham v Simon fight, but his 1st attempt to pass is a clumsy one that causes him to run wide at Six Freres. Meanwhile Gibson makes a frantic lunge to overtake England but finds himself again muscled out for position – and Scarlatti’s latest attempt to pass Bonnier is just as (in)effective.

*Lap 51* – Von Trips starts to pressure Salvadori in their battle over 7th position, which is hardly helping either to keep in touch of a points position! Gibson stops for the 3rd time here, which means he probably has another stop to go – and he goes from 20th to 25th after this stop, meaning Godia is now back inside the Top 20.

*Lap 52* – Salvadori stands firm, despite mounting pressure from the Ferrari of von Trips!

*Lap 53* – And again Salvadori prevents the German from getting past, with a decisive swerve in the braking zone at L’Etoile to retain 7th place. Meanwhile Brabham is still coping with the pressure from Simon and Castellotti, who almost do enough to unsettle him in Nouveau Monde 1, but not quite enough…

*Lap 54* – Brabham blocks Simon again this time, while at the front Gerard has found a turn of speed and is the fastest man on track as it stands…

*Lap 55* – Von Trips has another try at passing Salvadori, but is ultimately unsuccessful, and both must be mindful of Menditeguy, who is now less than 2.5 seconds behind!

*Lap 56* – Maglioli pits from 5th place for what is likely to be the final time, and though he comes out in 6th some 2.8 seconds behind Gonzalez, points now look a raring certainty for the BRM driver! Castellotti also makes his stop this lap, dropping from 13th to 17th in the process, and Gregory also comes in to go from 21st to 25th by the skin of his teeth as Leston almost got ahead of him!

Behra reclaims the Fastest Lap, which is meddling with Gerard’s chances of taking yet another hat-trick! The gap is 7.4 seconds thanks to Gerard’s hot streak a few laps ago, but there is still plenty of time for that to develop…

*Lap 57* – Gerard seizes back Fastest Lap, and with drivers around him tiring the 2:15.7 he has set looks like another step towards a Hat-Trick for the Maserati! Another series of stops on this lap shuffles the pack once more, with von Trips (8th), Simon (12th), Flockhart (14th) and Godia (20th) all into the pits. De Beaufort also pits but was last when he came in and so is of course last when he exits, albeit now 1 lap behind.

Menditeguy is now up to 8th from Fairman in 9th and Brabham in 10th, while Schell is now 11th ahead of the returning von Trips in 12th. Gould is back up to 13th ahead of Perdisa 14th, who narrowly gets past the pit-lane exit as Simon emerges right on his tail! Castellotti is now 16th, though under significant pressure from Musso in 17th, with England now 18th and Flockhart out of the pits in 19th position.

Rounding out the Top 20 is Piotti, from Bonnier, Scarlatti, Gibson (JUST ahead of the returning Godia) and the duelling pair of Gibson and Leston behind.

*Lap 58* – Behra elects to stop earlier than Gerard again, and emerges in 4th position with a solid gap between himself and the duelling pair of Hawthorn and Trintignant in front. And speaking of that pair, it is Trintignant in the Porsche who gets a run out of Beauval on the Ferrari…Hawthorn jinks to the inside to block his rival…and the Frenchman simply accelerates around the OUTSIDE at L’Etoile!!! That is now a net podium position for Trintignant, and 2nd place as it stands.

Other pits this lap come from Gonzalez, Fairman and Leston. The latter arrives in 26th and leaves in the same position – though with de Beaufort just a couple of seconds behind him now. Meanwhile Gonzalez drops from 5th to 9th and Fairman from 9th to 12th, which means Maglioli is already back into the points positions for BRM – though he has both Salvadori and Menditeguy in close pursuit. Behind them comes Brabham, Gonzalez, Schell and von Trips, who has a 3 second advantage over the re-joining Fairman at this point.

Further back Musso makes another attempt to overhaul Castellotti for 16th, while Scarlatti continues to be frustrated behind the resilient Bonnier in their battle over 21st position!

