1954 French GP

## Track Facts

* Name – Reims
* Location – France
* Corners – 7
* Laps – 61
* Base (Worst) Lap Time – 4:00.000
* Lap Record (Real Life) – 2:20.400 (Juan Manuel Fangio)
* Lap Record (F1R) – 2:28.100 (Bob Gerard)
* Pit Lane Length – 45 seconds
* Fuel Consumption – Low
* Tyre Wear – Medium

## Qualifying 1

The Cooper team came out swinging at the start of this wet session - whilst many of the other smaller teams fell victim to the conditions, including the likes of Pollet's Gordini down in 17th place (though that is at least still top 20) and Salvadori's Vanwall with a lap 1 crash which took the rest of the session to fix!

However despite the early efforts of Nuckey and Villoresi it was Mercedes who claimed the day, to make up for their poor showing in Belgium, to claim a 1-2-3 for Volonterio, Whitehead and Kling - Nuckey held on for 4th and he looks a really hot prospect for Cooper moving forwards! Gerard can only manage 5th, but will console himself with the fact that all Mercedes stayed ahead of their nearest Maserati rivals!

The tricky gearbox on the Maserati looks to be proving troublesome in these wet conditions, and so it is the Italian marque find themselves between 6th and 15th places on the grid, interspersed with Mantovani in 9th for Ferrari (in what has to be the best performance from a Ferrari driver all season long!!!), Villoresi in 10th for Cooper, and the Lancia pairing of Collins and de Graffenried in 12th and 13th respectively.

Certainly it seems the rain has levelled the playing field, but several drivers will not be able to take advantage of this, as the Connaught's of Swaters and Macklin fail to set a lap-time again, as do the Ferrari trio of Musso, Taruffi and Godia, the Klenk of Wacker, the Vanwall duo of Menditeguy and Behra, the HWM of Flockhart and the Gordini pair of Trintignant and Gonzalez. They will play no further part in qualifying.

**Qualifying 1 Results**

## Qualifying 2

A changeable session - with the track drying out as the time ran out for the drivers, which meant that the Coopers found themselves pushed out by the more predictable Maserati and Mercedes onslaught.

Pole goes to Lang, who sets an identical time to team-mate Herrmann but setting the time 1st puts the former German into a potentially crucial Pole Position. Rounding a Maserati 1-2-3 is Berger, with a much improved qualifying performance compared to Spa where he couldn't even make the top 10!

Mercedes sit 4th and 5th with Kling and Gerard leading their charge, from the remaining Maseratis - and a good effort from Helfrich to put his Cooper into 10th place. Villoresi in 11th will be pleased to have out-qualified Whitehead's Mercedes who pushed too hard in the session before the weather changed. Nuckey is 13th ahead of the ever-consistent Pollet in 14th for Gordini, the top Lancia of Collins in 15th and Whitehouse's Vanwall in 16th.

29 cars take part in this session, with an alternator problem unfortunately causing Mantovani to not be able to build on his Q1 performance as he fails to qualify for the race unfortunately.

**Qualifying 2 Results**

## Overall Qualifying Results

And so the results from Q2 determine the grid, but with a changeable race in prospect will the Maserati's be able to hold on after they were so poor in Q1 in the wet, or will we see a resurgence from Mercedes, Cooper or even someone else who manages to time their strategy well with the conditions?

Championship leader Herrmann looks in good form here, lining up in 2nd place whilst nearest challenger Volonterio starts in just 9th place on the grid! Also Marimon is the lowest Maserati on the grid, so will need to come back through to do anything about Hermann's championship lead.

## Race Commentary

*Lap 1* - Despite the dry track, several drivers start on wet tyres as they anticipate the rain-clouds overhead bursting at any moment! These drivers include Berger, Kling, Moss, Farina, Volonterio, Whitehead, Nuckey, Pollet and others too.

That promotes Hermann into the lead as Lang gets too much wheelspin on the start and drops back through the field, thereby elevating Gerard into 2nd, Villoresi who gets a flyer into 3rd place and then the slow-starting Lang in 4th. Marimón is in a decent 5th, with Manzon up to 6th, Salvadori now 7th, Schell 8th, Gould into a really impressive 9th and de Graffenried up inside the top 10 too.

