The French Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de France), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an

auto race Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

held as part of the

Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; en, International Automobile Federation) is an association established on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. It is the governing body for ...

's annual Formula One World Championship. It is one of the oldest motor races in the world as well as the first "

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

". It ceased, shortly after its centenary, in with 86 races having been held, due to unfavourable financial circumstances and venues. The race returned to the Formula One calendar in with Circuit Paul Ricard hosting the race, but was removed from the calendar after . Unusually even for a race of such longevity, the location of the Grand Prix has moved frequently with 16 different venues having been used over its life, a number only eclipsed by the 23 venues used for the

Australian Grand Prix The Australian Grand Prix is an annual motor racing event which is under contract to host Formula One until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Grand Prix has moved frequently with 23 different venu ...

since its 1928 start. It is also one of four races (along with the Belgian, Italian and Spanish Grands Prix) to have been held as part of the three distinct Grand Prix championships (the

World Manufacturers' Championship The World Manufacturers' Championship, also known as Automobile World Championship, was a competition organised by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, AIACR between 1925 Grand Prix season, 1925 and 1930 Grand Prix season, 1930. Scoring ...

in the late 1920s, the European Championship in the 1930s and the Formula One World Championship since 1950). The Grand Prix de l'ACF was tremendously influential in the early years of Grand Prix racing, leading the establishment of the rules and regulations of racing as well as setting trends in the evolution of racing. The power of the original organiser, the Automobile Club de France, established France as the home of motor racing organisation.

History

Origins

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

was one of the first countries to hold motor racing events of any kind. The first competitive motor race, the Paris to Rouen Horseless Carriages Contest was held on 22 July 1894, and was organized by the Automobile Club de France (ACF). The race was 126 km (78 mi) long and was won by Count Jules-Albert de Dion in his De Dion Bouton steam powered car in just under 7 hours. This race was followed by races starting in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

to various towns and cities around France such as

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

and Dieppe, and also to various other European cities such as

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. The 1901 Paris-Berlin race was noteworthy as the race winner,

Henri Fournier Henri Fournier (14 April 1871, in Le Mans – 18 December 1919) was a French racing driver. Fournier began his career on motorcycles and tricycles. In 1901 he came to the Mors racing team and was the most successful driver of this year, as he wo ...

averaged an astonishing 57 mph (93 km/h) in his

Mors Mors may refer to: *Mors (mythology), the personification of death in Roman mythology *Mors, Latin for death *Mors (automobile), a French car manufacturer from 1895 to 1925 :* American Mors, Mors vehicles produced under licence in America by the S ...

, but there were details of other incidents. A competitor driving a 40H.P. Panhard suddenly found the road blocked by a tram in the village of Metternich, and he deliberately ran into the vehicle to avoid the crowd of spectators. The tram was knocked off the rails; the car was hardly damaged. And in Reims, a future location of many French Grands Prix, another competitor in a Mors hit and killed a child who wandered onto the road. But these races, held on public dirt roads that were not all closed to the public came to a halt in 1903. The Paris-Madrid race, a 1,307 km (812 mi) long competition from the French capital to the Spanish capital held in May of that year had over 300 entrants. Some of the cars were doing 140 km/h (87 mph)- an astonishingly fast speed for the time- not even rail locomotives were capable of hitting these speeds. It was not known at the time how safe these races would be or how these cars- made mostly of wood would perform, and development of the car had improved significantly over 9 years. The race was a disaster, with 8 people killed and over 15 injured in multiple accidents- and all this happened before any of the competitors reached the Spanish border. Crowds of onlookers would stand right on the edge of the track, and children were wandering into the roads which became very dusty and visibility was limited at best. The most notable fatality of this race was one Marcel Renault, one of the 3 brothers who founded the

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

car company. When Renault reached the village of

Payré Payré () is a former commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Valence-en-Poitou.Grand Poitiers he lost control of his 16HP Renault in poor visibility caused by excess dust. The car went into a gutter and crashed into a tree, and Renault sustained a horrific wound in the side of his head and dislocated his shoulder. Fellow competitor Leon Théry stopped his Decauville in order to help Renault and his riding-mechanic Vauthier, still trapped in their car. No doctors were on hand, but Théry found one at the next village and sent him to the place of accident- the doctor rode a bicycle to get to the accident. The doctor conveyed Renault back to the nearest hospital in Grand Poitiers, where Renault succumbed to his injuries two days later, while Vauthier survived with minor injuries. Accidents continued throughout the day; cars hit trees and disintegrated, they overturned and caught fire, axles broke and inexperienced drivers crashed on the rough roads. The race was eventually called off by the French government and there was no declared winner. The cars were impounded by the French authorities, towed to the nearest rail stations by horses and transported back to Paris by train. The race created a political uproar in France, and a French magazine did their own investigation into the race. Speed, dust created by the cars, poor organization and lack of crowd control were to blame for these tragedies and even French Prime Minister

