Ferrari D50 car, 1956 GP France #14 Collins

After Lancia handed over its D50 project to Ferrari, the car underwent a series of innovative upgrades to become a racing star in the 1956 Grand Prix season. In France, Peter Collins drove his Ferrari D50 to win his second Grand Prix victory over Eugenio Castellotti and Jean Behra.

Following a break caused by a tragic accident at Le Mans, the Grand Prix de France resumed in 1956. As the fifth round of the World Championship, it took place on July 1st at the “Circuit de Reims-Gueux”. The race consisted of 61 laps of 8.302 km each, totaling 506.4 km. Scuderia Ferrari mainly fielded Juan Manuel Fangio, Eugenio Castellotti, and Peter Collins. The remaining two spots were taken by Spaniard Alfonso de Portago, who was about to make his Formula 1 debut, and Olivier Gendebien. All competed in the 265-horsepower Ferrari D50 with a short nose.

Maserati had Stirling Moss, Jean Behra, and Piero Taruffi in their team, each piloting a 250F. Among other competitors were the British Vandervell Products Ltd team with their Vanwall VW56 and the French Gordini team with Types 32 and 16. There were also several privateers aiming to race their Maserati 250F.

During qualifying practice, it became clear that the Maserati 250F struggled to keep pace with the Ferrari D50, while Vanwall cars proved more efficient. Fangio secured pole position ahead of teammates Castellotti and Collins. However, in the drivers’ standings, Collins and Moss outperformed even Behra and Fangio.

At the race start, Collins took the lead, and the Ferrari trio pulled away from the chasers. Moss engaged in a duel with Vanwall’s Schell for fourth place. Their exhausting battle was interrupted first by Schell’s engine failure, then by Moss’s damaged gearbox. Both drivers continued racing in their teammates’ cars.

After moving up to fourth, Schell began to chase Castellotti and Collins, eventually overtaking them. He was second behind Fangio for six laps. When Collins and Castellotti realized that Britt was a lap ahead, they accelerated hard to catch him. During the intense fight, Schell had to pit with technical issues. At the same time, Fangio also had to pit due to technical problems, which ultimately dropped him to fourth place. Peter Collins achieved his second Grand Prix victory, finishing 0.3 seconds ahead of teammate Eugenio Castellotti.

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