Parnell is in 11th place, with Collins 12th, Whitehouse 13th, Ascari 14th, Brandon 15th and Helfrich in 16th as the German has a tough 1st lap - he almost has a collision with Fangio, who had a great start for once but then overcooks it at Muizon and as a result does some damage to his gearbox! Maglioli is 17th, ahead of those on rain tyres led by Berger, Kling and Nuckey who rounds out the top 20.

At the back Hawthorn also gets involved with Fangio's issue as he is forced to run wide, because of the Argentinean's error - that also delays Pilette who has a separate incident with Rosier and both are seriously far down on the leaders as a result.

*Lap 2* - The big mover up front on this lap is Marimon - the Argentinian sweeps past 4 cars (2 on either straight) to move into 1st position ahead of team-mate Herrmann, with Lang now into 3rd place as both Villoresi and Gerard go backwards into 4th and 5th respectively.

Whitehouse is the biggest winner overall though, as he takes advantage of some lacklustre pace by Manzon, Gould and Parnell to move into a career-best 6th place! Salvadori holds station in 7th, with Schell 8th, Manzon 9th and de Graffenried still rounding out the top 10.

Collins passes Parnell, as Gould drops right down to 15th place behind both Ascari and Helfrich. Berger is still top rain-clad driver, now 6 seconds down on Maglioli's Lancia, with Moss and Farina getting more pace out of the wets than Nuckey and Kling.

*Lap 3* - More changes up front as Lang powers into the lead, drawing Villoresi with him as a mistake at Thillois drops Marimon back to 3rd place with Herrmann losing time as he avoided his team-mate in 4th. Salvadori gets the better of Whitehouse as the Vanwall's scrap over 6th place - they really look on the pace today!

Collins passes de Graffenried for 10th, whilst Brandon makes some impressive progress with a great lap that moves him into 12th from Ascari, Gould and Helfrich. Meanwhile in the rain runners the gap is now 12 seconds and Berger leads Volonterio, Farina and Moss there.

*Lap 4* - Salvadori pits for wets on this lap, though the clouds are still overhead and yet to burst at this point - he comes out even behind the other wet runners, looks like the whiting start may have been the best call given the long pit-lane - IF it starts to rain soon!

Up front Gerard stamps his mark on the race with a great pass through Muizon to take 3rd from Herrmann and Marimon. Schell passes Whitehouse for 6th place, with Collins now 8th, Manzon 9th and de Graffenried 10th.

Brandon throws caution to the wind, but pushes too far and loses a heap of time that promotes Ascari, Helfrich and Parnell into places 11-13 respectively.

*Lap 5* - Gerard pits for wets on this lap, and like Salvadori comes out behind the majority of the rain-shod drivers, though he does manage to put Pollet in between him and the Vanwall - that Gordini is holding on to the tailcoats of those with wet tyres rather well at this stage it must be said!

Up front Lang now leads from Marimon, with Herrmann 3rd, Villoresi 4th and Whitehouse into an incredible 5th position. Schell is 6th, from Collins in 7th, Helfrich 8th, de Graffenried 9th and Manzon 10th.

*Lap 6* - Villoresi is doing Cooper proud here - as he puts moves up the inside of both Hermann and Marimon within the space of a single lap to claim 2nd place and break the Maserati stranglehold on the podium! Helfrich passes Collins for 7th here, whilst Maglioli takes 14th from Gould who is starting to struggle for pace here.

Nuckey makes a mistake on this lap that drops him back, allowing Gerard to close to within 3 seconds of the leading wet-clad group. Volonterio now sits as closest challenger to Berger there - and we have the 1st retirement of the race, as Rosier ends a dismal afternoon with a spin at Thillois that sees his race end. Though as of right now, we have still had no rain on the circuit…

*Lap 7* - Still no rain on track, and now Marimon elects to pit for wet tyres - he comes out in front of Berger though! Crucially this spells the right time for the front-runners to pit for wets, presuming the rain does come.

Villoresi relaxes as the pressure from Marimon ceases, only to fall victim to the advance of Herrmann and drop back to 3rd place. Whitehouse is now in a stunning 4th place, with Helfrich up to 5th as he makes the most of a mistake by team-mate Schell, which also promotes de Graffenried into 6th place. Manzon passes Collins too, with Brandon moving past Ascari on this lap too.