Émile Combes Émile Justin Louis Combes (; 6 September 183525 May 1921) was a French statesman and freemason who led the Bloc des gauches's cabinet from June 1902 to January 1905. Career Émile Combes was born in Roquecourbe, Tarn. He studied for the pries ...

was held partially responsible because he was the ultimate authority on allowing the race to proceed. Other races were organized by American newspaper publisher James Gordon Bennett called the Gordon Bennett Cup, 4 of which were in France. 3 city-to-city races in 1900, 1901 and 1902, all starting in Paris were organized by Bennett and they attracted top racers from the United States and Western Europe. But after the 1903 Paris-Madrid race, the French government banned point-to-point car races on open public roads, so Bennett moved the 1903 race to Ireland on a closed circuit 2 months after Paris-Madrid, the first of its kind. This race was won by Belgian

Camille Jenatzy Camille Jenatzy (1868, Schaerbeek – 8 December 1913, Habay la Neuve) was a Belgian race car driver. He is known for breaking the land speed record three times and being the first man to break the 100 km/h barrier. He was nicknamed ''Le ...

in a Mercedes, who was one of the bravest and most fearless racing drivers of his time. The 1904 race was held in western Germany while the last Gordon Bennett Cup race was held in an 137 km (85 mi) circuit in

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label=Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Auverg ...

in south-central France. The race started in Clermont-Ferrand, and was run over 4 laps, and was won by Théry in a Brasier.

The world's oldest Grand Prix

Closed public road courses

The French ''Grand Prix'', open to international competition was first run on 26 June 1906 under the auspices of the Automobile Club de France in Sarthe with a starting field of 32 automobiles. The Grand Prix name ("Great Prize") referred to the prize of 45,000 French francs to the race winner. The franc was pegged to gold at 0.290 grams per franc, which meant that the prize was worth 13kg of gold, or US$210,700 adjusted for inflation. The earliest French Grands Prix were held on circuits consisting of public roads near towns through northern and central France, and they usually were held at different towns each year, such as Le Mans, Dieppe, Amiens, Lyon, Strasbourg, and Tours. Dieppe in particular was an extremely dangerous circuit – 9 people (5 drivers, 2 riding mechanics, and 2 spectators) in total were killed at the three French Grands Prix held at the 79km (49-mile) circuit. The 1906 race was the first ever national race named "Grand Prix" (the "Grand Prix" mention appeared in France in 1900 as a sub-category name for entries for the Circuit du Sud-Ouest in Pau, where the word "Grand Prix" was initially used for

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

competitions, the name Grand Prix was then used to describe the whole race in 1901); other, later, international events in the 1900s and 1910s in Europe and the United States had their own names with the term "Prize" in them, such as ''

Grand Prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

'' in America or ''

Kaiserpreis The Kaiserpreis (german: Emperor's Prize) auto race, named after Emperor Wilhelm II, was held in 1907. Like his brother's Prinz-Heinrich-Fahrt held from 1908 to 1911, it was a precursor to the German Grand Prix. As Camille Jenatzy had won the Gordo ...

'' (English: Emperor's Prize) in Germany. The French Grand Prix race was run on a very fast 66-mile (106km) one-off anti-clockwise closed public road circuit east of the small western French city of

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

, starting in the village of Saint-Mars-la-Briere. It then went down the Route D323 and turned a hard left onto Route D357 near the commune of Yvre-l-Eveque onto a 4-mile straight towards the village of La Butte, then down a 15-mile straight through Bouloire and then into a twisty section in Saint-Calais. The circuit then went north on Route D1 through Berfay and then entered a purpose-built twisty section made of wooden logging track in a forest before Vibraye and then went north again, entering a series of fast corners in and near Lamnay, and then turned west at La Ferte-Bernard. The circuit then went down Route D323 again and down multiple straights 3 to 6 miles long with a few fast corners at Sceaux-sur-Huisne and Conerre, before returning to the pits at Saint-Mars-la-Briere. Circuits in Europe that went through multiple rural towns like this one became ever more common on public road circuits in France and other European countries. Long straights also became a staple of circuits in France, particularly at future iterations of the relocated Sarthe circuit at Le Mans- a city that would host another race that would become a fixed staple in motor racing circles. The Hungarian

Ferenc Szisz Ferenc Szisz (September 20, 1873 – February 21, 1944), was a Hungarian race car driver and the winner of the first Grand Prix motor racing event on a Renault Grand Prix 90CV on 26 June, 1906. Early life Szisz was born in the small town of Szeg ...

won this very long 12hour race on a Renault from Italian Felice Nazzaro in a

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

, where laps on this circuit took just under an hour and the horse carriage road surface was made of dirt; even so this did not stop the fastest lap average speed being 73.37 mph (118.09 km/h)- an astonishingly fast speed for the time. The 1908 race saw Mercedes humiliating the French organizers and finishing 1-2-3 at the lethal circuit at Dieppe, where no less than 4 people were killed during the weekend. The 1913 race was won by

Georges Boillot Georges Louis Frederic Boillot (August 3, 1884 – May 19, 1916) was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver and World War I fighter pilot. Biography Born in Valentigney, Doubs, Boillot was a mechanic by training who began automobile racing in ...

