1950 French Grand Prix

Championship standings

Farina leads the title fight heading into Reims, with Fagioli now just four points adrift after his second-place finish in Belgium. Fangio is a further point behind Fagioli.

Previous race

At Spa, Fangio won to close on Farina, with Fagioli second for the fourth time in five starts. Rosier again made the podium in his Talbot-Lago. Farina suffered transmission trouble in the closing laps and dropped to fourth, though he salvaged the point for fastest lap.

Entrants

Scuderia Ferrari have withdrawn both works entries for Villoresi and Ascari, who left the race during practice. The Talbot-Lago team arrives with dual-ignition engines fitted with twelve spark plugs, hoping the high-speed Reims-Gueux public road circuit — made up almost entirely of long straights — will suit their cars. Eugène Chaboud did not start in his own entered Talbot; instead he will co-drive with Philippe Étancelin. Franco Comotti has not attended.

Peter Whitehead, running a privateer Ferrari, is in the field for his first start of the season.

Background

Fangio set a practice lap at 187 km/h (116 mph) — a striking marker of pace on this fast circuit.