*Lap 8* - And finally we see the 1st drops of rain hit the track - we should see the balance swing towards those with wet tyres on very soon indeed! Championship leader Herrmann times his pit-stop to perfection, as he comes in to switch to wets at the perfect point - though it seems other drivers are hoping for this to be a brief shower and thus not to have to come in to change tyres at all!

It's immediately clear that some drivers are coping better with the conditions than others, even though it's just a light sprinkling of rain at this stage - as such we now see a rather changed top 10. Villoresi leads from Lang and Schell, as the Cooper's really come into their own now! Whitehouse is still 4th but falling backwards into the clutches of Manzon 5th, de Graffenried 6th, Collins 7th, the charging Maglioli 8th, Helfrich in a lowly 9th now after a mistake at Muizon and Parnell up inside the top 10.

Herrmann emerges in 11th place, with Gould in between him and Marimon and over 10 seconds besides that! Brandon and Ascari are particularly suffering, and drop right down the order as they tiptoe around the track!

*Lap 9* - Villoresi has pulled out an 8 second advantage at the front! Lang is 2nd and only 7 ahead of Schell and Whitehouse - de Graffenried is up to 5th just ahead of Manzon. Hermann is now 9th, with Helfrich dropping down to 10th place - Parnell is still 11th, but Berger is gaining ground quickly in 12th as the Maserati man passes team-mate Marimon this time around.

At the back there's excitement for Fangio, as he overhauls the struggling Ascari, whilst Pilette gains on Hawthorn too!

*Lap 10* - De Graffenried passes the ailing Vanwall of Whitehouse to take 4th for Lancia, as Manzon also passes the Brit too. Further back Herrmann is now just 3 seconds behind Maglioli in 8th, with Marimon re-taking Berger to claim 10th place.

Farina is 12th, from Volonterio, Moss, Kling, Nuckey, Gerard and Whitehead, all of whom are relatively close in times…with Helfrich and Parnell dropping back into the grasp of Pollet and Savaldori.

*Lap 11* - Lang is really struggling, as it looks like he hasn't adapted to the now soaking conditions at all - and that hands Schell a very straightforward pass for 2nd place. Manzon also makes inroads here, taking de Graffenried for 4th place. Meanwhile ominously Herrmann is now 8th less than 10 seconds behind both Whitehouse and Collins and still with over 10 seconds advantage to Marimon, with Maglioli still rounding out the top 10.

Mixed fortunes for Mercedes, as Kling makes an error to lose 2 positions, whilst Gerard passes Nuckey to effectively swap places with his team-mate. Pollet and Salvadori both pass Helfrich and Parnell comfortably, whilst Pilette is out of last place! He takes a struggling Hawthorn with ease, and will now be focusing on Ascari up the road.

*Lap 12* - Lang continues to drop places, as Villoresi's lead at the front is up to 17 seconds from Schell. But things are really going from bad to worse for the Maserati driver, as we finally see those on wet tyres make the catch of the majority of the front-runners. Herrmann is now 3rd, with Manzon in 4th and de Graffenried 5th. Whitehouse and Collins are 6th and 7th, and a miserable lap for Lang sees him down in a lowly 8th spot.

Marimon is 9th with Berger in 10th, from Farina, Volonterio and Moss who all pass Maglioli here. Kling makes amends for the lap before, as Gerard is the one who makes the mistake - Nuckey continues to progress between the Mercedes and Pollet and Salvadori round out the top 20!

*Lap 13* - Herrmann makes the inevitable pass on Schell to take 2nd place, and is now just 13 seconds off the lead of the race - it's looking ominous for those on dry tyres now as there is no sign of the rain abating at this point. Marimon is now making inroads into the points positions as he passes 4 drivers to move into 5th and inherits 4th thanks to Collins pitting for rain tyres.

Berger is up to 7th ahead of Whitehouse with Farina 9th, Volonterio 10th, Lang down to 11th, Moss, Kling, Gerard, Whitehead, Nuckey and Maglioli. Collins comes out behind both Pollet and Salvadori, who are now separated by the tiniest of margins on track - that Vanwall looks planted today!

*Lap 14* - An action-packed lap here! Marimon takes 3rd place from Schell, as Villoresi leads what is likely to be his last lap for a while given the rate that Herrmann is gaining ground. Berger is up to 5th place from Farina and Volonterio, with Manzon and de Graffenried the next to fall victim to those on wet tyres coming through in the shape of Moss, Kling, Gerard and Nuckey. Whitehouse drops right down on this lap to 14th ahead of Whitehead, with Lang now 16th and losing time to Salvadori in 17th, as the Vanwall driver finally dispatches Pollet's Gordini - and Maglioli too on this lap!