on a one-off 19-mile (31km) circuit near Amiens in northern France. Amiens was another deadly circuit – it had a 7.1 mile straight and 5 people were killed during its use during pre-race testing and the race weekend itself. The 1914 race, run on a 23mile circuit near Lyon is perhaps the most legendary and dramatic Grand Prix of the preWWI racing era. This circuit, which was popular with drivers and spectators had a twisty and demanding section down to the town of Le Madeline and then an 8.3 mile straight interrupted by a hairpin which returned to the pits. This race was a hard-fought battle between the French Peugeots and the German Mercedes. Although the Peugeots were fast and Boillot ended up leading for 12 of the 20 laps after Max Sailer in a Mercedes unexpectedly dropped out with engine failure on Lap 6, the Dunlop tyres they used wore out badly compared to the Continentials that the Mercedes cars were using. Boillot's four-minute lead was wiped out by Christian Lautenschlager in a Mercedes while Boillot stopped an incredible eight times for tyres. Although Boillot drove very hard to try to catch Lautenschlager, he had to retire on the last lap due to engine failure, and for the second time in 6 years Mercedes finished 1–2–3; a humiliating result for the organizers and Peugeot. Because of World War I and the amount of damage it did to France, the Grand Prix was not brought back until 1921, and that race was won by American Jimmy Murphy with a

Duesenberg Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company, Inc. was an American race car, racing and luxury car, luxury automobile manufacturer founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, by brothers Fred Duesenberg, Fred and August Duesenberg in 1920. The company is ...

at the Sarthe circuit at Le Mans, which was the now legendary circuit's first year of operation.

Bugatti Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a German then French manufacturer of high-performance automobiles. The company was founded in 1909 in the then-German city of Molsheim, Alsace, by the Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti. The cars w ...

made its debut at the 1922 race at an 8.3mile (13km) one-off public road circuit near Strasbourg near the French-German border – which was very close to Bugatti's headquarters in Molsheim. It rained, and the muddy semi-rectangular circuit, made up of long straights, 90 degree corners, a fast kink and a hairpin was in a dreadful condition. This race became a duel between Bugatti and Fiat – and Felice Nazzaro won in a Fiat, although his nephew and fellow competitor Biagio Nazzaro was killed after the axle on his Fiat broke, threw a wheel and hit a tree; the 32-year old and his riding mechanic both suffered fatal head injuries. The 1923 race at another one-off circuit near Tours featured another new Bugatti – the Type 32. This car was insultingly dubbed the "Tank", owing to its streamlined shape and very short wheelbase. This car was quick on the long straights of this very fast public road circuit – but it handled badly and was outpaced by Briton

Henry Segrave Sir Henry O'Neal de Hane Segrave (22 September 1896 – 13 June 1930) was an early British pioneer in land speed and water speed records. Segrave, who set three land and one water record, was the first person to hold both titles simultaneous ...

in a supercharged

Sunbeam A sunbeam, in meteorological optics, is a beam of sunlight that appears to radiate from the position of the Sun. Shining through openings in clouds or between other objects such as mountains and buildings, these beams of particle-scattered sunl ...

, supercharging being a common feature of Grand Prix cars during this period. Segrave won the race, and the Sunbeam would be the last British car to win an official Grand Prix until

Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of comp ...

's victory with a

Vanwall Vanwall was a motor racing team and racing car constructor that was active in Formula One during the 1950s. Founded by Tony Vandervell, the Vanwall name was derived by combining the name of the team owner with that of his Thinwall bearings ...

at the 1957 British Grand Prix. Segrave, a known

teetotaler Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or i ...

was given a glass of champagne after his victory, because apparently there wasn't any water available in the pits area. The 1924 race was held again at Lyon, but this time on a shortened 14mile variant of the circuit used in 1914. Two of the most successful Grand Prix cars of all time, the Bugatti Type 35 and the Alfa Romeo P2 both made their debuts at this race. The Bugattis, with their advanced alloy wheels suffered tyre failure, and Italian Giuseppe Campari won in his Alfa P2.

France's first permanent circuit and other public road circuits

In 1925, the first permanent autodrome in France was built, it was called Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry, located 20 miles south of the centre of

. The 7.7mile (12.3km) circuit included a 51degree concrete banking, an asphalt road course and then-modern facilities, including pit garages and grandstands. Purpose-built autodromes like Montlhéry were often built near the country's largest cities (with the exception of Indianapolis and the Nürburgring). After the construction of

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...

near

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in England in 1907, and Indianapolis in the United States in 1908 and after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...

near

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

in Italy was opened in 1922, and Stiges–Terramar near

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

in Spain was also opened in 1923. The French were then prompted to construct a purpose-built racing circuit at Montlhéry in the north and then Miramas in the south. The

Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...

in western Germany followed in 1927, to complement eastern Germany's AVUS street circuit. Montlhery first held the Grand Prix de l'ACF in 1925 as part of the inaugural

