1956 French Grand Prix

From Formula Rejects Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
Flag of France svg.png 1952 French Grand Prix
Race 2 of 10 in the 1956 Alternate Formula One season
Rouen55.png
Date June 3, 1956
Official Name XLIII Grand Prix de l'ACF
Location Rouen-Les-Essarts, Grand-Couronne, France
Course Permanent racing facility
6.542 km (4.065 mi)
Distance 54 laps, 353.268 km (219.51 mi)
Weather Cloudy
Pole Position
Driver Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Peter Collins B.C.M.A.
Time 2:25.32
Fastest Lap
Driver Flag of Australia svg.png Jack Brabham Gordini
Time 2:29.53
Podium
First Flag of Australia svg.png Jack Brabham Gordini
Second Flag of Italy svg.png Eugenio Castellotti Gordini
Third Flag of Italy svg.png Consalvo Sanesi Gordini


The 1956 French Grand Prix was the second race of the 1956 Formula One World Championship and was held in Rouen-les-Essarts on June 3rd 1956. Defending champion Jack Brabham scored his and Gordini's first victory of the season on the way to securing both titles. His teammates Eugenio Castellott and Consalvo Sanesi completed the podium, marking the first occasion a single constructor occupied the entire podium.

The race was marked by an accident that claimed the life of Dries van der Lof and seven spectators. Coming less than a year after the death of Alberto Ascari and the 1955 Le Mans disaster, the accident prompted Team Lotus to sit out the following Belgian Grand Prix, the withdrawal of FIAT from the sport, and was a major catalyst for the open discussion of safety in Formula One. O.S.C.A. principal Piero Taruffi's then-controversial call for safer circuits ignited a movement for safety improvements that would intensify following the fatal accidents in the Scottish Grand Prix later that year.

Background

The Monaco Grand Prix was full of ups and downs, with Jack Brabham having the pace, but failing to finish, Peter Collins leading most of the way, and then finally Desmond Titterington coming through with some ten laps remaining to score his first Grand Prix victory.

Now, after a three-week break, the teams have made their way to Northern France, Normandy to be precise, for the French Grand Prix at Rouen-les-Essarts. 39 drivers have signed up to this event, where 26 of them will take the start.

-In a bid to give Stuart Lewis-Evans added experience, Irish Racing Cars have agreed to a deal with Coventry Climax to run the young Brit in a third Lancia for this race in order to give him a shot in competitive machinery. -Following Phil Hill's eventful race in Monaco, he was forced to miss this race, prompting Ferrari to sign Umberto Maglioli as reserve driver and therefore as fifth driver for this race. -Also on Ferrari's agenda, their deal with Reatherson allowed them to request the Irish team to give Giulio Cabianca his début in this event in place of regular driver Cesare Perdisa. -Theo Fitzau's M.S.G. Köthen team was originally only going to compete in the German rounds, but an eagerness to get started prompted Theo to transport his O.S.C.A. package to Rouen as a trial run of sorts. -After administrative issues prevented the team from competing in Monaco, the Catalan Castelldefels team will be making their début in Rouen with Luigi Musso and Alfonso de Portago. -The fact that he is now 50 years old will not prevent Louis Rosier from racing, and having managed to scrape together enough funds, he's back in Formula One proper with an old Gordini loaned straight from the factory. -Administrative errors also prevented Roy Salvadori from joining team boss David Hampshire in Monaco, but these issues have been resolved, and both Vanwalls will be appearing in France. -Another French privateer appearing is Ecurie Voeckler, whose liquidation last year didn't prevent the Voeckler family from setting up shop once more, hiring a brand new Gordini and employing André Simon for a drive.

Unfortunately, there must be a prequalifying session. With 39 entrants and 26 grid spots, 13 drivers will compete in prequalifying. As usual, the top eight will make it to the main session.

Race weekend

Prequalifying

No real surprises here. Hamilton and Fangio should be skipping prequalifying for the next few races at least, so the competition should be much fiercer from this point on.

Qualifying

Once again, the 20 works drivers take the top 20 spots on the grid, leaving the last six spots for some underdogs. As a result, Giulio Cabianca, Cliff Allison and Gerino Gerini make their first starts, and Onofre Marimón makes his first start since 1954.