Fangio has another issue with a spin at Thillois that causes more bodywork damage to his car, but he still manages to gain ground on Brandon ahead. Pilette makes the pass on Ascari on this lap, as the HWM driver begins to make a little headway this race.

*Lap 15* - And so Herrmann moves into the race lead, but all his overtaking efforts have left him vulnerable to the efficient work of Marimon who is now some 5 seconds down on his team-mate with only Villoresi to navigate now.

Schell drops places to Berger, Farina and Volonterio, whilst Manzon and de Graffenried also drop behind the likes of Moss, Kling, Gerard and Nuckey. Whitehead also passes de Graffenried and Whitehouse too, as Lang pits to drop down to a lowly 20th place - but he does at least have wet tyres on now though!

Helfrich looks slow at the moment, and is losing time hand over fist to Parnell, as the Cooper driver clearly struggles with the conditions and the tyres he has on. Fangio is now just a second down on Brandon too…

*Lap 16* - Villoresi loses 2nd to Marimon, and 3rd to Berger as Maserati tie up a 1-2-3 at this point. Schell falls down the order on this lap, as he gets found out by being on the wrong tyres - and thus loses places to Moss, Kling, Gerard, Nuckey and Whitehead, as the latter passes Nuckey's Cooper to move into the top 10.

That means Schell is now 12th, from Manzon 13th and Salvadori now into 14th with Pollet tracking him well in 15th ahead of de Graffenried in 16th, Whitehouse 17th and Collins now back into 18th place as he passes Maglioli on this lap. Fangio takes Brandon for 24th on this lap also.

*Lap 17* - Farina and Volonterio take Villoresi to make it a Maserati 1-2-3-4, with Moss not too far behind in 6th place. Whitehead passes Gerard and pushes his fellow Mercedes driver wide at Hovette to gift the place to Nuckey here. Manzon drops behind Salvadori and Pollet on this lap, as Collins takes Whitehouse and Helfrich comes under increasing pressure from Parnell for that 21st position.

*Lap 18* - Though the rain continues it seems someone at Maserati thinks it will be over soon, as both Berger and Moss pit for dry tyres! That lifts Farina to 3rd to preserve the Maserati podium lock-out, but now with Volonterio 4th and Kling into 5th as he passes Villoresi on this lap as well.

Gerard is up to 6th, with Nuckey now 7th place from Whitehead and the struggling Cooper of Villoresi. Salvadori is now inside the top 10, albeit around 10 seconds down on those contending for the points places. Pollet is 11th from Schell 12th, Manzon 13th, Collins back into 14th place and de Graffenried 15th.

Berger emerges in 16th position after a poor stop, which means that Moss is right on his tail in 17th - though at least both come out a fraction ahead of Whitehouse in the Vanwall. Meanwhile Helfrich makes a crucial mistake at Muizon, missing his braking point and he's lucky to survive the impact of that hefty crash - though that does now promote Parnell into 21st place.

*Lap 19* - Nuckey is the man on the move here - he takes Gerard and forces the Mercedes out wide at Thillois, which allows Whitehead to dive up the inside too. Collins comfortably passes Manzon, as he gets good value out of his new wet tyres and is not far behind Schell now.

*Lap 20* - Several drivers pit on this lap, including Whitehead, Manzon, Brandon, Pilette and Hawthorn - all of whom put on dry tyres despite the continuing downpour. Salvadori and Pollet both take Villoresi on track and are now 8th and 9th places respectively. Collins is up to 11th, from Schell and Whitehead.

Manzon is now down in 20th place, but there is no change below him - though how Farina is still progressing given the damage on his car is a minor miracle!!!

*Lap 21* - A whole host of drivers come into the pits on this lap, leaving Herrmann and Marimon just 6 seconds apart up front, Volonterio into 3rd place, Nuckey now in 4th for Cooper, Salvadori in an impressive 5th for Vanwall with Villoresi 6th and Collins in 7th.

Farina, Gerard and Kling are out in places 8-10, but all have opted for dry tyres here! Whitehead is 11th from Berger, Moss and Pollet - who also puts on dry tyres! Whitehouse and Maglioli are next, with Schell again choosing dry tyres, along with de Graffenried and Ascari too - and yet the rain continues to pour down!!!