, the first time Grands Prix were grouped together to form a championship. The circuit drew huge crowds and they were witnesses to the spectacular sight of fast cars racing on Montlhéry's steep banking and asphalt road course, which had many fast corners and long straights, and was located in a forest. The first race at Montlhéry was marred by the fatal accident of

Antonio Ascari Antonio Ascari (15 September 1888 – 26 July 1925) was an Italian Grand Prix motor racing champion. He won four Grands Prix before his premature death at the 1925 French Grand Prix. He was the father of two-time World Champion Alberto Ascari. Ea ...

in an Alfa P2, when he crashed at a very fast left-hand kink returning to the oval portion. Miramas, a high-banked concrete oval track like Brooklands and part of Montlhéry was completed in 1926, and it played host to the Grand Prix that year. This race saw only three cars compete, all Bugattis, and was won by Frenchman Jules Goux, who had also won the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

in 1913. The 1927 race at Montlhéry was won by Frenchman

Robert Benoist Robert Marcel Charles Benoist (20 March 1895 – 14 September 1944) was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver and war hero. Early life Born near Rambouillet, Île-de-France, France, Robert Benoist was the son of Baron Henri de Rothschild' ...

in a

Delage Delage was a French luxury automobile and racecar company founded in 1905 by Louis Delâge in Levallois-Perret near Paris; it was acquired by Delahaye in 1935 and ceased operation in 1953. On 7 November 2019, the association "Les Amis de Dela ...

. 1929 saw a brief return to Le Mans, which was won by

William Grover-Williams William Charles Frederick Grover-Williams (born William Charles Frederick Grover, 16 January 1903 – 18 March 1945 (or shortly thereafter)), also known as "W Williams", was a British Grand Prix motor racing driver and special agent who worked ...

in a Bugatti; this was the man who had won the first ever

Monaco Grand Prix The Monaco Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Monaco) is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigiou ...

earlier in the year; Grover-Williams had also won the 1928 race in a Bugatti at the 17-mile (28 km) Saint-Gaudens circuit in the south, not far from

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

. The 1930 French Grand Prix, held at Pau back down in the south was one of the more memorable French Grands Prix of the pre-World War II period. This race, held in September on a one-off triangular 9.8mile (15.8-km) public road circuit just a few kilometres away from the current Pau Grand Prix track saw a special supercharged version of the famous Bentley 4½ Litre called the

Blower Bentley Blower may refer to: People * Blower (surname) * Henry Blofeld (born 1939), British sports journalist Other uses * Blower (snake) (''Heterodon platirhinos'') * Blower fan, a type of mechanical fan * Leaf blower, a gardening tool * Party b ...

compete in the race with Briton and "Bentley Boy"

Tim Birkin Sir Henry Ralph Stanley "Tim" Birkin, 3rd Baronet (26 July 1896 – 22 June 1933) was a British racing driver, one of the "Bentley Boys" of the 1920s. Background and family Birkin was born into a wealthy Nottingham family in 1896, the son of S ...

driving. The Bentley team had been dominating the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

, and this Blower Bentley had its headlights and mudguards removed, as these were not needed for this race, giving it the appearance of an open-wheel car. The Bentley, which was much larger and heavier than the small Bugattis around it performed well – at this very fast circuit which was made up of very long straights and tight hairpins actually suited the powerful Blower Bentley, and it enabled Birkin to pass the pits at 130 mph (208 km/h) (very fast for that time), and he overtook car after car – to the amazement of the crowd. But he finished second to Frenchman Philippe Étancelin in a Bugatti. Montlhéry would also be part of the second Grand Prix championship era; the European Championship when it began in 1931. Other public road circuits also played host to French Grand Prix, such as the fast, straight and slow corner-dominated 4.8mile

Reims-Gueux The circuit Reims-Gueux was a Grand Prix motor racing road course, located in Gueux, Marne, Gueux, 7.5 km (5 miles) west of Reims in the Champagne (historical province), Champagne region of north-eastern France, established in 1926 as the sec ...

circuit in the Champagne wine region of Northern France 144km (90mi) east of Paris for 1932, where Italian legend

Tazio Nuvolari Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari (; 16 November 1892 – 11 August 1953) was an Italian racing driver. He first raced motorcycles and then concentrated on sports cars and single-seaters. A resident of Mantua, he was known as 'Il Mantovano Volante' (Th ...

won in an Alfa Romeo. But from 1933 to 1937 Montlhéry would become the sole host of the event. The 1934 French Grand Prix marked the return of

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

to Grand Prix racing after 20 years, with an all-new car, team, management, and drivers, headed by Alfred Neubauer. 1934 was the year where the German Silver Arrows debuted (an effort heavily funded by Hitler's Third Reich), with Auto Union having already debuted its powerful mid-engined Type–A car for a race at AVUS in Germany. Although the Monégasque driver Louis Chiron won in an Alfa, the Silver Arrows dominated the race. The high-tech German cars seemed to float over the rough concrete banking at Montlhéry where all the other cars seemed to be visibly affected by the concrete surface. Makeshift chicanes were placed at certain points on the high-speed circuit in an effort by the French to slow the very fast German cars down for the 1935 race, but this effort came to nothing as Mercedes superstar Rudolf Caracciola won that year's race.

