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The 1950 Monaco Grand Prix was the second race of the inaugural Formula One World Championship in 1950. The 100-lap race took place on May 21 1950 and was won by Juan Manuel Fangio from lights to flag. Fangio also set the fastest lap, thus completing the second hat-trick in Formula One history, in the second race.

Background

1950 saw a return to the calendar for the Monaco Grand Prix, the event had seen a year's absence from the grand prix calendar following the death of Prince Louis II in 1949. The last race in 1948 had been won by Giuseppe Farina, the Alfa Romeo driver having also just came off the backbone of his victory at Silverstone one week earlier. Monaco had one representive for its nation in the race, Louis Chiron, the Monagasque veteran would be participating for Maserati in the race. There was talk of Chiron taking a one-off drive at Alfa Romeo, the home favourite was a popular candidate and would be in prime position for the potential for a second home win, adding to his Monaco victory from way back in 1931. However Alfa Romeo opted to stick with its regular line-up of Farina, Fangio and Fagioli, although the team did name Chiron as reserve driver if something were to happen to their regular line-up.

The Monaco race would see the debut of manufacturers, Ferrari and Simca-Gordini in the world championship. Ferrari had snubbed the opening round of the championship at Silverstone, the team feeling the prize money provided was not worth competing over, Enzo Ferrari placing greater value of a minor Formula Two race at Mons over the World Championship debut event. Following the Alfa Romeo domination at Silverstone, the Ferrari drivers of Luigi Villoresi, Alberto Ascari and Raymond Sommer were believed to be the only true rivals to the Alfa's strength. Aside from the works Ferrari's, Peter Whitehead would enter his privately owned Ferrari 125 to enter for the event.

The other manufacturer to debut at Monaco was the Simca-Gordini outfit. The minor French manufacturer was expected to be a solid midfield team with Maurice Trintignant, André Simon and Robert Manzon racing at their helm. Simon, however would cancel his entry prior to the beginning of the event. After a disappointing run in Silverstone, the major French manufacturer had scaled back its works team to fielding only Yves-Giraud Cabantous, although Philippe Étancelin, Louis Rosier, Pierre Levegh, Charles Pozzi and Johnny Claes would continue to compete in the modern T26C's as privateer racers.

Louis Chiron and Franco Rol continued as the works Maserati drivers whilst privateer team, Scuderia Achille Varzi made their debut with Maserati machinery. The youthful Argentine, José Froilán González, had joined the team as successor to Juan Manuel Fangio's place in the team and alongside him was Alfredo Piàn. The Enrico Platé squad continued with Prince Bira and Baron de Graffenried as their drivers, whilst Clemente Biondetti was also racing a Maserati 4CLT, albeit the car had been modified by his team, Scuderia Milano.

Bob Gerard and Cuth Harrison would also participate as minor privateers, the duo competing in old A and B Type ERA machinery. Notably making his grand prix debut was American, Harry Schell. Schell would notably debut with a Cooper car designed for Formula Two and Formula Three racing, the small nimble Cooper was powered by a JAP motorcycle engine. It was also notably the first car in Formula One in which the engine manufacturer and chassis design had been built independently from one another.

Qualifying

Qualifying Report

In order to increase competition for the qualifying sessions, the event organisers decreed the first five grid positions would be allocated to the first five fastest cars in the first timed practice sessions. This decision had caught Ferrari unawares, the works team had not planned to arrive at the circuit until the Saturday qualifying sessions. This provided a huge advantage for Alfa Romeo with their main rivals unable to secure a position in the top five grid slots, Fangio ran excellently to take pole, his time being 2.6 seconds faster than teammate Farina's best time. Fagioli appeared to be struggling in his Alfa and could not better his two teammates. In fact, the old Italian veteran was pushed down to fifth, young gun, José Froilán González had managed to put his Maserati third on the grid in his first grand prix qualifying. Philippe Étancelin had also done well to put his private Talbot-Lago into fourth. Fagioli who was struggling bounced back on the second day of qualifying, his time being good enough for second on the grid, however his poor run on Friday had meant he would have to start from fifth.

