1933 French Grand Prix

The 1933 French Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race which was run on 11 June 1933, in Montlhéry, France. Organized by the French Automobile Club, it was XXVII running of the Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France. The race, which was held over 40 laps, was won by the Italian driver Giuseppe Campari in a privately entered Maserati. It was to be Campari's final victory, as he was killed just three months later at Monza. Philippe Étancelin and George Eyston, both in privateer Alfa Romeos, finished in second and third, respectively.[1][2]

1933 French Grand Prix
Race details
Date 11 June 1933
Official name XXVII Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France
Location Montlhéry, France
Course Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry
Course length 12.50 km (7.767 miles)
Distance 40 laps, 500.0 km (310.7 miles)
Pole position
Driver Bugatti
Grid positions set by car number
Fastest lap
Driver Italy Giuseppe Campari Maserati
Time 5:23.0 on lap 39
Podium
First Maserati
Second Alfa Romeo
Third Alfa Romeo

Background

In an attempt to attract more entrants, the Automobile Club de France (ACF) changed the event's registration fees and prize money. Registration fees had previously been 2,000–3,000 francs (F), but were reduced to just 100 F for the 1933 race. Prizes of 100,000 F, 50,000 F and 20,000 F were offered to the first three finishers, while there were also bonus prizes for drivers who had completed 10, 20 or 30 laps. The magnitude of the bonuses were dependent on a driver's average speed (3,000 F for 125 km/h, 2,000 F for 115 km/h, 1,000 F for 105 km/h).[1]

Problems with the grandstand at Montlhéry placed the event's staging in jeopardy. Repairs, estimated at 500,000–800,000 F, needed to be carried out before the race could take place.[1]

The race was also affected by the absence of a number of notable drivers. Frédéric Toselli, Louis Trintignant (brother of the future Formula One driver Maurice), and Guy Bouriat, all of whom had entered the French Grand Prix, had all been killed at previous events in May. In addition, Rudolf Caracciola was still recovering his broken thigh, an injury which had been incurred at Monaco, while Tim Birkin was ill with blood poisoning after being burnt at Tripoli. On top of that, the works Bugatti team—including drivers Achille Varzi, Albert Divo, William Grover-Williams and René Dreyfus—were forced to pull out of the event because their cars were not ready.[1]

Report

Tazio Nuvolari's participation in the race was in doubt when his car was damaged during Saturday practice. It is thought that his Scuderia Ferrari teammate, Baconin Borzacchini, allowed Nuvolari to swap the cars that were assigned to them, meaning that Nuvolari took the #10 Alfa, while Borzacchini was now due to drive car #14 (which had a broken blower shaft). Just ten minutes before the start of the race, the team's mechanics pushed Borzacchini's car (#14) off the grid, putting Piero Taruffi's #38 Alfa in its place. As such, Taruffi was able to start three rows further forward than he otherwise would have.[1]

Nuvolari, from fifth on the grid, took the lead early on, while Campari followed eight seconds behind, after having made up nine positions on lap one. Taruffi and Zehender from the third row of the grid, were in third and fourth, respectively, followed by Chiron and Étancelin, who had both made significant gains in the early stages. Chiron and Étancelin both overtook the Maserati of Zehender during lap two, and two laps later, the pair also passed Taruffi, who had been deliberately holding them up. After four laps, Nuvolari and Campari were still in front, while Chiron was up to third, ahead of Philippe Étancelin, while Taruffi and Zehender were not far behind. Both Nuvolari and Chiron pitted after six laps, although neither lasted long after rejoining the race, leaving Campari in first place, with a lead of over half a minute over Taruffi and Étancelin after eight laps. Campari made a pitstop after thirteen laps, handing the lead briefly to Étancelin, before the Frenchman was overtaken by Taruffi. After sixteen laps, Campari was approximately half a minute behind, but by the end of the nineteenth lap he had retaken the lead. At half distance, Campari led from Taruffi, with Sommer and Étancelin in third and fourth, respectively. Soon after, Taruffi pulled into the pits, and his car eventually rejoined the race, now driven by Nuvolari, who after twenty-four laps was in fourth place, behind Campari, Étancelin and Moll. Nuvolari was promoted into third when Moll made a lengthy pitstop, while Eyston was up to fourth. On lap twenty-six, Nuvolari was once again forced to retire, leaving just six cars in the race. Another pitstop for Campari allowed Étancelin to take a half-minute lead, although, by lap thirty-six, the gap had been reduced to just three seconds. However, when rain began to fall, Campari took to the pits once again to change tyres, increasing his deficit to Étancelin to a full minute. With one lap remaining, the gap had been reduced to 23.2 seconds. With Étancelin unable to change gears, Campari was able to take the lead, and shortly after, the win, which was his final victory, and Maserati's first in a Grande Épreuve. Étancelin took second, ahead of Eyston in his Alfa Romeo. Sommer, Moll and Villars were final cars to finish.[1]