*Lap 59* – Trintignant and Hawthorn both come in on this lap, and despite some nervy glances from the Porsche garage it is the German marque who get their man out of the pits into 3rd place and with a genuine shot at keeping his podium in place! He is some 5 seconds behind Behra, with Hawthorn just 1 second further back at this stage…

Menditeguy makes what is surely his final stop on this lap, going from 7th to 10th to elevate Brabham, Gonzalez and Schell. Meanwhile another attempt by Musso to pass Castellotti goes begging, and Scarlatti pits from 22nd to emerge in 25th position.

*Lap 60* – Gerard pits, and it’s a great stop by the Maserati mechanics to return their man to the track some 10 seconds ahead of his nearest rival…and speaking of Behra, he is actually under more pressure from Trintignant and Hawthorn than he is applying pressure to Gerard ahead right now!

Brabham, Schell, Musso and England all come in as well this lap – meaning Gonzalez is now 7th, with Menditeguy 8th, von Trips 9th, Fairman 10th, Gould an impressive 11th narrowly ahead of team-mate Brabham, who returns from the pits in 12th. Schell is out in 16th, with Musso in 20th and England in 21st place.

*Lap 61* – Salvadori has been setting a solid pace and has managed to close what was a 6 second gap to Gonzalez in 6th before the pit-stops, to what is now just a 2 second gap after his stop. Also coming in this lap are Gould and Perdisa, who drop from 11th and 13th to 18th and 19th respectively.

*Lap 62* – Behra is attacking the leading gap, which is down from 10 seconds to around 8 seconds in just over 2 laps…if he keeps gaining at that rate, we will have a thrilling finish on our hands! Piotti comes in from 16th to emerge in 24th position, in what has been a race to forget for the Maserati…

*Lap 63* – 7.6 is the leading gap, as there is a chance to take stock with 14 laps remaining…Trintignant, Hawthorn and Maglioli look likely to be our point scorers outside the Top 2 today, while the Top 10 also look quite secure in their current places. The only drivers that look likely to need another stop are Bonnier and Gibson, which will be a relief for those immediately behind them!

*Lap 64* – 6.9 seconds is the gap at the front as Behra is the fastest man on track, while von Trips pressures Menditeguy (with limited success) to try and regain 8th position. A great lap from Gould sees him dispatch Bonnier for 16th place (though the Swede looks likely to pit again, given the state of his tyres) in an otherwise uneventful lap.

*Lap 65* – The gap at the front is down to 5.9 seconds – as Behra continues to keep the pressure on Gerard! Further back Gibson makes quick work of passing England, but with a 4th stop looming for the BRM that overtake is of little consequence.

*Lap 66* – It’s 5 seconds exactly at the front of the race, whilst von Trips has another unsuccessful attempt at passing Menditeguy this lap. Near the back what looks to be the final stops of the race take place, as Bonnier drops from 17th to 22nd and Gibson drops from 20th to 25th on this lap.

*Lap 67* – The attention is at the front of the field right now, as the gap is just 4.1 seconds and Behra is ramping up the pressure. Trintignant is also making ground and is just 10 seconds behind the leader – though the Porsche would need the leading duo to really slow each other down if he were to have a shot at the race lead!

*Lap 68* – An incredible lap from Behra reduces his arrears to 2.9 seconds with 9 laps remaining!!! The home crowd are roaring on the Cooper driver in these closing laps, while von Trips is roaring in frustration at the immovable object that is Menditeguy in front of him!

*Lap 69* – It’s now a 1.9 second gap, and Gerard must be getting nervous given how quickly the Frenchman is gaining on him…and von Trips at last completes the pass on Menditeguy, with a well taken move at Sanson to move into 8th position and to give himself a shot at catching Salvadori in 7th place.

*Lap 70* – Behra has the gap down to less than a second, with Trintignant some 8 seconds back at this stage…and it looks like this one will go down to the wire!!!

*Lap 71* – Behra has a look at the inside of L’Etoile, but smart defending by Gerard keeps his adversary at bay for at least another lap…meanwhile despite being the fastest man on track this lap Trintignant isn’t quite progressing quickly enough to join this leading battle as it stands.