When Ferrari arrived for the second timed session, their times meant they were running competitively, however neither Villoresi, Ascari or Sommer could beat the top three of Fangio, Farina and surprisingly González's Maserati. There absence from the first session meant Villoresi and Ascari would start from sixth and seventh whilst Sommer had been bumped down to ninth when local hero, Louis Chiron put in a strong time to put his car into eighth. Rounding out the top ten was Louis Rosier's Talbot-Lago.

Robert Manzon was the fastest Simca-Gordini in eleventh ahead of De Graffenried's Maserati and his teammate Maurice Trintignant. Cuth Harrison was fourteenth ahead of a disappointed Prince Bira in fifteenth. Bob Gerard in his old ERA A Type was sixteenth ahead of Franco Rol and Johnny Claes. Whilst González had impressed for Scuderia Achille Varzi, his teammate Alfredo Piàn had also been running well. In unofficial practice he had put in times fast enough for sixth on the grid, but at the end of the session he had spun his Maserati on oil and crashed against the guard rail. Piàn sustained leg injuries and subsequently could not participate in the race, the team's expectations being pinned solely on González.

Yves-Giraud Cabantous's Talbot-Lago had significant mechanical troubles which saw him participate in none of the practice sessions at the circuit, the problems were so bad he was forced to withdraw his entry to the event. The withdrawal of Cabantous meant Talbot-Lago had no works entry for the race, the manufacturer having to rely on its privateers to represent its presence in the race. Peter Whitehead also withdrew his private Ferrari when he suffered three engine failures in rapid succession during practice, the costs being too high to maintain an entry into the race. The entry's of Charles Pozzi and Clemente Biondetti were also removed when they failed to turn up to the event. Harry Schell in his little JAP engined Cooper had experienced multiple problems during practice, he had failed to set a lap time in either timed session, however he vowed to continue on in the race albeit starting from the back of the grid.

Qualifying Results

Pos No. Driver Constructor Time Gap % Avg Speed
1 34 Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo 1:50.2 100% 103.884
2 32 Nino Farina Alfa Romeo 1:52.8 +2.6 102.4% 101.489
3 2 José Froilán González Maserati 1:53.7 +3.5 103.2% 100.686
4 14 Philippe Étançelin Talbot-Lago-Talbot 1:54.1 +3.9 103.5% 100.333
5 36 Luigi Fagioli Alfa Romeo 1:54.2 +4 103.6% 100.245
6 38 Luigi Villoresi Ferrari 1:52.3 +2.1 101.9% 101.941
7 40 Alberto Ascari Ferrari 1:53.8 +3.6 103.3% 100.598
8 48 Louis Chiron Maserati 1:56.3 +6.1 105.5% 98.435
9 42 Raymond Sommer Ferrari 1:56.6 +6.4 105.8% 98.182
10 16 Louis Rosier Talbot-Lago-Talbot 1:57.7 +7.5 106.8% 97.264
11 10 Robert Manzon Simca-Gordini 2:04.0 +13.8 112.5% 92.323
12 52 Emmanuel de Graffenried Maserati 2:00.7 +10.5 109.5% 94.847
13 12 Maurice Trintignant Simca-Gordini 2:19.4 +29.2 126.5% 82.123
14 24 Cuth Harrison ERA 2:01.6 +11.4 110.3% 94.145
15 50 Prince Bira Maserati 2:02.2 +12 110.9% 93.682
16 26 Bob Gerard ERA 2:03.4 +13.2 112% 92.771
17 44 Franco Rol Maserati 2:04.5 +14.3 113% 91.952
18 6 Johnny Claes Talbot-Lago-Talbot 2:12.0 +21.8 119.8% 86.727
19 8 Harry Schell Cooper-JAP No Time
20 4 Alfredo Piàn Maserati No Time