Race

Peter Collins got the best start at the front and led the first lap ahead of Brabham, Manzon, Whitehead, Castellotti and Brooks. The first few places changed constantly at the start, though Peter Collins kept the lead. The first retirement happened on lap 4, as Umberto Maglioli span out trying to defend from Tony Bettenhausen. Desmond Titterington was almost caught up in the accident as well, but avoided the chaos. On lap 11, Robert Manzon was knocked out in a similar incident against Peter Whitehead for fourth place. This left 24 cars in the race, an unusually low rate of attrition.

At this point, Brabham was well established in second place, but he was having to defend really hard from his young teammate Eugenio Castellotti. On lap 16, Gerino Gerini span out at Six-Frères out of sheer lack of experience. On the very next lap, Duncan Hamilton clipped the back of Tony Brooks' car and span into the earth bank at the exit of the first corner, reducing the field to 22 drivers. On lap 19, Collins' lead finally fell when Jack Brabham pulled off a stunning move on the outside at Grésil. He attempted to take the lead back, but on lap 21, possibly trying too hard, he left the track at Paradis and hit the earth bank, ending his race. What happened a few seconds later is best described by witnesses.

  • I saw van der Lof making some unusual twitches with his steering. The speaker had just told us that he'd had an accident, so I thought he was checking his steering for damage.
  • As he reached the paddock area, I saw a piece of debris fly away, and van der Lof's car suddenly dropped away. He started coming towards us. I ran away as fast as I could.
  • There was a loud bang, then a blinding flash as the car caught fire.
  • The Lotus was just rolling along the earth bank right in front of us. We took cover, but debris was flying everywhere.
  • I thought "This is it!", you know, "My life is over!"
  • When the noise stopped, I looked around, and people were lying down on the ground everywhere. It was horrible.
  • There were injured people crying out, there were people looking for people who were dead. And the car was still burning on the track.
  • Hell. It was hell.


Ambulances and emergency services were called for the spectators and Dries van der Lof. Tragically, by the time the fire was put out, Dries van der Lof had died from his burns.

But this is the fifties, and the race continued. Brabham now led from Whitehead, Castellotti, Bira, Sanesi and Godia. On lap 27, Maurice Trintignant span out defending from Marimón, though most suspected he deliberately stopped in the escape road, robbed of his motivation at the sight of his dead friend. André Simon did the same shortly thereafter, presumably also shaken by the accident. On lap 30, Eugenio Castellotti passed Peter Whitehead for second place. By this point, the fight was out of most drivers. On lap 35, Tony Brooks pulled into the pits with a look of disgust on his face and an "unidentified mechanical failure". He was followed by Giulio Cabianca soon thereafter, then one lap later by Paco Godia, who span off at Grésil, then one further lap later by Desmond Titterington, who pulled into the pits with a smoking engine.

With four laps to go, Sanesi caught and passed Peter Whitehead to complete a Gordini 1-2-3 behind Brabham and Castellotti. After that, positions remained stationary until the end of the race. Jack Brabham took a joyless race victory (coupled with fastest lap), followed by teammates Eugenio Castellotti and Consalvo Sanesi.

