1953 French Grand Prix: Full Weekend Report & Highlights

After 300 miles of racing, the 1953 French Grand Prix was decided in the final straight when Mike Hawthorn in a Ferrari overtook Juan Manuel Fangio in a Maserati to clinch victory.

Season: 1953 F1 World Championship
Race date: 5 July 1953
Circuit: Reims Circuit, Gueux, France
Laps: 60
Circuit length: 8.347 km (5.187 miles)

With just a second separating the leading two cars, it was widely acclaimed as the best grand prix since the inception of the Formula One World Championship and marked the first win by a British driver. Throughout the season, a fierce battle for Italian pride raged between Ferraris and Maseratis, culminating at the Reims circuit.

Jose Froilan Gonzalez, driving a Maserati, took an early lead in his A6GCM, but his light fuel load forced him to pit, thrusting him back into a fierce contest with Fangio, Hawthorn, and Alberto Ascari in a Ferrari. The battle raged on for the entire race, with no driver able to gain a clear advantage. In the end, the top four cars crossed the finish line within five seconds of each other, a remarkable feat after 2 hours and 44 minutes of racing. Gonzalez finished third.

Qualifying

POS.	NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME
1	10	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	2:41.200
2	24	Felice Bonetto	Maserati	2:41.500
3	12	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	2:41.900
4	18	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	2:42.000
5	20	Jose Froilan Gonzalez	Maserati	2:42.400
6	14	Nino Farina	Ferrari	2:42.500
7	16	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	2:43.500
8	22	Onofre Marimon	Maserati	2:44.700
9	46	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati	2:46.100
10	44	Louis Rosier	Ferrari	2:49.600
11	42	Prince Bira	Connaught Lea Francis	2:53.200
12	38	Bob Gerard	Cooper Bristol	2:54.200
13	36	Stirling Moss	Cooper Alta	2:55.700
14	40	Ken Wharton	Cooper Bristol	2:55.800
15	34	Elie Bayol	OSCA	2:56.900
16	26	Lance Macklin	HWM Alta	2:57.200
17	28	Peter Collins	HWM Alta	3:02.000
18	30	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	HWM Alta	3:06.700
19	50	Roy Salvadori	Connaught Lea Francis	3:23.000
20	6	Harry Schell	Gordini	3:25.800
21	48	Johnny Claes	Connaught Lea Francis	4:06.500
22	2	Jean Behra	Gordini
23	4	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini
24	8	Roberto Mieres	Gordini
25	32	Louis Chiron	OSCA

1953 French Grand Starting Grid

POS.	NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME
1	10	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	2:41.200
2	24	Felice Bonetto	Maserati	2:41.500
3	12	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	2:41.900
4	18	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	2:42.000
5	20	Jose Froilan Gonzalez	Maserati	2:42.400
6	14	Nino Farina	Ferrari	2:42.500
7	16	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	2:43.500
8	22	Onofre Marimon	Maserati	2:44.700
9	46	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati	2:46.100
10	44	Louis Rosier	Ferrari	2:49.600
11	42	Prince Bira	Connaught Lea Francis	2:53.200
12	38	Bob Gerard	Cooper Bristol	2:54.200
13	36	Stirling Moss	Cooper Alta	2:55.700
14	40	Ken Wharton	Cooper Bristol	2:55.800
15	34	Elie Bayol	OSCA	2:56.900
16	26	Lance Macklin	HWM Alta	2:57.200
17	28	Peter Collins	HWM Alta	3:02.000
18	30	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	HWM Alta	3:06.700
19	50	Roy Salvadori	Connaught Lea Francis	3:23.000
20	6	Harry Schell	Gordini	3:25.800
21	48	Johnny Claes	Connaught Lea Francis	4:06.500
22	2	Jean Behra	Gordini
23	4	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini
24	8	Roberto Mieres	Gordini
25	32	Louis Chiron	OSCA

1953 French Grand Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	16	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	60	2:44:18.600	8
2	18	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	60	+1.000s	6.5
3	20	Jose Froilan Gonzalez	Maserati	60	+1.400s	4
4	10	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	60	+4.600s	3.5
5	14	Nino Farina	Ferrari	60	+67.600s	2
6	12	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	60	+75.900s	0
7	46	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati	58	+2 laps	0
8	44	Louis Rosier	Ferrari	56	+4 laps	0
9	22	Onofre Marimon	Maserati	55	+5 laps	0
10	2	Jean Behra	Gordini	55	+5 laps	0
11	38	Bob Gerard	Cooper Bristol	55	+5 laps	0
12	48	Johnny Claes	Connaught Lea Francis	53	+7 laps	0
13	28	Peter Collins	HWM Alta	52	+8 laps	0
14	30	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	HWM Alta	50	+10 laps	0
15	32	Louis Chiron	OSCA	43	+17 laps	0
NC	24	Felice Bonetto	Maserati	42	DNF	0
NC	36	Stirling Moss	Cooper Alta	38	DNF	0
NC	42	Prince Bira	Connaught Lea Francis	29	DNF	0
NC	34	Elie Bayol	OSCA	18	DNF	0
NC	40	Ken Wharton	Cooper Bristol	17	DNF	0
NC	4	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	14	DNF	0
NC	26	Lance Macklin	HWM Alta	9	DNF	0
NC	8	Roberto Mieres	Gordini	4	DNF	0
NC	6	Harry Schell	Gordini	4	DNF	0
NC	50	Roy Salvadori	Connaught Lea Francis	2	DNF	0

1953 Post-Race F1 Drivers’ Championship Standings

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Alberto Ascari	28
2	Mike Hawthorn	14
3	Luigi Villoresi	13
4	Jose Froilan Gonzalez	11
5	Bill Vukovich	9

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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.