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Results from the 1954 Formula One French Grand Prix held at Reims on July 4, 1954

Race report

The long-awaited Mercedes W196 with its straight-8 fuel-injection engine made its debut with Fangio transferring from Maserati to join an otherwise all-German line-up of Hans Herrmann, Karl Kling and pre-war driver Herrmann Lang. It was a dominant return with Fangio recording a practice lap of 124.31 mph. He and Kling led away and continued to race side by side around the Rheims track. The Ferrari drivers simply couldn't cope with the pace. Ascari (driving a Maserati as the Lancia section of Ferrari was not yet ready for racing) lasted only 1 lap, Gonzalez retired after 12. Mike Hawthorn's car blew up spectacularly. Hans Herrmann set fastest lap before retiring, but Fangio and Kling continued their duel until the last lap when team orders were put in force and Fangio led Kling over the line by a mere 0.1 seconds-half a car length. Only six cars finished the gruelling race.

Classification

Pos	No	Nat	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	18		Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes	61	2:42' 47.9	1	8
2	20		Karl Kling	Mercedes	61	+ 0.1	2	6
3	34		Robert Manzon	Ferrari	60	+ 1 Lap	12	4
4	46		Prince Bira	Maserati	60	+ 1 Lap	6	3
5	14		Luigi Villoresi	Maserati	58	+ 3 Laps	14	2
6	24		Jean Behra	Gordini	56	+ 5 Laps	17
Ret	28		Paul Frère	Gordini	50	Axle	19
Ret	4		Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari	36	Engine	9
Ret	36		Louis Rosier	Ferrari	27	Engine	13
Ret	12		Onofre Marimón	Maserati	27	Gearbox	5
Ret	16		Roberto Mieres	Maserati	24	Engine	11
Ret	42		Ken Wharton	Maserati	19	Transmission	16
Ret	48		Harry Schell	Maserati	19	Fuel Pump	21
Ret	22		Hans Herrmann	Mercedes	16	Engine	7	1
Ret	44		Roy Salvadori	Maserati	15	Half Shaft	10
Ret	2		José Froilán González	Ferrari	13	Engine	4
Ret	32		Lance Macklin	HWM-Alta	10	Engine	15
Ret	30		Georges Berger	Gordini	9	Engine	20
Ret	6		Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	9	Engine	8
Ret	26		Jacques Pollet	Gordini	8	Engine	18
Ret	10		Alberto Ascari	Maserati	1	Transmission	3
DNS	40		Sergio Mantovani	Maserati		Did Not Start

Notes

• Pole position: Juan Manuel Fangio - 2' 29.4
• Fastest Lap: Hans Herrmann - 2' 32.9
• F1 Debut: Karl Kling, Mercedes-Benz and Continental tyre.
• Debut win for Mercedes-Benz and Continental in Formula One.