Grid

Pos Pos Pos
Driver Driver Driver
______________
______________ 1
______________ 2 Juan Manuel Fangio
3 Giuseppe Farina
José Froilán González
______________
______________ 4
5 Philippe Étancelin
Luigi Fagioli
______________
______________ 6
______________ 7 Luigi Villoresi
8 Alberto Ascari
Louis Chiron
______________
______________ 9
10 Raymond Sommer
Louis Rosier
______________
______________ 11
______________ 12 Robert Manzon
13 Emmanuel de Graffenried
Maurice Trintignant
______________
______________ 14
15 Cuth Harrison
Prince Bira
______________
______________ 16
______________ 17 Bob Gerard
18 Franco Rol
Johnny Claes
______________
______________ 19
20 Harry Schell




Race

1950 2 Farina Rosier Fangio

Carnage at Tabac

Report

The weather ahead of the race was cool, yet sunny. The waves from the harbour were crashing against the shoreline, sometimes spraying the circuit around the area of Tabac. Alfa Romeo looked set to retain their dominant advantage, however they faced closer competition than they had done in Silverstone, setting the stage for a hopefully exciting race.

Farina got the best start and took the lead into the first corner ahead of Fangio. However it was Villoresi's Ferrari who got the best start, climbing to third at the start, disposing of Fagioli, Étancelin and González. Farina's lead did not last long as only a few corners after the start, Fangio had reclaimed the lead from his teammate.

Farina chased hard, however at Tabac he was caught out by the residual water laid down by the seaside waves where he spun into the wall before bouncing into the paths of the oncoming cars. Villoresi, Étancelin, Ascari, Chiron and Sommer all managed to dodge past, however Farina's Alfa teammate, Fagioli, spun wide into the barriers. González collided with Farina's car which started a chain reaction of collisions down the field. The midfield was almost totally wiped out of the race as the narrow circuit left the cars with no path to go except crash into each other. Aside from Farina, the cars of González, Fagioli, Rosier, Manzon, De Graffenried, Trintignant, Harrison, Rol and Schell were all eliminated from the race.

Both González and Fagioli attempted to keep going, Fagioli however only managed as far as the pitlane to bring his crippled car into retire. González attempted to complete a further lap, however his accident damage caused a fuel tank to rupture, his car bursting into flames. González parked his car at the Gasworks Hairpin, however he was lightly burned in the process. Despite the severity of the accident, the only other driver to be injured was Franco Rol who had broken an arm in the crash.

The aftermath of the first lap crash meant the wreckage of almost half the field was left at Tabac corner. The surviving nine cars were forced to navigate around these cars for a number of laps as if it was an extra corner. Prince Bira even found time to stop his car outside the scene of the accident and berate the marshalls for not clearing the wreckage fast enough.

Following the accident, Fangio led the race ahead of Villoresi, Chiron, Ascari, Sommer, Étancelin, Bira, Claes and Gerard. However on the second lap whilst navigating the car obstacles at Tabac, Villoresi stalled his Ferrari which dropped him to last place. Thereafter Villoresi provided most of the excitement in the race, with the exception of Fangio's Alfa, he was the fastest car on track and began to make short work of the cars ahead of him. Chiron could not maintain second place for long and his Maserati dropped back behind the Ferrari's of Ascari and Sommer. Shortly after Villoresi was also past Chiron and by lap 14 he had made his way into third when he overtook teammate Sommer. On lap 31, Villoresi had caught up to the rear of teammate Ascari, the two Ferrari drivers duelled ferociously until Villoresi came into the pits for fuel on lap 37. His stop took 32 seconds, the following lap Ascari came into the pits, in contrast his stop was 37 seconds which allowed Villoresi to return to second position. The same lap, Étancelin retired from sixth place with an oil leak.

Villoresi would attempt to chase down race leader Fangio, however the Alfa driver had the race well under control. When it was his turn to come into the pits for fuel on lap 52, he retained the lead of the race by 30 seconds to Villoresi's second position. Shortly after, Fangio's last remaining serious race rival, Villoresi, dropped out of the race on lap 63 with a fractured rear axle. Being over a lap clear of the new second place man, Ascari, Fangio decided to come in for a second pit stop a lap after Villoresi's retirement.