*Lap 22* - Volonterio pits, and is the latest driver to choose dry tyres - and still the rain continues! That elevates Nuckey into a podium position, with Salvadori 4th, Collins 5th as the Lancia driver passes the Cooper to relegate Villoresi to 6th place. Volonterio emerges in 7th, just ahead of Farina, Berger and Kling.

Whitehead is now 11th from Berger, Moss, Pollet and Whitehouse. Lang passes Schell as the Maserati begins to recover from his poor start to the race, with Manzon and de Graffenried rounding out the top 20.

*Lap 23* - Marimon is the latest to pit for dry tyres here, which means Nuckey is now into an incredible 2nd position for Cooper with Salvadori 3rd and Marimon out into 4th place ahead of Collins.

Villoresi finally pits, and sticks with a new set of dry tyres to come out just behind Berger's Maserati. Volonterio is now 6th, with Farina 7th, Gerard 8th and Kling 9th with Whitehead finishing the top 10 as it stands.

*Lap 24* - Still the rain is coming down - though slightly lighter than before it seems. Kling passes Gerard on this lap with a good overtake at Thillois, with Villoresi showing what he can do on fresh tyres as he makes Berger's Maserati look rather unwieldy with a strong pass up the inside at Gueux. Lang also takes Maglioli this lap, as his own comeback continues.

And on this lap we have our 3rd retirement as Ascari drops out after a very similar crash to the last one at Muizon to finish in 28th, and to confirm Helfrich as a likely 27th place today unless we have any further casualties!

*Lap 25* - Herrmann, Nuckey and Salvadori all pit from the top 3 positions on this lap, as does Collins from 5th - all of them select dry tyres meaning that now only Lang is on wet tyres, and he still hasn't quite fully adapted his driving style for these conditions despite being on the correct tyre! And that means now that the whole field is losing time and hoping for the rain to stop!

Herrmann comes back out into the lead, with a 21 second lead over Marimon in 2nd place, with Nuckey out in an impressive 3rd position from from Salvadori 4th, Volonterio 5th, Farina 6th, Kling 7th, Gerard 8th, Collins out in 9th and Whitehead rounding out the top 10.

Further back Lang passes both Pollet and Whitehouse, and Schell moves past Maglioli too.

*Lap 26* - The race settles down with a rather unlikely points line-up that includes a Cooper, a Vanwall and a Mercedes (just!), whilst Berger pays Villoresi back for that cheeky move by slinging one up the inside at Thillois to take back 11th place.

*Lap 27* - The rain at last starts to ease up, Whitehouse finally pits and bucks the trend by putting on wet tyres! Interesting strategic decision by the Vanwall driver…he emerges from the pits in 20th place and one would expect him to begin dropping down the order now.

An on-track incident between Gould and Hawthorn causes big issues at Muizon - the Connaught driver runs out of fuel and slows unexpectedly, which causes the lone Ferrari to plough into the back of Gould and eliminates them both on the spot. Disaster for the pair of them, as they almost made it till the next dry spell of the race…

*Lap 28* - Villoresi passes Berger here, as the Cooper man refuses to lie down - which is only causing them both to lose time versus those ahead and behind.

*Lap 29* - Gerard passes Kling for 7th place, whilst Lang's brief spell in the sun ends with the rain changing to practically dry - and thus he gifts Pollet the position back.

*Lap 30* - And the rain is gone! The track is dry, and Lang is going backwards quickly - he loses a place to Schell on this lap. Maglioli pits to promote both Manzon and de Graffenried ahead of him, and he comes out just ahead of Whitehouse.

*Lap 31* - Not much action on track this lap, other than Nuckey setting a PB and gaining a couple of seconds on those in front. Otherwise Lang pits for Maserati from 16th and comes out just ahead of Maglioli in 18th place, and again chooses wet tyres to go with, when the rain has just abated!

*Lap 32* - Lang is predictably overtaken by Maglioli as his wet tyres are simply not well matched to the dry surface of the track - otherwise a quiet lap here.

*Lap 33* - The battles to watch on-track are Salvadori slowly encroaching into Nuckey's 3rd place lead of around 7.3 seconds, Farina leading Gerard and Kling for 6th, Whitehead right on the back of Collins' Lancia for 9th place with Villoresi and Berger not far behind!