Reims, Rouen and Charade

The French Grand Prix returned to the Reims-Gueux circuit for 1938 and 1939, where the Silver Arrows continued their domination of Grand Prix racing. The Reims-Gueux circuit had its straights widened and facilities updated for the 1938 race. It was around this time that the French Grand Prix had some of its prestige transferred after 2 years of being a sportscar race- the

had gained a huge amount of prestige and would become the premier French-related Grand Prix event, taking place in a tiny principality surrounded by France; but the French Grand Prix was still an important race now held traditionally on the first weekend of July. But when

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

began, the French Grand Prix did not come back until 1947, where it was held at the one-time Parilly circuit near Lyon, a race that was marred by an accident involving

Pierre Levegh Pierre Eugène Alfred Bouillin (22 December 1905 – 11 June 1955) was a French sportsman and racing driver. He took the racing name Pierre Levegh in memory of his uncle, a pioneering driver who died in 1904. Levegh died in the 1955 Le Mans disas ...

crashing into and killing 3 spectators. After that, Grand Prix racing returned to Reims-Gueux, where another manufacturer – Alfa Romeo – would dominate the event for 4 years. 1950 was the first year of the Formula One World Championship, but all the Formula One-regulated races were held in Europe. The race was won by Argentine

Juan Manuel Fangio Juan Manuel Fangio (American Spanish: , ; 24 June 1911 – 17 July 1995), nicknamed ''El Chueco'' ("the bowlegged" or "bandy legged one") or ''El Maestro'' ("The Master" or "The Teacher"), was an Argentine racing car driver. He dominated t ...

, who also won the next year's race – the longest Formula One race ever held in terms of distance covered, totalling 373 miles. The prestigious French event was held for the first time at the Rouen-Les-Essarts public road circuit in 1952, where it would be held four more times over the next 16 years. Rouen was a very high speed circuit located in the northern part of the country, that was made up mostly of high speed bends. But the race returned to Reims in 1953, where the triangular circuit, which was originally made up of three long straights (with a few slight kinks) two tight 90 degree right hand corners and a very slow right hand hairpin had been modified to bypass the town of Gueux, making it slightly faster. Reims now had two straights (including the even longer back straight), three very fast bends and two very slow and tight hairpins. This race was a classic, with Fangio in a Maserati and Briton Mike Hawthorn in a Ferrari having a race-long battle for the lead, with Hawthorn taking the checkered flag. 1954 was another special event, and this marked Mercedes's return to top-flight road racing led by Alfred Neubauer, 20 years after their first return to Grand Prix racing – in France. After two wins for the works Maserati team that year at Buenos Aires and Spa, Fangio was now driving for Mercedes and he and teammate Karl Kling effectively dominated the race from start to finish with their advanced W196's. It was not a popular win – Mercedes, a German car manufacturer, had won on French soil – only 9 years after the German occupation of France had ended. The French Grand Prix was cancelled in 1955 because of the

Le Mans disaster The 1955 Le Mans disaster was a major crash that occurred on 11 June 1955 during the 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race at Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, Sarthe, France. Large pieces of debris flew into the crowd, killing 83 spectators and French ...

, and Mercedes withdrew from all racing at the end of that year. The race continued to be held at Reims in 1956, another spell at a lengthened Rouen-Les-Essarts in 1957 and back to Reims again from 1958 to 1961, 1963 and one last event in 1966 at this circuit, located where champagne is made. The 1956 race saw a one-off appearance by Bugatti- they entered a new mid-engined Grand Prix car (which was a novelty at the time, and only the second Grand Prix car ever to be designed this way after the 1930s Auto Unions) designed by renowned Italian engineer Colombo and driven by Maurice Trintignant, but the car was underpowered, overweight, and over-complicated, and it proved to be very difficult to drive; it retired early in the race. The 1958 race was marred by the fatal accident of Italian

Luigi Musso Luigi Musso (28 July 1924 – 6 July 1958) was an Italian racing driver. In 1955 he joined the Ferrari team, entering into a fierce rivalry with Mike Hawthorn and Peter Collins, which boosted the performance of the team, but also encouraged ...

