1933 French Grand Prix

GP French Circuit_(ébauche).svg 11 June 1933 XXVII Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France France Montlhéry, France Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry 7.767 12.50 40 310.7 500.0 Earl Howe UK Bugatti True Giuseppe Campari Maserati 5:23.0 39 Italy 1861 Giuseppe Campari Maserati Italy 1861 Philippe Étancelin Alfa Romeo France George Eyston Alfa Romeo UK The 1933 French Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held on 11 June 1933, in Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry. 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 Campari's final victory, as he was killed just three months later at the 1933 Italian Grand Prix. Philippe Étancelin and George Eyston, both in privateer Alfa Romeos, finished in second and third, respectively.http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/gp3308.htm#28 Campari won convincingly at Montlhéry with his privately entered Maserati kolumbus.fi Hans Etzrodt 23 November 2013 30 October 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20131030122322/http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/gp3308.htm#28 deadhttp://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/1933.html#acf XXVII Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France teamdan.com 23 November 2013 1 October 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20181001112358/http://www.teamdan.com/archive/gen/1933.html#acf dead 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). 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. 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 from a 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. Report section September 2025 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. 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. Entries No Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine 2 GBR Earl Howe Private entry Bugatti Bugatti T51 2.3 L8 4 FRA Pierre Félix Private entry Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.3 L8 6 CHL Juan Zanelli Private entry Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.3 L8 8 CHE Julio Villars Equipe Villars Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.3 L8 10 ITA 1861 Tazio Nuvolari Scuderia Ferrari Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.6 L8 12 ITA 1861 Goffredo ZehenderITA 1861 Luigi Fagioli Maserati Maserati Maserati 8CM 3.0 L8 14 ITA 1861 Baconin Borzacchini Scuderia Ferrari Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.6 L8 16 ITA 1861 Achille Varzi Automobiles E. Bugatti Bugatti Bugatti T59 2.8 L8 18 GBR George Eyston Bernard Rubin Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.3 L8 20 FRA Albert Divo Automobiles E. Bugatti Bugatti Bugatti T51 2.3 L8 22 POL Stanisłas Czaykowski Count Czaykowski Bugatti Bugatti T54 5.0 L8 24 FRA Pierre Bussienne Private entry Bugatti Bugatti T51 2.3 L8 26 FRA Philippe Étancelin Private entry Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.3 L8 28 CHE Horst von Waldthausen Equipe Villars Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.3 L8 30 GBR William Grover-Williams Automobiles E. Bugatti Bugatti Bugatti T51 2.3 L8 32 ITA 1861 Giuseppe Campari Private entry Maserati Maserati 8C-3000 3.0 L8 34 ROU Prince Nicolas Nicolas/Romania Bugatti ? ? 36 FRA Jean Gaupillat Private entry Bugatti Bugatti T51 2.3 L8 38 ITA 1861 Piero Taruffi Scuderia Ferrari Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.6 L8 40 FRA Benoît Falchetto Private entry Bugatti ? ? 