France is the birthplace of Grand Prix racing. The first Grand Prix was held on the Le Mans cicuit in 1906, and it was won by a French car - a Renault - driven by Hungarian Ferenc Szisz. However, France officially counts this as the 9th Grand Prix because they consider the earlier city to city races to be Grands Prix too. George Boillot would be the first Frenchman to win the French Grand Prix, in 1912 in a Peugeot.
The 1914 race at Lyon was considered one of the greatest Grand Prix races ever. 37 cars from 13 manufacturers in 6 different countries competed and after 7 hours, German Christian Lautenschlager won in a Mercedes.
The French Grand Prix was held in many locations, including Le Mans, Strasbourg, Tours, Lyon, Montlhéry, Miramas, St. Gaudens and Pau, although in 1931 the race settled in Montlhéry. The Montlhéry circuit was a combined oval and road course. In 1938, the French Grand Prix moved to Reims and the 1939 race was the last to be held before the outbreak of World War II.
The 1934 race at Montlhéry was held on the road course section of the circuit, which included part of the oval. The 1934 race is considered a classic. It was an epic battle between Mercedes, Alfa Romeo, and the new German power Auto Union. It was won by Luis Chiron in an Alfa Romeo. To the right is a photo of the start of the 1934 race, with Chiron getting the jump on the field. The lineup is Louis Chiron {#12} - Scuderia Ferrari Alfa Romeo Tipo B, Achille Varzi {#6} - Scuderia Ferrari Alfa Romeo Tipo B, Rudolf Caracciola {#8} - Mercedes-Benz W25, Rene Dreyfus {#18} - Bugatti T59, Hans Stuck {#4} - Auto Union A.
The Reims-Gueux circuit was made up of public roads, and formed the rough shape of a triangle. With two long, fast straights, top speeds were important, and many races turned into slipstreaming battles. The circuit was later altered to bypass the village of Gueux, and thereafter it was known only as Reims. To the right is a picture of Hermann Müller's Auto Union in the pits at Reims in 1939 - he would win the race. It is a good shot of the long straights at Reims. Three of the grandstands at Reims were named after three French heroes of Grand Prix Racing - Benoist, Wimille, and Sommer.
Robert Benoist was perhaps France's finest pre-war driver, winning many races. He was an agent during WWII, serving behind enemy lines in France. His family estate in France was used as a base of operations and an ammo supply site for the resistance. He was arrested by the Gestapo but made a harrowing escape by jumping from a moving car and was spirited away to England with help of the underground, but returned to France to carry out operations. While visiting his dying mother in Paris, he was once again arrested by the Gestapo. He was imprisoned in Büchenwald and later executed. He was a great tribute to the Grand Prix spirit.
Appropriately, Grand Prix racing would get it's first start after the war in France - the La Coupe des Prisonniers would be run on the streets at Bois de Boulogne in Paris in 1945.
A true effort was made at a Grand Prix season in 1946, with many of the races being held in France, including the first two. The first race of the year was at Nice. There was an all Maserati front row, and Luigi Villoresi used one to win. The next Grand Prix was the Marseille's GP. Raymond Sommers would take the win. Later on that year, the St. Cloud GP would be held in Paris. The proceeds from the race were used to help rebuild the war torn French villages of Lessay and Wittenheim. Sommers would get the win here also. To the right is a picture from the 1946 St. Cloud Grand Prix - Jean-Pierre Wimille leads Raymond Sommer, Giuseppe Farina, Tazio Nuvolari and Robert Mazaud.
The first post-war French Grand Prix was held in Lyon in 1947, and was won by Louis Chiron Driving a Talbot-Lago. Thereafter, the French Grand Prix moved to Reims, and in 1950, the French Grand Prix was the penultimate round of the newly instigated World Championship. Reims would be the home of the French Grand Prix, save for ocasional interventions from Rouen and Charade, until 1966.
The 1958 French Grand Prix at Reims was particularly notable. Mike Hawthorne took the win for Ferrari, but team mate Luigi Musso suffered a fatal accident during the race. It was also the last Grand Prix start for Juan-Manuel Fangio. The picture to the right shows the lineup for the start of the race - Mike Hawthorne and Luigi Musso in their Ferraris with Harry Schell on the outside in his BRM.
Jean-Pierre Wimille was a true hero during WWII. He first signed on with the Royal Army Signal Corps, but was soon marked as proper material for espionage work. After training he was assigned behind the lines in France to disrupt the German war machine. He once made a miraculous escape after being arrested by Germans, ducking through a line of parked cars while shots were being fired at him. He would survive the war and return to racing, which must have seemed quite safe after all that. He won the first Grand Prix event held after the war - the La Coupe des Prisonniers - in spectacular fashion after starting on the back of the grid. Sadly, he would lose his life a couple of years later during practice for a race in Buenos Aires.
During the sixties, there were several notable French Grands Prix. In the 1960 race at Reims, Jack Brabham would win and lead a 1-2-3-4 Cooper-Climax sweep. The 1961 race was won by Ferrari driver Giancarlo Baghetti - the first and so far only man to win in his first (championship) Formula One start. The 1962 event was won by Dan Gurney in a Porsche - it would be Porsche's only F-1 win as a constructor. And in the 1969 race, Jackie Stewart and Jean-Pierre Beltoise would make it a Matra 1-2 sweep on home soil.
In 1969, the French Grand Prix moved to the Charade circuit in Clermont-Ferrand. The Charade circuit would host the French GP again in 1970. Jochen Rindt didn't like the track - the tight turns had caused him to be ill in the 1969 race, and forced him to retire; in practice for the 1970 race he was hit in the face by a rock. He would like it better after winning the race though. After 1970, the French Grand Prix moved between Paul Ricard and Dijon, before finding its current home at Magny-Cours. The Magny-Cours circuit has now hosted the French Grand Prix more times than any other circuit.
The 1979 French Grand Prix at Dijon is one of the most memorable Grands Prix of all time. There was an epic battle for second place betwen Gilles Villeneuve in the Ferrari and René Arnoux in the Renault. Villeneuve eventually won the battle for second, but the winner - Jean-Pierre Jabouille in the sister Renault - would win the race and in doing so would claim the first Formula 1 victory for Renault as well as for a turbocharged car.
The Reims and Rouen circuits have been abandoned since they last held the French GP. Some of the remnants are still standing to this day.