The last 36 laps were fairly processional and without order change, Fangio consolidated his race lead before taking his first world championship race victory an entire lap clear of Ascari in second. Chiron, the local driver scored a popular third position after reclaiming the position from Sommer's Ferrari. Sommer was fourth whilst Bira claimed the final points placing. The final two finishers, six laps adrift were a battling Claes and Gerard for sixth place. In the final laps, Gerard managed to move past the Talbot-Lago to take sixth, providing some final entertainment for the Monagasque crowd.

Results

Pos No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Avg Speed Grid Pts
1 34 Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo 100 3:13:18.7 98.701 1 9
2 40 Alberto Ascari Ferrari 99 + 1 lap 97.251 7 6
3 48 Louis Chiron Maserati 98 + 2 laps 96.191 8 4
4 42 Raymond Sommer Ferrari 97 + 3 laps 95.451 9 3
5 50 Prince Bira Maserati 95 + 5 laps 93.363 15 2
6 26 Bob Gerard ERA 94 + 6 laps 92.317 16
7 6 Johnny Claes Talbot-Lago 94 + 6 laps 92.254 18
Ret 38 Luigi Villoresi Ferrari 63 Axle 6
Ret 14 Philippe Étancelin Talbot-Lago 38 Oil leak 4
Ret 2 José Froilán González Maserati 1 Accident 3
Ret 32 Giuseppe Farina Alfa Romeo 0 Accident 2
Ret 36 Luigi Fagioli Alfa Romeo 0 Accident 5
Ret 16 Louis Rosier Talbot-Lago 0 Accident 10
Ret 10 Robert Manzon Simca-Gordini 0 Accident 11
Ret 52 Emmanuel de Graffenried Maserati 0 Accident 12
Ret 12 Maurice Trintignant Simca-Gordini 0 Accident 13
Ret 24 Cuth Harrison ERA 0 Accident 14
Ret 44 Franco Rol Maserati 0 Accident 17
Ret 8 Harry Schell Cooper-JAP 0 Collision 19
DNS 4 Alfredo Pián Maserati Accident
DNS 28 Peter Whitehead Ferrari Engine
DNP 18 Charles Pozzi Talbot-Lago Not present
DNP 20 Yves Giraud-Cabantous Talbot-Lago Not present
DNP 22 Pierre Levegh Talbot-Lago Not Present
DNP 46 Clemente Biondetti Maserati Car unavailable

Fastest Laps

Pos No. Driver Constructor Lap Time Gap Avg Speed Race
1 34 Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo ? 1:51.0 103.135 1
2 14 Philippe Étancelin Talbot-Lago ? 1:57.9 6.9s 97.099 Ret
3 6 Johnny Claes Talbot-Lago ? 2:00.2 9.2s 95.241 7

Lap Leaders

Lap-by-lap

Stint Driver Laps Total Distance
1 Juan Manuel Fangio 1–100 100 318.000 km

Total

Pos. Driver Laps Distance
1 Juan Manuel Fangio 100 318.000 km

Standings

Drivers Championship only

Pos Driver Pts
1 Giuseppe Farina 9
2 Juan Manuel Fangio 9
3 Luigi Fagioli 6
4 Alberto Ascari 6
5 Reg Parnell 4
6 Louis Chiron 4
7 Yves Giraud-Cabantous 3
8 Raymond Sommer 3
9 Louis Rosier 2
10 Prince Bira 2