42 MCO Louis Chiron Scuderia CC Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.3 L8 44 FRA Marcel Lehoux Private entry Bugatti Bugatti T51 2.3 L8 46 FRA Guy Moll Private entry Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.3 L8 48 FRA Jean-Pierre Wimille Private entry Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.3 L8 50 FRA René Dreyfus Automobiles E. Bugatti Bugatti Bugatti T51 2.3 L8 52 FRA Raymond Sommer Private entry Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.3 L8 ? ITA 1861 Ernesto Maserati Officine A. Maserati Maserati ? ? ? FRA Frédéric Toselli ? Bugatti Bugatti T37A 1.5 L4 ? FRA Louis Trintignant ? Bugatti ? ? ? FRA Guy Bouriat ? Bugatti ? ? ? Germany 1933 Rudolf Caracciola Scuderia CC Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.3 L8 ? GBR Tim Birkin Bernard Rubin Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Monza 2.3 L8 Starting grid First row 3 2 1 CHL ZanelliAlfa Romeo FRA FélixAlfa Romeo GBR HoweBugatti Second row 5 4 ITA 1861 NuvolariAlfa Romeo CHE VillarsAlfa Romeo Third row 8 7 6 GBR EystonAlfa Romeo ITA 1861 TaruffiAlfa Romeo ITA 1861 ZehenderMaserati Fourth row 10 9 FRA BussienneBugatti POL CzaykowskiBugatti Fifth row 13 12 11 ITA 1861 CampariMaserati CHE WaldthausenAlfa Romeo FRA ÉtancelinAlfa Romeo Sixth row 15 14 MCO ChironAlfa Romeo FRA GaupillatBugatti Seventh row 18 17 16 FRA WimilleAlfa Romeo FRA MollAlfa Romeo FRA LehouxBugatti Eighth row 19 FRA SommerAlfa Romeo Classification Race thumb|Tazio Nuvolari contesting the Grand Prix in an Alfa Romeo Monza. The car retired from the race. PosNoDriverCarLapsTime/RetiredGrid 1 32 ITA 1861 Giuseppe Campari Maserati 8C-3000 40 3:48:45.4 13 2 26 FRA Philippe Étancelin Alfa Romeo Monza 40 +52.0 11 3 18 GBR George Eyston Alfa Romeo Monza 39 +1 lap 8 4 52 FRA Raymond Sommer Alfa Romeo Monza 39 +1 lap 19 5 46 FRA Guy Moll Alfa Romeo Monza 38 +2 laps 17 6 8 CHE Julio Villars Alfa Romeo Monza 34 +6 laps 4 Ret 38 ITA 1861 Piero TaruffiITA 1861 Tazio Nuvolari Alfa Romeo Monza 25 Transmission 7 Ret 12 ITA 1861 Goffredo Zehender Maserati 8CM 19 Shock absorbers 6 Ret 2 GBR Earl Howe Bugatti T51 19 Injured eye by broken glass 1 Ret 6 CHL Juan Zanelli Alfa Romeo Monza 19 Did not finish 3 Ret 4 FRA Pierre Félix Alfa Romeo Monza 17 Engine 2 Ret 22 POL Stanisłas Czaykowski Bugatti T54 8 Gearbox bearing 9 Ret 42 MCO Louis Chiron Alfa Romeo Monza 6 Transmission 15 Ret 10 ITA 1861 Tazio Nuvolari Alfa Romeo Monza 6 Transmission 5 Ret 24 FRA Pierre Bussienne Bugatti T51 5 Gearbox 10 Ret 28 CHE Horst von Waldthausen Alfa Romeo Monza 4 Engine 12 Ret 48 FRA Jean-Pierre Wimille Alfa Romeo Monza 2 Gearbox 18 Ret 44 FRA Marcel Lehoux Bugatti T51 1 Connecting rod 16 Ret 36 FRA Jean Gaupillat Bugatti T51 0 Ignition 14 DNS 14 ITA 1861 Baconin Borzacchini Alfa Romeo Monza Did not follow team orders DNA 12 ITA 1861 Luigi Fagioli Maserati 8CM Car driven by Zehender DNA 16 ITA 1861 Achille Varzi Bugatti T59 Withdrawn, car not ready DNA 20 FRA Albert Divo Bugatti T51 Withdrawn, car not ready DNA 30 GBR William Grover-Williams Bugatti T51 Withdrawn, car not ready DNA 34 ROU Prince Nicolas Bugatti ? Did not show up DNA 40 FRA Benoît Falchetto Bugatti ? Did not show up DNA 50 FRA René Dreyfus Bugatti T51 Withdrawn, car not ready DNA ? ITA 1861 Ernesto Maserati Maserati ? Did not show up DNA ? FRA Frédéric Toselli Bugatti T37A Died May 5 after a crash DNA ? FRA Louis Trintignant Bugatti ? Died May 20 at Picardy GP DNA ? FRA Guy Bouriat Bugatti ? Died May 21 at Picardy GP DNA ? Germany 1933 Rudolf Caracciola Alfa Romeo Monza Injured in hospital DNA ? GBR Tim Birkin Alfa Romeo Monza Sick in London Sources: 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. References External links French Grand Prix 1933 1933 Monaco Grand Prix 1933 Belgian Grand Prix 1932 French Grand Prix 1934 French Grand Prix Category:French Grand Prix French Grand Prix Grand Prix