Also Schell is not far from Pollet for 14th, Parnell is gaining on Whitehouse but is some 2 laps back and Brandon is catching Fangio, but also has a 2 lap deficit to overcome.

*Lap 34* - Whitehead completes the pass on Collins, with a switch-back at Thillois to claim the corner exit for his own - Kling is now some 10 seconds up the road. Meanwhile Berger is yet again monstering the back of Villoresi's Cooper, as they scrap over 11th position.

*Lap 35* - Collins has a go up the inside of Whitehead, but is unsuccessful and remains right behind the Mercedes. De Graffenried is slowly but surely closing down Manzon for 17th place, using his slightly fresher rubber to great effect here!

*Lap 36* - A big chunk out of Herrmann's lead, as a slight spin drops 4 seconds to Marimon. Volonterio also closes the gap significantly on an ailing Salvadori in 4th, who hasn't managed to peg Nuckey back at all since he last set a faster lap than him. Kling passes Gerard for 7th here, whilst Berger is yet again right behind Villoresi but unable to do anything about the obstinate Cooper driver in front!

*Lap 37* - Collins pits this time around, and puts on a fresh set of dry tyres - though thanks to the long pit-lane he's dropped a long way back down the order! Villoresi has moved from the clutches of Berger and is now within 1 second of Whitehead, whilst Collins comes out behind de Graffenried in 17th place.

*Lap 38* - Berger is the big mover on this lap - he finally puts a move on Villoresi, as the Cooper driver gets the better of Whitehead at Muizon but uses a block pass, which compromises his exit and allows the Maserati through at Thillois to claim 9th spot.

*Lap 39* - Whitehead re-takes Villoresi, as he gets a slingshot out of Thillois to pass the Cooper just before the start/finish line - it's still really tight in the battle for 9th, but despite their squabbling they are beginning to haul in Gerard in 8th place who is now just 8 seconds up the road.

Also Brandon is finally on the same lap as Fangio, as the Klenk driver hunts down 22nd place!

*Lap 40* - Villoresi just does not know when he's beaten - he throws it up the inside at Brettelle Sud and gets the move done by Gueux to demote Whitehead to 11th place again. Berger has now moved away from this pair a little and is less than 5 seconds behind Gerard.

Also on this lap, doubtless feeling the pressure from Brandon gaining on him Fangio overcooks it at Garenne and that means that the Klenk is now under 1 minute 40 seconds behind him and gaining around 15 seconds per lap!!!

*Lap 41* - Volonterio is now less than 2 seconds behind Salvadori for 4th place, whilst there is good news for Villoresi as he hangs on to 10th place - the bad news is that Whitehead has overtaken him again (around the outside at Garenne) but Kling's stop has kept him inside the top 10.

The Mercedes driver comes out in 14th behind Pollet's Gordini with wet tyres on, and is purely lucky that both Schell and Manzon both pit this lap as he may well have had to contend with them as well otherwise! All that promotes de Graffenried into 15th place, with Schell out in 16th from Collins, Manzon and Maglioli.

Meanwhile there is respite for Fangio, as despite hauling his tattered auto-mobile around the track at a pace reminiscent of that of a snail, both Brandon and Pilette pit to give the Connaught man some breathing space for now! And even better news for him - Brandon has opted for wet tyres!!!

*Lap 42* - Villoresi again takes Whitehead, as Berger is now under 2 seconds behind Gerard - but could that be the Maserati crew preparing themselves in the garage? Meanwhile Volonterio has a look at Salvadori, but the Vanwall driver closes the door firmly.

De Graffenried pits for dry tyres again, dropping behind Schell, Collins and Manzon to 17th place. Parnell also pits this lap, but has no worries about the man behind as Fangio is still carrying his car damage around the track with him!

*Lap 43* - Nuckey finally surrenders his podium spot, as he pits for dry tyres here and emerges behind Whitehead in what is now 9th place, as also pitting on this lap are Berger and Moss. Both choose wet tyres this time around, and come out in 11th and 13th respectively, behind Pollet in 10th and with Kling right between the two of them.

*Lap 44* - Salvadori's brief tenure on the podium comes to a sharp end, as Volonterio nudges past him at Gueux to move into 3rd position. Nuckey shows that he is not done racing as he slings one up the inside of Whitehead at Thillois and makes it stick to take 8th for Cooper.

