1950 French Grand Prix: Full Weekend Report & Highlights

Juan-Manuel Fangio triumphed in the inaugural 1950 French Grand Prix at Circuit de Reims-Gueux, France, finishing ahead of teammates Luigi Fagioli and Peter Whitehead.

Initially, Farina led the race but encountered fuel issues that pushed him to the back of the pack. He managed to fight his way back to third place before being forced to retire. This left Fangio to secure the win, finishing 20 seconds ahead of Fagioli, with Whitehead coming in third, three laps behind.

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	6	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	2:30.6	–
2	2	Nino Farina	Alfa Romeo	2:32.5	+ 1.9
3	4	Luigi Fagioli	Alfa Romeo	2:34.7	+ 4.1
4	16	Philippe Étancelin	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	2:39.0	+ 8.4
5	18	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	2:42.7	+ 12.1
6	20	Louis Rosier	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	2:46.0	+ 15.4
7	28	Franco Rol	Maserati	2:46.7	+ 16.1
8	36	José Froilán González	Maserati	2:48.0	+ 17.4
9	22	Pierre Levegh	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	2:49.0	+ 18.4
10	24	Eugène Chaboud	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	Unknown	–
11	40	Felice Bonetto	Maserati-Milano	2:51.0	+ 20.4
12	32	Reg Parnell	Maserati	2:54.0	+ 23.4
13	44	Robert Manzon	Simca-Gordini	2:55.5	+ 24.9
14	30	Louis Chiron	Maserati	2:55.9	+ 25.3
15	42	Johnny Claes	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	2:57.4	+ 26.8
16	26	Charles Pozzi	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	2:58.0	+ 27.4
17	12	Raymond Sommer	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	2:59.3	+ 28.7
18	34	David Hampshire	Maserati	2:59.5	+ 28.9
19	14	Peter Whitehead	Ferrari	3:01.0	+ 30.4
WD	8	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	–	–
WD	10	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	–	–
DNA	38	Franco Comotti	Maserati	–	–

1950 French Grand Prix Starting Grid

Pos	No	Driver	Car
1	6	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo
2	2	Nino Farina	Alfa Romeo
3	4	Luigi Fagioli	Alfa Romeo
4	16	Philippe Etancelin	Talbot-Lago
5	18	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	Talbot-Lago
6	20	Louis Rosier	Talbot-Lago
7	28	Franco Rol	Maserati
8	36	Jose Froilan Gonzalez	Maserati
9	22	Pierre Levegh	Talbot-Lago
10	16	Eugene Chaboud	Talbot-Lago
11	40	Felice Bonetto	Maserati
12	32	Reg Parnell	Maserati
13	44	Robert Manzon	Simca-Gordini
14	30	Louis Chiron	Maserati
15	42	Johnny Claes	Talbot-Lago
16	26	Charles Pozzi	Talbot-Lago
17	12	Raymond Sommer	Talbot-Lago
18	34	David Hampshire	Maserati
19	14	Peter Whitehead	Ferrari

1950 French Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	6	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	64	2:57:52.800	9
2	4	Luigi Fagioli	Alfa Romeo	64	+25.700s	6
3	14	Peter Whitehead	Ferrari	61	+3 laps	4
4	44	Robert Manzon	Simca-Gordini	61	+3 laps	3
5	16	Philippe Etancelin	Talbot-Lago		SHC	1
5	16	Eugene Chaboud	Talbot-Lago	59	+5 laps	1
6	26	Charles Pozzi	Talbot-Lago		SHC	0
6	26	Louis Rosier	Talbot-Lago	56	+8 laps	0
7	2	Nino Farina	Alfa Romeo	55	DNF	0
8	18	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	Talbot-Lago	52	+12 laps	0
NC	22	Pierre Levegh	Talbot-Lago	37	DNF	0
NC	40	Felice Bonetto	Maserati Milano	15	DNF	0
NC	42	Johnny Claes	Talbot-Lago	12	DNF	0
NC	20	Louis Rosier	Talbot-Lago	11	DNF	0
NC	32	Reg Parnell	Maserati	10	DNF	0
NC	28	Franco Rol	Maserati	7	DNF	0
NC	30	Louis Chiron	Maserati	7	DNF	0
NC	34	David Hampshire	Maserati	6	DNF	0
NC	12	Raymond Sommer	Talbot-Lago	5	DNF	0
NC	36	Jose Froilan Gonzalez	Maserati	4	DNF	0

Car #16: Philippe Étancelin (first 26 laps) then Eugène Chaboud (33 laps). They shared the points for 5th place.
Car #26: Charles Pozzi (14 laps) then Louis Rosier (42 laps)

1950 Post-Race F1 Drivers’ Championship Standings

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Juan Manuel Fangio	26
2	Luigi Fagioli	24
3	Giuseppe Farina	22
4	Louis Rosier	10
5	Johnnie Parsons	9

Only the top five positions are included. Only the best four results counted towards the Championship.

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Ben is a staff writer specialising in F1 from the 1990s to the modern era. Ben has been following Formula 1 since 1986 and is an avid researcher who loves understanding the technology that makes it one of the most exciting motorsport on the planet. He listens to podcasts about F1 on a daily basis, and enjoys reading books from the inspirational Adrian Newey to former F1 drivers.