French Grand Prix

The French Grand Prix was the first ever Grand Prix to be held in the world, when it started in 1906.

Starting Out
Grand Prix racing originated in France which was first run on the 26th June 1906 under the auspices of the Automobile Club de France in Sarthe, with a starting field of 32 automobiles. The Grand Prix name ("Great Prize") referred to the prize of 40,000 francs to the race winner. The earliest French Grand Prix was all on public roads near towns throughout France as they were held at different towns through the early years such as Le Mans, Dieppe, Lyon, Strasbourg, and Tours.

France's first permanent circuit
In 1925, the first permanent autodrome in France was built, it was called Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry, located near the French capital of Paris. The 7.7-mile (12.3 km) circuit included a 51-degree concrete banking, an asphalt road course and then-modern facilities, including pit garages. This was after Brooklands in England in 1907 and Monza was built after World War I in 1922. This was also part of the first ever World Manufacturers' Championship which became the first time that a grouped together to form a championship. The first race saw the death of Antonio Ascari, which was the father of Alberto Ascari who would later win the Formula One championship. Miramas was another one that was completed and held two events before being scrapped for Le Mans. In 1928, William Grover-Williams would create a bit of history by being the first one outside of continental Europe to win the French Grand Prix and he would do again in 1929 before retiring two years later. Montlhéry would then hold the French Grand Prix for nine years until the Second World War stopped all Motorsport in Europe. But before that happened, it was a domination of the Alfa Romeo and the Bugatti until the 1935 season where Manfred von Brauchitsch scored his first of only two wins in his career (the other being in France again). The final French Grand Prix was won by Hermann Paul Müller as the country suddenly went to war.

After the second World War, it was moved to the one-time Parilly circuit where Louis Chiron would take out that race in the Talbot-Logo. The next year it was moved to the Reims circuit where it would hold for four years. During that time, a new manufacturer in Alfa Romeo would start to take the rein with those cars winning the next three years of