Entries

NoDriverEntrantConstructorChassisEngine
2 United Kingdom Earl Howe Private entry Bugatti Bugatti T51 2.3 L8
4 France Pierre Félix Private entry Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.3 L8
6 Chile Juan Zanelli Private entry Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.3 L8
8 Switzerland Julio Villars Equipe Villars Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.3 L8
10 Italy Tazio Nuvolari Scuderia Ferrari Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.6 L8
12 Italy Goffredo Zehender
Italy Luigi Fagioli
Maserati Maserati Maserati 8CM 3.0 L8
14 Italy Baconin Borzacchini Scuderia Ferrari Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.6 L8
16 Italy Achille Varzi Automobiles E. Bugatti Bugatti Bugatti T59 2.8 L8
18 United Kingdom George Eyston Bernard Rubin Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.3 L8
20 France Albert Divo Automobiles E. Bugatti Bugatti Bugatti T51 2.3 L8
22 Poland Stanisłas Czaykowski Count Czaykowski Bugatti Bugatti T54 5.0 L8
24 France Pierre Bussienne Private entry Bugatti Bugatti T51 2.3 L8
26 France Philippe Étancelin Private entry Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.3 L8
28 Switzerland Horst von Waldthausen Equipe Villars Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.3 L8
30 United Kingdom William Grover-Williams Automobiles E. Bugatti Bugatti Bugatti T51 2.3 L8
32 Italy Giuseppe Campari Private entry Maserati Maserati 8C-3000 3.0 L8
34 Romania Prince Nicolas Nicolas/Romania Bugatti  ?  ?
36 France Jean Gaupillat Private entry Bugatti Bugatti T51 2.3 L8
38 Italy Piero Taruffi Scuderia Ferrari Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.6 L8
40 France Benoît Falchetto Private entry Bugatti  ?  ?
42 Monaco Louis Chiron Scuderia CC Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.3 L8
44 France Marcel Lehoux Private entry Bugatti Bugatti T51 2.3 L8
46 France Guy Moll Private entry Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.3 L8
48 France Jean-Pierre Wimille Private entry Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.3 L8
50 France René Dreyfus Automobiles E. Bugatti Bugatti Bugatti T51 2.3 L8
52 France Raymond Sommer Private entry Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.3 L8
 ? Italy Ernesto Maserati Officine A. Maserati Maserati  ?  ?
 ? France Frédéric Toselli  ? Bugatti Bugatti T37A 1.5 L4
 ? France Louis Trintignant  ? Bugatti  ?  ?
 ? France Guy Bouriat  ? Bugatti  ?  ?
 ? Germany Rudolf Caracciola Scuderia CC Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.3 L8
 ? United Kingdom Tim Birkin Bernard Rubin Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.3 L8