Classification

Entry list

No Driver Entrant Chassis Engine
2 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Desmond Titterington Flag of Ireland svg.png Irish Racing Cars Lancia D50 Lancia DS50 2.5 V8
4 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Duncan Hamilton Lancia D50 Lancia DS50 2.5 V8
6 Flag of Argentina svg.png Juan Manuel Fangio Flag of Italy svg.png Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari R560 Ferrari RS560 2.5 L4
8 Flag of Brazil svg.png Hernando da Silva Ramos Ferrari R560 Ferrari RS560 2.5 L4
10 Flag of Spain svg.png Paco Godia Ferrari R560 Ferrari RS560 2.5 L4
12 Flag of the United States svg.png Tony Bettenhausen Ferrari R560 Ferrari RS560 2.5 L4
14 Flag of Italy svg.png Umberto Maglioli Ferrari R560 Ferrari RS560 2.5 L4
16 Flag of Italy svg.png Giulio Cabianca Flag of Ireland svg.png Reatherson Racing Developments Ferrari R560 Ferrari RS560 2.5 L4
18 Flag of France svg.png Robert Manzon Flag of Italy svg.png Officine Specializzate Costruzione Automobili O.S.C.A. F156A O.S.C.A. 1500S-56 1.5 L6s
20 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Stirling Moss O.S.C.A. F156A O.S.C.A. 1500S-56 1.5 L6s
22 Flag of Argentina svg.png José Froilán González O.S.C.A. F156A O.S.C.A. 1500S-56 1.5 L6s
24 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Peter Whitehead O.S.C.A. F156A O.S.C.A. 1500S-56 1.5 L6s
26 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Stuart Lewis-Evans Flag of Ireland svg.png Irish Racing Cars Lancia D50 Climax FPF IV 2.0 L4
28 Flag of Italy svg.png Maria Teresa de Filippis Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Brits Under No European Legislation O.S.C.A. F154 Porsche 755 1.5 L4
30 Flag of Monaco svg.png Louis Chiron Flag of Morocco svg.png Écurie Maghreb AAC 555 AAC 555 2.5 L4
32 Flag of Germany svg.png Theo Fitzau Flag of Germany svg.png MSG Köthen O.S.C.A. F156A O.S.C.A. 1500S-56 1.5 L6s
34 Flag of Spain svg.png Alfonso de Portago Flag of Spain svg.png Equipo Castelldefels Guidobaldi FG01 Loonmotor SAMC-1A 1.5 L8
36 Flag of Italy svg.png Luigi Musso Guidobaldi FG01 Loonmotor SAMC-1A 1.5 L8
38 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Cliff Allison Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Vanwall Vanwall VW56 Vanwall 254 2.5 L4
40 Flag of Italy svg.png Gerino Gerini Flag of Italy svg.png Scuderia Adriatica Ferrari R560 Ferrari RS560 2.5 L4
42 Flag of Italy svg.png Dorino Serafini Ferrari R560 Ferrari RS560 2.5 L4
44 Flag of Belgium svg.png Lucien Bianchi Flag of Italy svg.png Officine Alfieri Maserati Cooper T41 Maserati 56A 2.5 V8
46 Flag of Italy svg.png Consalvo Sanesi Flag of France svg.png Alexander Racing Team-Gordini Gordini Type 56 Gordini G258/A 2.5 L8
48 Flag of Australia svg.png Jack Brabham Gordini Type 56 Gordini G258/A 2.5 L8
50 Flag of Italy svg.png Eugenio Castellotti Gordini Type 56 Gordini G258/A 2.5 L8
52 Flag of France svg.png Louis Rosier Flag of France svg.png Écurie Rosier Gordini G-953 Gordini ART-004 3.0 V6
54 Flag of Thailand svg.png B. Bira Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Team Lotus Lotus 10 B.C.M.A. A/AS Griffin 2.5 L6
56 Flag of the Netherlands svg.png Dries van der Lof Lotus 10 B.C.M.A. A/AS Griffin 2.5 L6
58 Flag of France svg.png Maurice Trintignant Lotus 10 B.C.M.A. A/AS Griffin 2.5 L6
60 Flag of Argentina svg.png Onofre Marimón Flag of Italy svg.png Asso di Fiori O.S.C.A. F156A O.S.C.A. 1500S-56 1.5 L6s
62 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Ron Flockhart Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png British Racing Motors BRM P25 BRM P25 2.5 L4
64 Flag of Belgium svg.png Paul Frère AAC 555 AAC 555 2.5 L4
66 Flag of France svg.png Jean Behra AAC 555 AAC 555 2.5 L4
68 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png David Hampshire Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Hampshire Racing Alliance Vanwall VW56 Vanwall 254 2.5 L4
70 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Roy Salvadori Vanwall VW56 O.S.C.A. 1500S-56 1.5 L6s
72 Flag of France svg.png André Simon Flag of France svg.png Alexander Racing Team-Gordini Gordini Type 56 Gordini G258/A 2.5 L8
74 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Peter Collins Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png British Commonwealth Motorsport Association B.C.M.A. C-01 B.C.M.A. A/AS Griffin 2.5 L6
76 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Tony Brooks B.C.M.A. C-01 B.C.M.A. A/AS Griffin 2.5 L6
78 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Mike Hawthorn B.C.M.A. C-01 B.C.M.A. A/AS Griffin 2.5 L6

Prequalifying

Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap
1 4 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Duncan Hamilton Lancia 2:32.71 -
2 6 Flag of Argentina svg.png Juan Manuel Fangio Ferrari 2:36.50 + 3.79
3 60 Flag of Argentina svg.png Onofre Marimón O.S.C.A. 2:37.41 + 4.70
4 16 Flag of Italy svg.png Giulio Cabianca Ferrari 2:39.22 + 6.51
5 38 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Cliff Allison Vanwall 2:41.02 + 8.31
6 70 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Roy Salvadori Vanwall-O.S.C.A. 2:43.58 + 10.87
7 30 Flag of Monaco svg.png Louis Chiron AAC 2:46.45 + 13.74
8 40 Flag of Italy svg.png Gerino Gerini Ferrari 2:46.91 + 14.20
9 66 Flag of France svg.png Jean Behra AAC 2:47.65 + 14.94
10 44 Flag of Belgium svg.png Lucien Bianchi Cooper-Maserati 2:50.33 + 17.62
11 64 Flag of Belgium svg.png Paul Frère AAC 2:50.88 + 18.17
12 52 Flag of France svg.png Louis Rosier Gordini 2:52.04 + 19.33
13 62 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Ron Flockhart BRM 2:53.81 + 21.10

