Philippe Étancelin
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| Philippe Étancelin | |
|---|---|
Nationality  French |
|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Active years | 1950 - 1952 |
| Teams | works and private Talbot-Lago, non-works Maserati |
| Races | 12 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podium finishes | 0 |
| Career points | 3 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First race | 1950 British Grand Prix |
| Last race | 1952 French Grand Prix |
Philippe Étancelin (December 29, 1896 - October 13, 1981) was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver who joined the new Formula One circuit at its inception.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Born in Rouen, Seine-Maritime, in Normandy, he began racing with a Bugatti in 1926, making an immediate impact by winning the Grand Prix de Reims.
He worked as a merchant in the winter and raced cars during the summer.[1]
His wife, Suzanne, served as his pit manager. Their three children were placed in a school in Rouen while she traveled with her husband to races around the world. She communicated with Etancelin through French sign language as he raced around the speedway. Suzanne told a reporter that Etancelin bought a racing car to celebrate the birth of their second child, Jeanne Alice. He did not intend to race the car but merely use it for pleasure driving around the countryside. The couple once drove it up to a speed of 125 miles per hour. After two years of recreational motoring Etancelin decided to enter a race.[2]
Etancelin lost the lead to Giuseppe Campari on the final lap of the 1933 French Automobile Club race in Paris, France. The 19th annual event was 500 kilometers.[3] Nicknamed "Phi-Phi," he teamed up with Luigi Chinetti to win the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1934.
Etancelin was victorious in the 1936 Pau, France Grand Prix, driving an Alfa Romeo. He negotiated the 100 laps of the Grand Prix De Pau in 3 hours, twenty-two minutes, and 22 seconds.[4] Etancelin qualified 6th for the George Vanderbilt Cup, which was raced over 300 miles near Westbury, New York, in October 1936. Drivers qualified over a 20 mile distance of hairpin turns and a main straightaway at 150 miles per hour on a new 4 mile circuit.[5] This was the million dollar Roosevelt Raceway.[2] By this time he had won the Marne Grand Prix three times.[1]
Étancelin participated in twelve World Championship F1 Grands Prix, debuting on May 13, 1950. He scored a total of 3 championship points.
His fifth place in the 1950 Italian Grand Prix made him the oldest driver to score championship points.
In 1953 the government of France awarded him the Legion of Honor in recognition of his contribution to the sport of automobile racing that spanned four decades.
He died at Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1981.
Major career wins:
- Algerian Grand Prix 1930
- Grand Prix de la Baule 1929
- Grand Prix du Comminges 1929, 1931
- Dauphiné Circuit 1930, 1931
- French Grand Prix 1930
- Grand Prix de Dieppe 1931
- Grand Prix de la Marne 1929, 1933
- Grand Prix de Pau 1930, 1936
- Grand Prix de Picardie 1932, 1933
- Grand Prix de Reims 1927, 1929
- St. Raphael 1931
- 24 hours of Le Mans 1934
[edit] Complete World Championship Formula One results
(Note: grands prix in bold denote points scoring races.)
| Yr | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Talb | GBR | MON | 500 | SUI | BEL | FRA | ITA | Talb | |
| 1951 | Talb | SUI | 500 | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | ITA | ESP | Talb |
| 1952 | Mase | SUI | 500 | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | NED | ITA | Mase |
[edit] Complete European Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
| Year | Entrant | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | EDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | Private entry | Bugatti | ITA Ret |
FRA Ret |
BEL |
34= | 21 | ||
| 1932 | Private entry | Alfa Romeo | ITA |
FRA Ret |
GER |
16= | 21 | ||
| 1935 | Scuderia Subalpina | Maserati | BEL |
GER Ret |
SUI Ret |
ITA Ret |
ESP |
17 | 34 |
| 1936 | Private entry | Maserati | MON Ret |
GER |
SUI Ret |
ITA |
18= | 28 | |
| 1938 | Talbot-Darracq | Talbot | FRA Ret |
GER |
SUI |
ITA |
24= | 29 | |
| 1939 | Talbot-Darracq | Talbot | BEL |
FRA 4 |
GER |
SUI |
16= | 28 |
| Preceded by Raymond Sommer Tazio Nuvolari |
Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1934 with: Luigi Chinetti |
Succeeded by Johnny Hindmarsh Luis Fontés |
[edit] References
- ^ a b World's Best Drivers Vie For $60,000 In Cup Race, Washington Post, October 12, 1936, Page X15.
- ^ a b Vite! Vite! To Victory, Or-, Edwardsville, Illinois Intelligencer, March 13, 1939, Page 5.
- ^ Campari Wins Paris Auto Race, New York Times, June 12, 1933, Page 22.
- ^ Wins Grand Prix, Olean, New York Times Herald, March 2, 1936, Page 13.
- ^ Nuvolari Tops Qualifiers for Auto Race, Washington Post, October 8, 1936, Page X19.