Notes

  • First Formula One grand chelem.
  • First Entry & Race - Alberto Ascari: The 32 year old Italian racer, Alberto Ascari, son of the famous 1920's race driver, Antonio Ascari, made his grand prix entry into racing in 1940. However the Second World War prevented him from truely getting his career underway until 1947. Like his father before him, Ascari proved incredibly fast and he began producing impressive results in his private Maserati. His father, before his death in 1925 had befriended racer turned team manager, Enzo Ferrari, who had began to follow the son of his late friend's career develop with great interest. In 1949, Enzo Ferrari signed the younger Ascari to his own team, Scuderia Ferrari. During 1949, Ascari won 4 Formula One races, more than any other Ferrari driver. Ascari continuing with Ferrari for 1950 and was considered to be one of the best up and coming drivers of the new generation.
  • First Entry & Race - José Froilán González: The 28 year old Argentine racer, González, was the most junior driver to enter the Monaco Grand Prix. His racing career had began in 1946 where he had began to quickly impress in local Argentine categories. In fact his career rise, mirrored the rise of Argentina's top driver, Juan Manuel Fangio, a man González idolised and revered. González impressed the international scene when he fought amongst the best international drivers when they came to race at Pelarmo in Buenos Aires. Subsequently he bought a Maserati 4CL off Giuseppe Farina and travelled to Europe, following his idol, Juan Manuel Fangio. When Fangio left Scuderia Achille Varzi at the beginning of 1950, a team funded by the Automobile Club of Argentina, Fangio recommended the fast but inexperienced González to take his place.
  • First Entry & Race - Robert Manzon: The 33 year old French racer, Robert Manzon, had began his racing career in 1946. Throughout 1946 and 1947, he produced some decent results in the tail ender Cisitalia chassis. He proved a successful racer in the minor categories and was a solid runner in the midfield for grand prix racing. Amédée Gordini, the founder of Simca-Gordini, found him a staunch competitor to race against and for 1948 signed Manzon as apart of his race team. Simca-Gordini was an ambitious team but it lacked the resources to be a front runner, Manzon nonetheless remained faithful to his team.
  • First Entry & Race - Franco Rol: The 42 year old Franco Rol, like many of his time was a wealthy hobby racer who made it into the higher categories through virtue of his talent. Beginning his career in 1947, Rol joined the Simca-Gordini team in Formula Two for the 1948 season. A series of retirements plagued his career and in 1949 he returned as a privateer racer. For 1950, Rol would start his first serious venture into grand prix racing when he joined the works Maserati team.
  • First Entry & Race - Harry Schell: Born to wealthy motorsport enthusiasts, 29 year old Harry was the son of former American racer Laury Schell and wife Lucy, a keen motorsport follower who invested into major European teams such as Delahaye in the 1930s. A veteran of the Second World War, he had flown in the Finnish Air Force against the Soviet Union in the Winter War of 1939 and then served in the United States Tank Corps in World War Two. His motor racing career had began in 1940 whilst racing in the United States, notably participating in the 1940 Indianapolis 500 with a Maserati. Following the conclusion of the war he returned to motor racing, he primarily raced casually in Formula Two or Formula Three but proved a talented racer. For 1950, Schell decided to enter his Formula Two, Cooper-JAP, into the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix despite its serious power deficiency in comparison to the Formula One cars.
  • First Entry & Race - Raymond Sommer: One of the most experienced racers in the field, Sommer was one of the few remaining major pre-war racing drivers. At 43, he was still young enough to have a career ahead of him. He was famous for primarily racing independently as a privateer racer, rather than remain devoted to a major team and attempt to gain success. His career began in 1932, the same year he had won the 1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, the following year he repeated the feat in his first drive for a works team, this being Alfa Romeo. Nonetheless, rather than stay as a works driver he returned as an independent racer. He gained a reputation as one of the best independent racers. During 1937 and 1938, he was known for regularly swapping between being a privateer and racing for Talbot and Scuderia Ferrari throughout the seasons. In 1938, he committed to one team for the first time when he raced a season for Alfa Romeo. Sommer led at every major race but his machinery always let him down. Following the war, Sommer returned as a privateer in Formula One and Formula Two. In 1948 he completed a full season with Ferrari before in 1949 he swapped to the works Talbot-Lago team. For 1950, Sommer has rejoined Ferrari for the World Championship.