Qualifying

Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap
1 74 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Peter Collins B.C.M.A. 2:25.32 -
2 18 Flag of France svg.png Robert Manzon O.S.C.A. 2:25.64 + 0.32
3 76 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Tony Brooks B.C.M.A. 2:25.87 + 0.55
4 48 Flag of Australia svg.png Jack Brabham Gordini 2:26.89 + 1.57
5 10 Flag of Spain svg.png Paco Godia Ferrari 2:27.56 + 2.24
6 22 Flag of Argentina svg.png José Froilán González O.S.C.A. 2:28.02 + 2.70
7 24 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Peter Whitehead O.S.C.A. 2:28.63 + 3.31
8 50 Flag of Italy svg.png Eugenio Castellotti Gordini 2:29.04 + 3.72
9 54 Flag of Thailand svg.png B. Bira Lotus-B.C.M.A. 2:29.42 + 4.10
10 46 Flag of Italy svg.png Consalvo Sanesi Gordini 2:30.03 + 4.71
11 56 Flag of the Netherlands svg.png Dries van der Lof Lotus-B.C.M.A. 2:30.04 + 4.72
12 2 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Desmond Titterington Lancia 2:30.32 + 5.00
13 12 Flag of the United States svg.png Tony Bettenhausen Ferrari 2:30.84 + 5.52
14 14 Flag of Italy svg.png Umberto Maglioli Ferrari 2:31.02 + 5.70
15 4 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Duncan Hamilton Lancia 2:31.86 + 6.54
16 6 Flag of Argentina svg.png Juan Manuel Fangio Ferrari 2:32.85 + 7.53
17 20 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Stirling Moss O.S.C.A. 2:33.49 + 8.17
18 78 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Mike Hawthorn B.C.M.A. 2:33.89 + 8.57
19 58 Flag of France svg.png Maurice Trintignant Lotus-B.C.M.A. 2:34.27 + 8.95
20 8 Flag of Brazil svg.png Hernando da Silva Ramos Ferrari 2:34.45 + 9.13
21 16 Flag of Italy svg.png Giulio Cabianca Ferrari 2:38.05 + 12.73
22 26 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Stuart Lewis-Evans Lancia-Climax 2:38.49 + 13.17
23 72 Flag of France svg.png André Simon Gordini 2:40.08 + 14.76
24 60 Flag of Argentina svg.png Onofre Marimón O.S.C.A. 2:40.11 + 14.79
25 38 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Cliff Allison Vanwall 2:41.80 + 16.48
26 40 Flag of Italy svg.png Gerino Gerini Ferrari 2:42.76 + 17.44
27 28 Flag of Italy svg.png Maria Teresa de Filippis O.S.C.A.-Porsche 2:42.93 + 17.61
28 68 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png David Hampshire Vanwall 2:43.22 + 17.90
29 70 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Roy Salvadori Vanwall-O.S.C.A. 2:45.11 + 19.79
30 32 Flag of Germany svg.png Theo Fitzau O.S.C.A. 2:45.78 + 20.46
31 30 Flag of Monaco svg.png Louis Chiron AAC 2:48.72 + 23.40
32 42 Flag of Italy svg.png Dorino Serafini Ferrari 2:48.73 + 23.41
33 34 Flag of Spain svg.png Alfonso de Portago Guidobaldi-Loonmotor 2:52.52 + 27.20
34 36 Flag of Italy svg.png Luigi Musso Guidobaldi-Loonmotor 2:53.25 + 27.93