*Lap 45* - A potentially race-defining lap here, as both of the leaders pit and with Herrmann on dry tyres and Marimon on wets - though with dark clouds overhead is that gamble one that can possibly pay off for the race leader? Herrmann does come back out in the lead of the race, but he now has just a 6 second advantage over Salvadori of all people, who catches Volonterio napping at Brettelle Nord to take 2nd position for Vanwall!

Farina is now 4th, with Marimon right on his tail in 5th position. Whitehead pits on this lap to elevate Pollet to 9th, but the Mercedes driver still comes out inside the top 10 and on wet tyres! Collins also passes Schell here too, and an ignominious day for Hermann Lang comes to an end at Thillois, as Maserati again have an issue with their fuel consumption that causes a retirement. They really must do something about this to avoid further embarrassment!

*Lap 46* - Villoresi pits for a fresh set of dry tyres, coming out in 9th and moving Nuckey into 7th and Pollet up to 8th place - but with thunder being heard in the distance could that be the portent of doom for those on dry tyres in the final stages of the race?

*Lap 47* - Herrmann is extending his advantage over Salvadori at the front, using his fresh tyres to good effect, whilst Gerard easily passes Marimon for 5th here as the Maserati struggles for grip on its wet tyres. Nuckey will likely do the same next lap too to claim 6th position…

*Lap 48* - …and indeed does so with ease. That moves Nuckey into 5th place behind Farina in 3rd and Gerard 4th, as Volonterio pits to relieve the pressure on Salvadori and come out on wet tyres behind Marimon in 7th place. Collins comfortably passes Moss here, as the Maserati's wet tyres just don't have the pace at the moment - and the Lancia will likely repeat the feat on Kling next lap too. In fact the gap from Kling in 12th down to Maglioli in 18th is in fact a mere 36 seconds!

However is that a spot of rain falling at Muizon already…?

*Lap 49* - And the rain is now falling out on track - those on dry tyres will surely be in trouble now unless they come into pit! And leading the way is Farina, who comes in to put on wet tyres at this point. Pollet follows and also puts wets on, Collins puts too and makes a real gamble with a set of dry tyres!

All of that sees Herrmann lead by 12 seconds from Salvadori, Gerard 3rd from Nuckey, Marimon and Volonterio 6th. Farina emerges in 7th place, with Villoresi 8th, Whitehead 9th and Pollet 10th. Collins comes out behind Maglioli in 18th place, and things could yet get worse for the Lancia!

Farina is suffering again at the hands of the elements, another spin at Thillois sees him further damage his car - it's a wonder it's still being held together! Brandon is now just over 1 minute down on the Connaught and gaining ground quickly.

*Lap 50* - Both Salvadori and Gerard come in to switch to wets, which opens Herrmann's lead up to 50 seconds at the front - but those dry tyres are already struggling as the precipitation increases around the circuit. Nuckey is now 2nd as a result, though his own dry tyres are also suffering.

Marimon is 3rd and will be delighted, seeing that his fastest lap set on lap 2 now looks almost set to get him at least 1 point today - though much more is on the cards! Salvadori is out in 4th place, and looking feisty already as his tyres suit the conditions - with Volonterio 5th, Farina 6th and Gerard out in 7th place.

The anticipated attacks from those on wet tyres vs those on dries begin this lap, with Kling easily passing Schell, and Moss now right on his back too. Near the back Brandon looks to be struggling despite being on the correct tyres, and is now losing time to Fangio - disaster for Klenk after it looked nailed on that they would make that catch for 21st position!

*Lap 51* - Marimon passes Nuckey here to claim 2nd place, and to put the pressure on team-mate Herrmann who is now just 42 seconds ahead. Salvadori follows the Maserati through to claim a podium place. Moss also dispatches Schell on this lap as well.

*Lap 52* - Berger takes Pollet here, as the Maserati looks determined to make it into the points - which he is now just over 1 minute and 5 places down on. The gap at the front is 35 seconds now…

*Lap 53* - Nuckey drops places to Volonterio and Farina, and sadly it looks like the much vaunted Cooper driver's afternoon will end without points. His aim now must surely be to finish the race without crashing out! 24 seconds is the gap at the front…

*Lap 54* - The gap at the front is now 16 seconds - and the pass for the lead is beginning to look somewhat inevitable. More concerning for Hermman will be the gaps he has over the other points-scorers - 23 over Salvadori in 3rd, 40 over Volonterio in 4th, 45 over Farina in 5th and then 57 over the Nuckey vs Gerard scrap, which could well mean that the Maserati race leader may not even get a single point today unless something unlikely happens in the closing laps!

