French GP 1957

French GP, 1957

The Belgian and Dutch Grands Prix, which had been scheduled for June 2 and June 16, were both canceled because of disputes over money and so there was a six-week break between Monaco and the French GP. The top teams had changed little although Luigi Musso was back in a Lancia-Ferrari alongside Peter Collins, Mike Hawthorn and Maurice Trintignant. Maserati fielded Juan-Manuel Fangio, Jean Behra, Harry Schell and Carlos Menditeguy. Roy Salvadori had left BRM but for the French race was in a Vanwall alongside Stuart Lewis-Evans because both Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks were out of action, Moss with a sinus infection and Brooks as a result of a crash at Le Mans. BRM ran Ron Flockhart and American Herbert McKay-Fraser.

In practice Fangio was fastest with Behra and Musso alongside on the front row. Behind them were Schell and Collins with the third row comprising of Salvadori, Hawthorn and Trintignant.

At the start Behra went into the lead but Musso soon got ahead. Fangio followed in third with Collins and Schell giving chase. Then came a fast-starting McKay-Fraser. Fangio worked his way past Behra on the second lap and took Musso for the lead on lap four. BRM suffered a setback when Flockhart seriously damaged his car in a high-speed accident, although he himself was not hurt. Collins worked his way past Behra and the order remained unchanged at the front all the way to the flag with Fangio winning from Musso and Collins. Behra slipped behind Hawthorn, allowing the English man to give the Lancia-Ferraris a 2-3-4 finish behind Fangio. McKay-Fraser's promising run ended with a transmission failure at one-third distance but the American would not be seen again in F1. He was to die a few days later in the annual Formula 2 race at Reims.

POSNODRIVERENTRANTLAPSTIME/RETIREMENTQUAL POS
Juan-Manuel Fangio Maserati 250F 77 3h07m46.400s  
10 Luigi Musso Lancia Ferrari 801 77 3h08m37.200s  
12 Peter Collins Lancia Ferrari 801 77 3h09m52.400s  
14 Mike Hawthorn Lancia Ferrari 801 76  
Jean Behra Maserati 250F 70  
Harry Schell Maserati 250F 70  
7= 24 Michael MacDowel Cooper-Climax T43   15 
7= 24 Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax T43 68   
18 Stuart Lewis-Evans Vanwall VW (57) 30 Steering 10 
Carlos Menditeguy Maserati 250F 30 Engine 
20 Roy Salvadori Vanwall VW (57) 25 Engine 
28 Herbert Mackay-Fraser BRM P25 24 Transmission 12 
16 Maurice Trintignant Lancia Ferrari 801 23 Magneto 
30 Horace Gould Maserati 250F Mechanical 14 
22 Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax T43 Accident 13 
26 Ron Flockhart BRM P25 Accident 11