The 1953 French Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on 5 July 1953 at Reims. It was the fifth round of the 1953 World Drivers' Championship, which was run to Formula Two rules in 1952 and 1953, rather than the Formula One regulations normally used.
Not only had the Reims circuit's layout changed, the name was different – both in regards to the same thing. The new, faster and slightly longer circuit bypassed the town of Gueux and as a result, the circuit was now called "Reims".
It is popularly known as the race of the century because of the sixty lap battle between Briton Mike Hawthorn and Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio. Hawthorn won the duel after they reportedly swapped the lead at virtually every corner on the Reims circuit. In addition, after 500 km of racing, the four lead cars were less than 5 seconds apart.
Read more about 1953 French Grand Prix: Classification, Drivers' Championship Standings After The Race
Famous quotes containing the words french and/or grand:
“The third day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Three French hens,”
—Unknown. The Twelve Days of Christmas (l. 8–10)
“It enhances our sense of the grand security and serenity of nature to observe the still undisturbed economy and content of the fishes of this century, their happiness a regular fruit of the summer.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)