Formula 1 historical archive

Peter Collins won the 1956 French Grand Prix

Peter Collins won the 1956 French Grand Prix for Ferrari, ahead of Eugenio Castellotti and Jean Behra at Reims-Gueux.

Browse the full classification, related season, driver, team, circuit, and championship history.

Race recap

Winner
Peter Collins
Team
Ferrari
Top listed
Peter Collins, Eugenio Castellotti, and Jean Behra
Race date
July 1, 1956
Pole
Juan Manuel Fangio
Fastest lap
Juan Manuel Fangio
Classified drivers
22
Circuit
Reims-Gueux

The decisive result

Peter Collins finished first for Ferrari. Eugenio Castellotti is listed 2 for Ferrari, with Jean Behra 3 for Maserati.

Grid to finish

Paco Godia from P17 to P7 (+10), Cesare Perdisa from P13 to P5 (+8), and André Pilette from P19 to P11 (+8) recorded the largest positive grid-to-finish changes in the classification. Juan Manuel Fangio started from the listed P1 grid position.

Status and fastest lap

The classification lists 6 Finished, 3 Engine, 2 +4 laps, 2 +5 laps, and 2 Gearbox. Juan Manuel Fangio holds the fastest-lap entry at 2:25.800 on lap 61. It records the result without speculating about incidents or strategy.

This summary sticks to the classification and does not speculate about incidents, strategy, weather, or causes. Source: F1DB (CC BY 4.0) · updated Jul 26, 2026.

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Race classification
PosDriverConstructorTime / statusPoints
1Peter CollinsFerrari2:34:23.4008
2Eugenio CastellottiFerrari2:34:23.7006
3Jean BehraMaserati2:35:53.3004
4Juan Manuel FangioFerrari2:35:58.5004
5Cesare PerdisaMaserati+2 laps1
5Stirling MossMaseratiFinished1
6Louis RosierMaserati+3 laps0
7Paco GodiaMaserati+4 laps0
8Hermano da Silva RamosGordini+4 laps0
9Robert ManzonGordini+5 laps0
10Mike HawthornVanwall+5 laps0
10Harry SchellVanwallFinished0
11André PiletteGordini+6 laps0
DNFAndré SimonMaseratiEngine0
DNFPiero TaruffiMaseratiEngine0
DNFOlivier GendebienFerrariClutch0
DNFLuigi VilloresiMaseratiBrakes0
DNFAlfonso de PortagoFerrariGearbox0
DNFMaurice TrintignantBugattiThrottle0
DNFStirling MossMaseratiGearbox0