1956 French Grand Prix

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.

1956 French Grand Prix
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Reims-Gueux layout
Race details
Date	1 July 1956
Official name	XLII Grand Prix de l'ACF
Location	Reims Circuit, Reims, France
Course	Temporary road course
Course length	8.302 km (5.159 miles)
Distance	61 laps, 506.422 km (314.676 miles)
Pole position
Driver	Juan Manuel Fangio	Ferrari
Time	2:23.3
Fastest lap
Driver	Juan Manuel Fangio	Ferrari
Time	2:25.8
Podium
First	Peter Collins	Ferrari
Second	Eugenio Castellotti	Ferrari
Third	Jean Behra	Maserati
Lap leaders

Bugatti made a one-off appearance in this race with their Type 251 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 Lotus founder Colin Chapman.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	10	Juan Manuel Fangio	Ferrari	2:23.3	—
2	12	Eugenio Castellotti	Ferrari	2:24.6	+1.3
3	14	Peter Collins	Ferrari	2:25.6	+2.3
4	22	Harry Schell	Vanwall	2:26.1	+2.8
5	26	Colin Chapman	Vanwall	2:26.8	+3.5
6	24	Mike Hawthorn	Vanwall	2:27.0	+3.7
7	4	Jean Behra	Maserati	2:27.8	+4.5
8	2	Stirling Moss	Maserati	2:29.9	+6.6
9	16	Alfonso de Portago	Ferrari	2:30.9	+7.6
10	38	Luigi Villoresi	Maserati	2:33.3	+10.0
11	44	Olivier Gendebien	Ferrari	2:34.5	+11.2
12	36	Louis Rosier	Maserati	2:35.3	+12.0
13	8	Piero Taruffi	Maserati	2:35.6	+12.3
14	32	Hermano da Silva Ramos	Gordini	2:35.9	+12.6
15	30	Robert Manzon	Gordini	2:36.0	+12.7
16	6	Cesare Perdisa	Maserati	2:36.4	+13.1
17	40	Paco Godia	Maserati	2:40.0	+16.7
18	28	Maurice Trintignant	Bugatti	2:41.9	+18.6
19	34	André Pilette	Gordini	2:46.8	+23.5
20	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	1 1
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
Ret	42	André Simon	Maserati	41	Engine	20
Ret	8	Piero Taruffi	Maserati	40	Engine	16
Ret	44	Olivier Gendebien	Ferrari	38	Clutch	11
Ret	38	Luigi Villoresi	Maserati	23	Brakes	10
Ret	16	Alfonso de Portago	Ferrari	20	Gearbox	9
Ret	28	Maurice Trintignant	Bugatti	18	Throttle	18
Ret	2	Stirling Moss	Maserati	12	Gearbox	8
Ret	22	Harry Schell	Vanwall	5	Engine	4
DNS	26	Colin Chapman	Vanwall		Accident/driver injured	5
Source:

Notes

• ^1 – 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	8
Source:

• Note: Only the top five positions are included.