*Lap 55* - In the run up to the finish the rain if anything is getting heavier - effectively ending the hopes of anyone on dry tyres, which sadly includes every single Cooper. The team had a great weekend, but one strategic mishap will unfortunately leave them empty handed - and to compound their misery Nuckey is passed by Gerard and Villoresi is powerless to stop Whitehead taking 8th place from him.

The gap at the front is now just 3 seconds, with 48 seconds back to the final points paying position and 6 laps left - this could be very tight indeed!

*Lap 56* - And there we have it! Marimon takes the lead from team-mate Herrmann who has been in front for SO long now, and with Salvadori just 3 seconds behind him it's looking like a dream drive for the Vanwall man if he can avoid any mistakes!

*Lap 57* - Mixed fortunes for Vanwall here - Salvadori does indeed claim 2nd place, but at the same time we lose Whitehouse as he runs out of fuel at Hovette with so few laps remaining. The good news is that such is his advantage over Fangio that he will at least claim a top 20 position today. Berger also passes Villoresi for 9th this time around, but 19 seconds deficit to Whitehead is likely to be too much for the Maserati to close down.

*Lap 58* - A 12 second lead for Marimon is looking unassailable, as he continues to eke out the gap over Salvadori - who looks comfortable in 2nd with Volonterio 16 seconds away, and only 3 seconds off claiming an almost inevitable podium place from Herrmann.

Whitehead takes 7th from Nuckey here, as it seems like the race has settled down somewhat in these latter stages.

*Lap 59* - Volonterio claims the final podium spot from Herrmann, who now has Farina for company - the latter will be pushing to close down the 5.8 second gap on the Mercedes over these last few laps. Kling and Moss both move past Villoresi on this lap as well.

*Lap 60* - Farina passes Herrmann for 4th place and is now 4.9 seconds off a podium spot, which might be just too much to overhaul. Herrmann is only 1 second in front of Gerard in 6th place, and so will indeed lose out on a points-scoring opportunity barring anything incredible happening on the final lap. Berger passes Nuckey here too, whilst Kling bears down on Pollet to reduce the gap to 5 seconds - surely too much to do in just 1 lap though.

Parnell has a minor incident here and does a little damage to his car, but he's under no pressure in 19th place for Connaught as it stands with several laps advantage over the next active car Fangio.

It's interesting to note that last year the race at Reims was 60 laps long, but due to the increased speed of the cars in 1954 the race was extended by a single lap. Had this not been the case - the race would have ended with a win for Marimon…as it is though…

*Lap 61* - SENSATIONAL!!! Just as Marimon crosses the start/finish line for the final time his car slows at Brettelle Sud - HE IS OUT OF FUEL!!! He will lose places to anyone who is within a lap of him, which is everyone at the moment down to Villoresi in 13th place!!!

An open-mouthed Salvadori passes the stricken Maserati, and completes the lap to take an unlikely, an incredible, an earth-shattering victory here!!! The Vanwall mechanics go wild at what is surely the biggest shock in F1R history since Bayol's win for Gordini at the 1952 British GP!

That promotes Volonterio to a great 2nd position, with Farina 3rd some 3.9 seconds down - Gerard takes 4th, and despite being on dry tyres Marimon's error is Herrmann's gain as the German takes 5th place and the final points paying position!

Whitehead finishes 6th, from Berger 7th, Pollet 8th as the Gordini takes Nuckey on this final lap who finishes 9th for Cooper ahead of Kling in 10th position. Moss finishes a disappointing 11th for Maserati, from Villoresi in 12th and of course the devastated Marimon in 13th - at least he does have the point for fastest lap today though.

Other finishers were Schell 14th, Manzon 15th (who staved off a sustained attack from de Graffenried at the end), de Graffenried 16th, Maglioli 17th, Collins 18th, Parnell 19th - Whitehouse out in 20th, from Fangio in 21st, Brandon in 22nd, Lang out in 23rd and Pilette the final finisher for HWM in 24th position. Of course we lost Gould, Helfrich, Hawthorn, Ascari and Rosier during the race itself.