The 1956 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 1 July 1956 at Reims. It was race 5 of 8 in the 1956 World Championship of Drivers.
Bugatti made a one-off appearance in this race with their Type 251, a Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout driven by Maurice Trintignant. The car proved to be uncompetitive and he retired after 18 laps.
This race was also notable for being the only Formula One World Championship entry as a driver for Team Lotus founder Colin Chapman.
Classification Qualifying +PosNoDriverConstructorTimeGap1 10 Juan Manuel Fangio Ferrari 2:23.3—2 12 Eugenio Castellotti Ferrari 2:24.6 +1.33 14 Peter Collins Ferrari 2:25.6 +2.34 22 Harry Schell Vanwall 2:26.1 +2.85 26 Colin Chapman Vanwall 2:26.8 +3.56 24 Mike Hawthorn Vanwall 2:27.0 +3.77 4 Jean Behra Maserati 2:27.8 +4.58 2 Stirling Moss Maserati 2:29.9 +6.69 16 Alfonso de Portago Ferrari 2:30.9 +7.610 38 Luigi Villoresi Maserati 2:33.3 +10.011 44 Olivier Gendebien Ferrari 2:34.5 +11.212 36 Louis Rosier Maserati 2:35.3 +12.013 8 Piero Taruffi Maserati 2:35.6 +12.314 32 Hermano da Silva Ramos Gordini 2:35.9 +12.615 30 Robert Manzon Gordini 2:36.0 +12.716 6 Cesare Perdisa Maserati 2:36.4 +13.117 40 Paco Godia Maserati 2:40.0 +16.718 28 Maurice Trintignant Bugatti 2:41.9 +18.619 34 André Pilette Gordini 2:46.8 +23.520 42 André Simon Maserati 2:47.9 +24.6 Source:
Race Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 14 Peter Collins Ferrari 61 2:34:23.4 3 8 2 12 Eugenio Castellotti Ferrari 61 +0.3 2 6 3 4 Jean Behra Maserati 61 +1:29.9 7 4 4 10 Juan Manuel Fangio Ferrari 61 +1:35.1 1 4 5 6 Cesare Perdisa Stirling Moss Maserati 59 +2 Laps 13 11 6 36 Louis Rosier Maserati 58 +3 Laps 12 7 40 Paco Godia Maserati 57 +4 Laps 17 8 32 Hermano da Silva Ramos Gordini 57 +4 Laps 14 9 30 Robert Manzon Gordini 56 +5 Laps 15 10 24 Mike Hawthorn Harry Schell Vanwall 56 +5 Laps 6 11 34 André Pilette Gordini 55 +6 Laps 19 42 André Simon Maserati 41 Engine 20 8 Piero Taruffi Maserati 40 Engine 16 44 Olivier Gendebien Ferrari 38 Clutch 11 38 Luigi Villoresi Maserati 23 Brakes 10 16 Alfonso de Portago Ferrari 20 Gearbox 9 28 Maurice Trintignant Bugatti 18 Throttle 18 2 Stirling Moss Maserati 12 Gearbox 8 22 Harry Schell Vanwall 5 Engine 4 26 Colin Chapman Vanwall Accident/driver injured 5 Notes – Includes 1 point for fastest lap
Shared drives Car #6: Cesare Perdisa (20 laps) and Stirling Moss (39 laps). They shared the 2 points for fifth place. Car #24: Mike Hawthorn (10 laps) and Harry Schell (46 laps).
Championship standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Peter Collins 19 1 2 Jean Behra 14 1 3 Juan Manuel Fangio 13 2 4 Stirling Moss 12 5 Pat Flaherty 8Source:
References