, driving a works Ferrari, and it was also Fangio's last Formula One race. Hawthorn, who like many other F1 drivers at the time, held Fangio in very high regard; and was about to lap Fangio (driving in an outdated Maserati) on the last lap on the pit straight when he slowed down and let Fangio cross the line before him so the respected Argentine driver could complete the whole race distance. Hawthorn won, and Fangio finished fourth. 1961 saw the race being held in weather, and the track broke up at the hairpins. The race came down to a slipstreaming battle between American Dan Gurney in a Porsche and Italian

Giancarlo Baghetti Giancarlo Baghetti (25 December 1934 – 27 November 1995) was a Formula One driver who raced for the Ferrari, Automobili Turismo e Sport, BRM, Brabham and Lotus teams. Baghetti is one of only three drivers to have won his first World Champions ...

in the sharknose Ferrari. Baghetti won the race- which astonishingly was his first ever championship Grand Prix by less than a car's length from Gurney. Rouen-Les-Essarts hosted the event in 1962 and 1964, and Gurney won both these events, one in a Porsche and another in a Brabham. In 1965 the race was held at the 5.1 mile Charade Circuit in the hills surrounding Michelin's hometown of

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat (dialect), Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population ...

in central France. Unlike the long straights that made up Reims and the fast curves that made up Rouen, Charade was known as a mini-Nürburgring and was twisty, undulating and very demanding. The short

Bugatti Circuit The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe (after the 1906 French Grand Prix triangle circuit) located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, is a semi-permanent motorsport Race track, race course, chiefly known as the venue for ...

at Le Mans held the race in 1967, but the circuit was not liked by the Formula One circus, and it never returned. Rouen-Les-Essarts hosted the event in 1968, and it was a disastrous event; Frenchman

Jo Schlesser Joseph Schlesser (18 May 1928 – 7 July 1968) was a French Formula One and sports car racing driver. He participated in three World Championship Grands Prix, including the 1968 French Grand Prix in which he was killed. He scored no championship ...

crashed and was killed at the very fast ''Six Frères'' corner in his burning Honda, and Formula One did not return to the public-road circuit. Charade hosted two more events, and then Formula One moved to the newly built, modern Circuit Paul Ricard on the French riviera for 1971. Paul Ricard Circuit, located in Le Castellet, just outside

and not far from Monaco, was a new type of modern facility, much like Montlhéry had been in the 1920s. It had run-off areas, a wide track and ample viewing areas for spectators. Charade hosted the event one last time in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

; Formula One cars had become too fast for public road circuits; the circuit was littered with rocks and Austrian Helmut Marko was hit in the eye by a rock thrown up from Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi's Lotus which ended his racing career.

Le Castellet and Dijon-Prenois

Formula One returned to Paul Ricard in 1973; the French Grand Prix was never run on public road circuits like Reims, Rouen and Charade ever again. Paul Ricard circuit also had a driving school, the École de Pilotage Winfield, run by the Knight brothers and Simon Delatour, that honed the talents of people such as France's first (and so far only) Formula One World Champion Alain Prost, and Grand Prix winners

Didier Pironi Didier Joseph Louis Pironi (26 March 1952 – 23 August 1987) was a French racing driver. During his career, he competed in 72 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, driving for Tyrrell (1978–1979), Ligier (1980) and Ferrari (1981 ...

and

Jacques Laffite Jacques-Henri Laffite (; born 21 November 1943) is a French former racing driver who competed in Formula One from to . He achieved six Grand Prix wins, all while driving for the Ligier team. From 1997 to 2013, Laffite was a presenter for TF1. ...

. The event was run at the new fast, up-and-down

Prenois Prenois () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. It is best known for the Dijon-Prenois racetrack. Population See also *Communes of the Côte-d'Or department The following is a list of the 698 Communes of France, comm ...

circuit near Dijon in 1974, before returning to Ricard in 1975 and 1976. The race was originally scheduled to be run at

for 1974 and 1975, but the circuit was deemed too dangerous for Formula One. The two venues alternated the venue until 1984, with Ricard getting the race in even-numbered years and Dijon in odd-numbered years (except 1983). 1977 saw a new part of the Dijon circuit built called the "Parabolique". This was done to increase lap times which had been very nearly below a minute in 1974, and the race featured a battle between American Mario Andretti and Briton John Watson; Andretti came out on top to win. Lotus teammates Andretti and Swede Ronnie Peterson dominated the race in 1978 with their dominant 79s, a car that dominated the field in a way not seen since the dominating Alfa Romeo and domineering Ferrari in the early 1950s. The 1979 race was another classic, with the famous end-of-race duel for second place between Frenchman

René Arnoux René Alexandre Arnoux (; born 4 July 1948) is a French former racing driver who competed in 12 Formula One seasons (1978 to 1989). He participated in 165 World Championship Grands Prix (149 starts) winning seven of them, achieving 22 podium fi ...

in a 1.5-liter turbocharged V6 Renault and Canadian

Gilles Villeneuve Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve () (January 18, 1950 – May 8, 1982) was a Canadian racing driver, who spent six years in Grand Prix motor racing with Ferrari, winning six races and widespread acclaim for his performances. An enthusiast of ...

in a 3-liter

Flat-12 A flat-twelve engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-twelve, is a twelve-cylinder piston engine with six cylinders on each side of a central crankshaft. Flat-twelve engines are less common than V12 engines, but they have been used in vario ...