*Lap 72* – This time Behra hooks up the exit at L’Etoile to perfection, as he drafts seamlessly past Gerard to usurp the lead with just 5 laps remaining. Can the Maserati respond at this late stage?

*Lap 73* – As if to ensure there is no coming back for Gerard, Behra is again the fastest man on track and opens up a 1.4 second lead in the process. Gerard may need to be more concerned about Trintignant, who is now 6.8 seconds back from the Championship Leader…

*Lap 74* – Von Trips is pressuring Salvadori, as he looks to break the fantastic achievement of 7 constructors in the top 7 positions! Meanwhile Musso challenges Perdisa for 17th as the only other battles of note on track are Bonnier gaining on Gregory for 21st and Scarlatti finishing strongly in his opening race by catching Piotti for 23rd overall.

*Lap 75* – Von Trips is starting to run out of time, as he is forced to brake heavily to avoid colliding with Salvadori’s rear wing!

*Lap 76* – That may have been von Trips’ final chance at a pass, as it looks like his tyres have given up the ghost as he is slower than Salvadori that time around. Musso meanwhile does still have his tyres intact, as he uses them to brake later than Perdisa at Nouveau Monde 1 and claim 17th position in the process.

*Lap 77* – Behra takes victory for Cooper and victory for France at the French Grand Prix! The home crowd are jubilant, not just because Behra is the 1st French race winner since Bayol in 1952, but also because he becomes the 1st Frenchman to win the French Grand Prix ever!!!

Gerard must settle for 2nd place (and Fastest Lap), but that does consolidate his Championship lead whilst also setting his PB for Most Points Finishes in a Row (10) and making it the 4th time in his career he has achieved a string of 3 consecutive Podium finishes.

Trintignant completes the Podium on his 20th start and claims his 1st ever podium into the bargain – however this is slightly tempered by the fact he is now inside the Top 10 for Most Points scored without a Win…

Hawthorn and Maglioli round out the points scorers in 4th and 5th respectively, with Gonzalez 6th and Salvadori 7th confirming that we have 7 teams in the Top 7 positions for the 1st time since the 1951 Swiss Grand Prix! Von Trips slightly faded at the end to finish 8th, ahead of Menditeguy and Fairman.

Brabham comes home 11th, ahead of Simon, Castellotti, Schell, Flockhart, Gould, Musso, Perdisa, England and Godia in 20th position for Connaught. Bonnier eased some of his frustrations in this race with a last lap overtake on Gregory for 21st place, while Piotti, newcomer Scarlatti and Gibson all do well to finish on the lead lap.

*1 LAP DOWN* – Leston comes home 26th with de Beaufort 27th in a race that both will be keen to forget…!

The British Grand Prix will be next up in just under 2 weeks…

## Milestones

* 30th race entry for Stirling Moss
* 10th race entry for Joakim Bonnier, Tony Brooks and Wolfgang von Trips
* Collins and Hawthorn up to 3rd and 4th most entries ever (at expense of Farina)
* Salvadori up to 9th most entries ever (at the expense of Piero Taruffi)
* Moss up to 6th in Most Races without a win, at the expense of Villoresi, while Trintignant is up to 8th at the expense of Claes
* After Behra’s points last time the retired Louis Rosier is reinstated as the driver with the Most Races Without Points, followed by Harry Schell and Ron Flockhart. Castellotti and Simon are up to 4th and 5th in the same list (at the expense of Manzon), with Piotti up to 7th (ahead of Pilette) and Godia up to 9th (ahead of da Silva Ramos).
* 20th start for Menditeguy & Trintignant
* 10th start for Bonnier and von Trips
* Behra winning from 5th on the grid is the lowest starting place for a winner since the 1954 season!
* Points finish for Maglioli moves him into 6th in most points without a win.
* Podium for Trintignant moves him inside top 10 most points without a win
* Points finish for Gerard sets a new PB of 10 consecutive Top 5 finishes
* Pole for Gerard makes it his 3rd consecutive Pole Position, meaning only he (once before) and Wharton have previously achieved this
* Podium for Gerard is the 4th time he has managed the feat of 3 consecutive podiums