Race

Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts
1 48 Flag of Australia svg.png Jack Brabham Gordini 54 2:23:06.13 4 9
2 50 Flag of Italy svg.png Eugenio Castellotti Gordini 54 + 1:50.76 8 6
3 46 Flag of Italy svg.png Consalvo Sanesi Gordini 53 + 1 lap 10 4
4 24 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Peter Whitehead O.S.C.A. 53 + 1 lap 7 3
5 54 Flag of Thailand svg.png B. Bira Lotus-B.C.M.A. 51 + 3 laps 9 2
6 22 Flag of Argentina svg.png José Froilán González O.S.C.A. 51 + 3 laps 6 1
7 78 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Mike Hawthorn B.C.M.A. 51 + 3 laps 18
8 8 Flag of Brazil svg.png Hernando da Silva Ramos Ferrari 50 + 4 laps 20
9 20 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Stirling Moss O.S.C.A. 49 + 5 laps 17
10 38 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Cliff Allison Vanwall 49 + 5 laps 25
11 12 Flag of the United States svg.png Tony Bettenhausen Ferrari 49 + 5 laps 13
12 6 Flag of Argentina svg.png Juan Manuel Fangio Ferrari 49 + 5 laps 16
13 60 Flag of Argentina svg.png Onofre Marimón O.S.C.A. 49 + 5 laps 24
Ret 10 Flag of Spain svg.png Paco Godia Ferrari 38 Spin 5
Ret 2 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Desmond Titterington Lancia 38 Engine 12
Ret 16 Flag of Italy svg.png Giulio Cabianca Ferrari 35 Withdrew 21
Ret 76 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Tony Brooks B.C.M.A. 33 Withdrew 3
Ret 72 Flag of France svg.png André Simon Gordini 26 Spin 23
Ret 58 Flag of France svg.png Maurice Trintignant Lotus-B.C.M.A. 25 Collision 19
Ret 56 Flag of the Netherlands svg.png Dries van der Lof Lotus-B.C.M.A. 22 Fatal accident 11
Ret 26 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Stuart Lewis-Evans Lancia-Climax 21 Collision 22
Ret 74 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Peter Collins B.C.M.A. 20 Accident 1
Ret 4 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Duncan Hamilton Lancia 16 Collision 15
Ret 40 Flag of Italy svg.png Gerino Gerini Ferrari 15 Spin 26
Ret 18 Flag of France svg.png Robert Manzon O.S.C.A. 10 Collision 2
Ret 14 Flag of Italy svg.png Umberto Maglioli Ferrari 3 Collision 14
DNQ 28 Flag of Italy svg.png Maria Teresa de Filippis O.S.C.A.-Porsche
DNQ 68 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png David Hampshire Vanwall
DNQ 70 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Roy Salvadori Vanwall-O.S.C.A.
DNQ 32 Flag of Germany svg.png Theo Fitzau O.S.C.A.
DNQ 30 Flag of Monaco svg.png Louis Chiron AAC
DNQ 42 Flag of Italy svg.png Dorino Serafini Ferrari
DNQ 34 Flag of Spain svg.png Alfonso de Portago Guidobaldi-Loonmotor
DNQ 36 Flag of Italy svg.png Luigi Musso Guidobaldi-Loonmotor
DNPQ 66 Flag of France svg.png Jean Behra AAC
DNPQ 44 Flag of Belgium svg.png Lucien Bianchi Cooper-Maserati
DNPQ 64 Flag of Belgium svg.png Paul Frère AAC
DNPQ 52 Flag of France svg.png Louis Rosier Gordini
DNPQ 62 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Ron Flockhart BRM

Notes

Drivers

Constructors

Entrants

Lap leaders

Records broken

Drivers

Constructors

Championship standings

Pos Driver Points
1= Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Desmond Titterington 9
1= Flag of Australia svg.png Jack Brabham 9
3= Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png Peter Collins 6
3= Flag of Italy svg.png Eugenio Castellotti 6
5 Flag of Argentina svg.png Juan Manuel Fangio 4
Pos Constructor Points
1 Flag of France svg.png Gordini 9
2 Flag of Italy svg.png Lancia 9
3 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png B.C.M.A. 6
4 Flag of Italy svg.png O.S.C.A. 6
5 Flag of Italy svg.png Ferrari 4
Pos Driver Points
1 Flag of France svg.png Alexander Racing Team-Gordini 9
2 Flag of Ireland svg.png Irish Racing Cars 9
3 Flag of the United Kingdom svg.png British Commonwealth Motorsport Association 6
4 Flag of Italy svg.png Officine Specializzate Costruzione Automobili 6
5 Flag of Italy svg.png Scuderia Ferrari 4
  • Only the top five positions are listed.
Previous race:
1956 Monaco Grand Prix
Alternate Formula 1 World Championship
1956 Season
Next race:
1956 Belgian Grand Prix
Previous race:
1955 French Grand Prix
French Grand Prix Next race:
1957 French Grand Prix