Ferrari. It is considered to be one of the all-time great duels in motorsports, with Arnoux and Villeneuve banging wheels and cars around the fast Dijon circuit before Villeneuve came out on top. The race was won by Arnoux's French teammate Jean-Pierre Jabouille, which was the first race ever won by a Formula One car with a turbo-charged engine. 1980 saw rookie Prost qualify his slower McLaren seventh and Australian Alan Jones beat French Ligier drivers Laffite and Pironi on their home soil, and the 1981 race was the first of 51 victories by future 4-time world champion Prost; driving a Renault, the French marque won the next three French Grands Prix. The 1982 event at Ricard was a memorable one for France – it was a turbo-charged engine/French walkover and 4 French drivers finished in the top 4 positions – each of them driving a car with a turbo-charged engine. Renault driver René Arnoux won from his teammate Prost and Ferrari drivers Pironi and

Patrick Tambay Patrick Daniel Tambay (25 June 1949 – 4 December 2022) was a French racing driver, commentator, and politician, who competed in 123 Formula One races between 1977 and 1986, securing five pole positions and winning twice. Between 1977 and 198 ...

finished 3rd and 4th. But this French triumph was internally sour: Arnoux violated an agreement that if he was in front of Prost, he would let him by because Prost was better placed in the championship. Much to the chagrin of Prost and the French Renault team's management Arnoux did not do this, despite the management holding out pit boards ordering him to let Prost past. Prost won the next year at the same place, beating out Nelson Piquet in a Brabham with a turbocharged BMW engine; Piquet had led the previous year's race but retired with engine failure. Dijon was last used in 1984, and by then turbo-charged engines were almost ubiquitous, save the Tyrrell team who were still using the Cosworth V8 engine. The international motorsports governing body at the time, FISA, had instituted a policy of long-term contracts with only one circuit per Grand Prix. The choice was between Dijon and Ricard – the small Prenois circuit had cars lapping in the 1 minute 1 second range, and Ricard was the main testing facility for Formula One at the time. So it was Ricard that was chosen, and it hosted the race from 1985 to 1990. From 1986 onwards Formula One used a shortened version of the circuit, after Elio de Angelis's fatal crash at the fast Verriere bends. De Angelis was not injured by the crash, however his car caught fire and there were no marshals to help him as it was a test session, and he died of smoke inhalation in hospital the next day. These two fast corners and the whole top section of the circuit was not used for the last five races. Prost won the final three races there, the 1988 one being a particularly dramatic win; he overtook his teammate Ayrton Senna at the Curbe de Signes at the end of the ultra fast Mistral Straight and held onto the lead all the way to the finish, and the 1990 (by which time turbo-charged engines had been banned) event was led for more than 60 laps by Italian

Ivan Capelli Ivan Franco Capelli (born 24 May 1963) is an Italian former Formula One driver. He participated in 98 Grands Prix, debuting on 6 October 1985. He achieved three podiums, and scored a total of 31 championship points. From 1998 until 2017 he was a ...

and Brazilian Maurício Gugelmin in underfunded, Adrian Newey designed Leyton-House cars – two cars that had failed to qualify at the previous event in Mexico. Prost, now driving for Ferrari after driving for McLaren from 1984 to 1989, made a late-race charge and passed Capelli to take the victory; Gugelmin had retired earlier.

Magny-Cours

In 1991, the race moved to the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, where it stayed for another 17 years. Magny-Cours was the seventh venue to host the French Grand Prix as a part of the Formula One World Championship, and the sixteenth in total. The move to Magny-Cours was an attempt to stimulate the economy of the area, but many within Formula One complained about the remote nature of the circuit. Highlights of Magny-Cours's time hosting the French Grand Prix include Prost's final of six wins on home soil in 1993, and Michael Schumacher's securing of the 2002 championship after only 11 races. The 2004 and 2005 races were in doubt because of financial problems and the addition of new circuits to the Formula One calendar. These races went ahead as planned, but it still had an uncertain future. In 2007 it was announced by the FFSA, the race promoter, that the 2008 French Grand Prix was put on an indefinite "pause". This suspension was due to the financial situation of the circuit, known to be disliked by many in F1 due to the circuit's location. Then Bernie Ecclestone confirmed (at the time) that the

2007 French Grand Prix The 2007 French Grand Prix (formally the Formula 1 Grand Prix de France 2007) was a Formula One motor race held on 1 July 2007 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours, France. It was the eighth race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Cha ...

would be the last to be held at Magny-Cours. This turned out not to be true, because funding for the 2008 race was found, and this race at Magny-Cours was the last French Grand Prix for 10 years.

Absence

After various negotiations, the future of the race at Magny-Cours took another turn, with increased speculation that the 2008 French Grand Prix would return, with Ecclestone himself stating "We're going to maybe resurrect it for a year, or something like that". On 24 July, Ecclestone and the French Prime Minister met and agreed to possibly maintain the race at Magny Cours for 2008 and 2009. The change in fortune was completed on July, when the FIA published the calendar with a 2008 French Grand Prix scheduled at Magny-Cours once again. The 2009 race, however, was again cancelled on 15 October 2008, with the official website citing "economic reasons". A huge makeover of Magny-Cours ("2.0") was planned, but cancelled in the end. The race's promoter FFSA then started looking for an alternative host. There were five different proposals for a new circuit: in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

with 3 possible layouts (a street circuit, in the dock area, or a permanent circuit near the airport), a street circuit located near Disneyland Resort Paris,

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

, and in

Sarcelles Sarcelles () is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Sarcelles is a sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise department and the seat of the arrondissement of Sarcelles. In the south of the commun ...