Starting grid

First row
3 2 1
Chile Zanelli
Alfa Romeo
France Félix
Alfa Romeo
United Kingdom Howe
Bugatti
Second row
5 4
Italy Nuvolari
Alfa Romeo
Switzerland Villars
Alfa Romeo
Third row
8 7 6
United Kingdom Eyston
Alfa Romeo
Italy Taruffi
Alfa Romeo
Italy Zehender
Maserati
Fourth row
10 9
France Bussienne
Bugatti
Poland Czaykowski
Bugatti
Fifth row
13 12 11
Italy Campari
Maserati
Switzerland Waldthausen
Alfa Romeo
France Étancelin
Alfa Romeo
Sixth row
15 14
Monaco Chiron
Alfa Romeo
France Gaupillat
Bugatti
Seventh row
18 17 16
France Wimille
Alfa Romeo
France Moll
Alfa Romeo
France Lehoux
Bugatti
Eighth row
19
France Sommer
Alfa Romeo

Classification

Race

Pos No Driver Car Laps Time/Retired Grid
1 32Italy Giuseppe CampariMaserati 8C-3000403:48:45.413
2 26France Philippe ÉtancelinAlfa Romeo Monza40+52.011
3 18United Kingdom George EystonAlfa Romeo Monza39+1 lap8
4 52France Raymond SommerAlfa Romeo Monza39+1 lap19
5 46France Guy MollAlfa Romeo Monza38+2 laps17
6 8Switzerland Julio VillarsAlfa Romeo Monza34+6 laps4
Ret 38Italy Piero Taruffi
Italy Tazio Nuvolari
Alfa Romeo Monza25Transmission7
Ret 12Italy Goffredo ZehenderMaserati 8CM19Shock absorbers6
Ret 2United Kingdom Earl HoweBugatti T5119Injured eye by broken glass1
Ret 6Chile Juan ZanelliAlfa Romeo Monza19Did not finish3
Ret 4France Pierre FélixAlfa Romeo Monza17Engine2
Ret 22Poland Stanisłas CzaykowskiBugatti T548Gearbox bearing9
Ret 42Monaco Louis ChironAlfa Romeo Monza6Transmission15
Ret 10Italy Tazio NuvolariAlfa Romeo Monza6Transmission5
Ret 24France Pierre BussienneBugatti T515Gearbox10
Ret 28Switzerland Horst von WaldthausenAlfa Romeo Monza4Engine12
Ret 48France Jean-Pierre WimilleAlfa Romeo Monza2Gearbox18
Ret 44France Marcel LehouxBugatti T511Connecting rod16
Ret 36France Jean GaupillatBugatti T510Ignition14
DNS 14Italy Baconin BorzacchiniAlfa Romeo MonzaDid not follow team orders
DNA 12Italy Luigi FagioliMaserati 8CMCar driven by Zehender
DNA 16Italy Achille VarziBugatti T59Withdrawn, car not ready
DNA 20France Albert DivoBugatti T51Withdrawn, car not ready
DNA 30United Kingdom William Grover-WilliamsBugatti T51Withdrawn, car not ready
DNA 34Romania Prince NicolasBugatti ?Did not show up
DNA 40France Benoît FalchettoBugatti ?Did not show up
DNA 50France René DreyfusBugatti T51Withdrawn, car not ready
DNA  ?Italy Ernesto MaseratiMaserati ?Did not show up
DNA  ?France Frédéric ToselliBugatti T37ADied May 5 after a crash
DNA  ?France Louis TrintignantBugatti ?Died May 20 at Picardy GP
DNA  ?France Guy BouriatBugatti ?Died May 21 at Picardy GP
DNA  ?Germany Rudolf CaracciolaAlfa Romeo MonzaInjured in hospital
DNA  ?United Kingdom Tim BirkinAlfa Romeo MonzaSick in London
Sources:[1][2]

Notes:

  • Campari's Maserati was push-started during a pit stop, which was technically a breach of Article 187 of the regulations. As such, Campari's win was protested after the race, but the Sporting Commissioners upheld the result, penalising him only with a 1000 F fine.[1]

References

  1. Etzrodt, Hans. "Campari won convincingly at Montlhéry with his privately entered Maserati". kolumbus.fi. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  2. "XXVII Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France". teamdan.com. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
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