  • First Entry & Race - Maurice Trintignant: 33 year old Trintignant had began his racing career in 1938 racing private Bugatti's. He resumed his career in 1947 when he joined the newly founded Simca-Gordini racing squad. He was known fondly in the grand prix scene as the 'rat dropping's man' after he retired from a race when his car became clogged with rat droppings. At the 1948 Swiss Grand Prix, Trintignant had a serious accident which left him in a coma for 6 weeks. Nonetheless, he returned to racing and the Simca-Gordini team for 1949.
  • First Entry & Race - Luigi Villoresi: The 41 year old Villoresi began his motor racing career in 1933, however it was not until 1936 when he joined the Scuderia Ambrosiana team, racing private Maserati's that his career began to truely take off. After winning a series of minor grand prix's, Villoresi joined the works Maserati team in 1938. He was regularly seen competing in grand prix alongside his younger brother, Emilio, however Emilio was killed in 1938 whilst testing for Alfa Romeo. Following the conclusion of the war, Villoresi returned to his old team, Scuderia Ambrosiana, where between 1946 and 1948 he was a regular race winner. His recent success meant that in 1949, Enzo Ferrari signed him as lead driver for his Scuderia Ferrari team. 1949 was another successful year, yielding a number of grand prix victories.
  • First Entry & Race - Cooper: Cooper Car Company, was only three years old in 1950, following its inception by Charles and John Cooper in 1947. In this period, the manufacturer had not planned to enter Formula One, its T12 chassis proved dominant in Formula Three, however it was not up to Formula One standard. The works team had not yet entered Formula One, Harry Schell's decision to enter his T12 privately as a minor competitor did not see the accompany of the works team, however nonetheless Monaco 1950 saw the debut of Cooper cars in the Formula One field.
  • First Entry & Race - Ferrari: Although only operating as a manufacturer since 1947, Enzo Ferrari's team had been operating since 1929 where it proved to be the most successful team running Alfa Romeo chassis. In the late 1930's, Scuderia Ferrari had been one of the only teams capable of challenging the might of the German auto giants, Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union. Following the war, Enzo Ferrari finally decided to start building his own cars. Ferrari immediately proved to be one of the most impressive new stables, following Alfa Romeo's original withdrawal from racing in 1948, Ferrari had been the fastest cars throughout 1949. With the return of the dominant Alfa's in 1950, Ferrari was believed to be the only manufacturer capable of challenging the Alfa's.
  • First Entry & Race - Simca-Gordini: Another new manufacturer formed following the conclusion of war. Simca-Gordini was formed in 1946 by Amédée Gordini, the name symbolised the relationship between Simca, the French division of automotive supergiant Fiat and Gordini's own independent manufacturer. Nonetheless, the team ran on a tight budget and was still behind France's top motor racing manufacturer, Talbot-Lago, in terms of pace. Nonetheless, the team and drivers were skilled and the cars ran successfully in the Formula Two division taking many victories.
  • First Entry & Race - JAP: JAP standing for 'JA Prestwich Industries' was an engine manufacturer that supplied engines to the Cooper Formula Three teams. What is now common place in modern Formula One, the partnership of Cooper and JAP where the engine and chassis manufacturers were completely different was a novelty in 1950. The JAP engine in the Cooper T12 was a motorcycle engine, commonly used in motorcycle grand prix but not in motor cars. It had success in Formula Three, but the engine power was believed to be nowhere near strong enough to compete with the powerful engines of Formula One.
  • First Entry - Clemente Biondetti: At 52 years old, Biondetti was one of the most senior racers on the grid. He had began his career way back in 1927. He distinguished himself well as a privateer racer. During the 1930's he raced primarily for minor Maserati teams as well as a full season for the works Maserati in 1931. His career was littered with bad luck and retirements, however in 1937 he joined the Scuderia Ferrari outfit and immediately hit success. From 1938 to 1939, he finally hit success taking a number of victories and podiums for the works Alfa Romeo team. However the war cut short his career just as it was on the rise. This seemed to be the end of his career but he was offered to take part in a number of races for Enzo Ferrari's new Ferrari team in 1948, he impressed but his time was considered behind him. Nonetheless Biondetti since returned to racing, participating mainly as a privateer.
  • First Entry - Pierre Levegh:
  • First Entry - Alfredo Piàn:
  • First Entry - Pierre Levegh:
  • First Entry - Peter Whitehead:
  • Final Entry & Race - Alfredo Pián:
  • Final Entry & Race - JAP:
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