(''Val de France''), but all were cancelled. A final location in Flins-Les Mureaux, near the

Flins Renault Factory The Flins Renault Factory (also known internally as the Pierre Lefaucheux Factory in memory of Pierre Lefaucheux, Renault's first CEO following nationalisation) is a car factory in France, straddling the towns of Flins and Aubergenville in Yveli ...

was being considered however that was cancelled as well on 1 December 2009. In 2010 and 2011, there was no French Grand Prix on the Formula 1 calendar, although the Circuit Paul Ricard was a candidate for 2012. 10 French drivers have won the French Grand Prix; 7 before World War I and II and 3 during the Formula One championship. French driver Alain Prost won the race six times at three different circuits; however German driver Michael Schumacher has won eight times – the joint most anybody has ever won any Grand Prix (Lewis Hamilton has since won the British and Hungarian Grands Prix eight times). Monégasque driver Louis Chiron won it five times, and the Argentine driver

and British driver

Nigel Mansell Nigel Ernest James Mansell, (; born 8 August 1953) is a British retired racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship (1992) and the CART Indy Car World Series ( 1993). Mansell was the reigning F1 champion when he moved over ...

both won four times.

Return to Le Castellet

In December 2016, it was confirmed that the French Grand Prix would return in 2018 at the Circuit Paul Ricard and it held a contract to host the French Grand Prix until 2022. In an announcement to the nation on 13 April 2020,

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...

, the French president, said that restrictions on public events as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

would continue until mid-July, putting the

2020 French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de France), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championsh ...

, scheduled for 28 June, at risk of postponement. The race was later cancelled with no intention to reschedule for the 2020 championship. The race returned for the 2021 season. The promoters of the French Grand Prix confirmed that the race will not be on the

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

calendar, stating that they aim for a rotational race deal, sharing its slot with other Grands Prix.

Winners of the French Grand Prix

Repeat winners (drivers)

''Drivers in bold are competing in the Formula One championship in the current season.''
''A yellow background indicates an event which was part of the pre-war European Championship.''
''A green background indicates an event which was part of the pre-war World Manufacturers' Championship.''
''A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship or any of the above mentioned championships.'' Louis Chiron won the 1931 race, but shared the win with

Achille Varzi Achille Varzi (8 August 1904 – 1 July 1948) was an Italian Grand Prix driver. Career Born in Galliate, province of Novara (Piedmont), Achille Varzi was the son of a textile manufacturer. As a young man, he was a successful motorcycle ra ...

.
Juan Manuel Fangio won the 1951 race, but shared the win with

Luigi Fagioli Luigi Cristiano Fagioli (; 9 June 1898 – 20 June 1952), nicknamed "the Abruzzi robber", was an Italian motor racing driver. Having won his last race at 53 years old, Fagioli holds the record for the oldest Formula One driver to win a race, and ...

Repeat winners (constructors)

''Teams in bold are competing in the Formula One championship in the current season.''
''A yellow background indicates an event which was part of the pre-war European Championship.''
''A green background indicates an event which was part of the pre-war World Manufacturers' Championship.''
''A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship or any of the above mentioned championships.''

Repeat winners (engine manufacturers)

''Manufacturers in bold are competing in the Formula One championship in the current season.''
''A yellow background indicates an event which was part of the pre-war European Championship.''
''A green background indicates an event which was part of the pre-war World Manufacturers' Championship.''
''A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship or any of the above mentioned championships.'' * Built by

Cosworth Cosworth is a British automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines, powertrain, and electronics for automobile racing (motorsport) and mainstream automotive industrie ...

, funded by Ford.
** Built by

Ilmor Ilmor is a British independent high-performance motor racing engineering company. It was founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in November 1983. With manufacturing based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and maintenance offices in Plymouth, Mic ...

in 2000, funded by Mercedes.

By year

Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours (1992-2002)

''A yellow background indicates an event which was part of the pre-war European Championship.''
''A green background indicates an event which was part of the pre-war World Manufacturers' Championship.''
''A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship or any of the above mentioned championships.''

Races sometimes considered to be French Grand Prix

Beginning in the early 1920s, French media represented eight races held in France before 1906 as being Grands Prix de l'Automobile Club de France, leading to the first French Grand Prix being known as the ninth Grand Prix de l'ACF. This was done to give the Grand Prix the appearance of being the world's oldest motor race. The winners of these races, along with their original titles, are listed here.

References

External links

French Grand Prix Results, Live Timing, Quiz & Discussion

Site officiel du Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours

Official Website of the French Grand Prix
{{Authority control Pre-World Championship Grands Prix Formula One Grands Prix National Grands Prix Recurring sporting events established in 1906 1906 establishments in France