| Circuit de Pau-Ville | |
 | |
| Race information | |
|---|---|
| Number of times held | 73 |
| First held | 1933 |
| Most wins (drivers) |  Jim Clark (4) |
| Most wins (constructors) |  Dallara (12) |
| Circuit length | 2.760 km (1.714 miles) |
| Race length | 91.1 km (56.562 miles) |
| Laps | 16 |
| Last race (2023) | |
| Pole position | |
| |
| Podium | |
| |
| Fastest lap | |
| |
| |
| Location | Pau,France |
|---|---|
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) CEST (DST) |
| Coordinates | 43°17′33″N000°21′47″W / 43.29250°N 0.36306°W /43.29250; -0.36306 |
| FIA Grade | 3 |
| Opened | 19 February 1933; 92 years ago (1933-02-19) |
| Major events | Former: TCR Europe (2023) French F4 (2011–2019, 2022–2023) FIA ETCR (2022) FFSA GT (1999, 2001–2003, 2005, 2017–2019) WTCRRace of France (2022) Euroformula Open (2019, 2022) WTCCRace of France (2007–2009) Formula Renault Eurocup (2017) FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2011–2012, 2014–2018) Formula 3 Euro Series (2003–2005, 2008) FIA European Formula 3 Cup (1999–2003) F3000 (1985–1998) European F2 (1964–1984) |
| Website | http://www.grandprixdepau.fr/ |
| Grand Prix Circuit (1935–present) | |
| Length | 2.769 km (1.721 miles) |
| Turns | 15 |
| Race lap record | 1:09.788 ( Maximilian Günther,Dallara F316,2017,F3) |
| Original Circuit (1933) | |
| Length | 2.649 km (1.646 miles) |
| Turns | 14 |
| Race lap record | 2:04.000 ( Philippe Étancelin,Alfa Romeo Monza,1933,Formula Libre) |
ThePau Grand Prix (French:Grand Prix de Pau) is amotor race held inPau, in thePyrénées-Atlantiques department of southwesternFrance. TheFrench Grand Prix was held at Pau in 1930, leading to the annual Pau Grand Prix being inaugurated in 1933. It was not run duringWorld War II and in 2020–2021 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
The race takes place around the centre of the city, where public roads are closed to form astreet circuit, and over the years the event has variously conformed to the rules ofGrand Prix racing,Formula One,Formula Two,Formula 3000,Formula Three,Formula Libre,sports car racing, andtouring car racing.
In 2021,Autocar included the Pau Grand Prix in its list of "The 10 best street circuits in the world".[1]
The race is run around a 2.769 km (1.721 mi) long street circuit, the "Circuit de Pau-Ville" laid out around the French town, and is in many ways similar to the more famous Formula OneMonaco Grand Prix. About 20 km (12 mi) to the west of the city, there is a 3.030 km (1.883 mi) long club track namedCircuit Pau-Arnos.
For the event, cars are set up with greater suspension travel than is typically utilised at a purpose-built racing circuit to minimise the effect of running on the more undulating tarmac of the street circuit.[2]
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In 1900, as part of the 'Semaine de Pau', the newly createdAutomobile-club du Béarn held a race on a 300 km (190 mi) road circuit, called theCircuit du sud-ouest (Pau–Tarbes–Bayonne–Pau). The race was given the same name as the circuit, and was won byRené de Knyff.
In 1901, for the second event, the race had individual prizes for the four separate classes of entrants:
TheFrench Grand Prix was held at Pau in 1930.[5]
The 1933 Grand Prix de Pau was held in February with snow still on the ground.[citation needed] The race was won by Marcel Lehoux driving aBugatti.[5]
There was no Grand Prix in 1934, and in 1935 the event returned with a modified route that bypassed Beaumont Park – the route that is still in use today – and the location of the pits was also moved. In 1937, the regulations were changed and Grand Prix cars were restricted to 4500 cc. In 1938, the Pau Grand Prix was the scene of a symbolic duel between FrenchRené Dreyfus (Delahaye) and the GermanRudolf Caracciola (Mercedes-Benz). In 1939, another duel took place between two Mercedes teammates,Hermann Lang andManfred von Brauchitsch; Lang won the race.
The event took place regularly with a race almost every year, except duringWorld War II, but returned to the calendar in 1947. The 1947 and 1948 events were very successful keeping the public in suspense from start to finish. In 1948, the youngNello Pagani won, defeating many of the famous drivers of the time, such asRaymond Sommer,Philippe Etancelin andJean-Pierre Wimille.
In 1949,Juan Manuel Fangio won by dominating the event. He started from pole position as in the previous year, but also achieved the fastest lap and gained victory.
The FrenchmanJean Behra won in 1954, before a record crowd, driving aSimca-Gordini. His win was a result of a duel with Ferrari driverMaurice Trintignant at a time when many French manufacturers were no longer present at the GP.
On 11 April 1955, the ItalianMario Alborghetti died in a racing accident, theMaserati driver apparently confused his pedals after being distracted and crashed against some hay bales. His death was announced to spectators after the race.
The 1956 race was cancelled following the tragic accident atLe Mans the previous year. Improvements to the circuit were made for the 1957 event, both in terms of safety and the comfort of competitors and spectators.[6]
After being run to Formula Two regulations in 1958–1960, limiting the capacity to 1500 cm3 Formula One in 1961 allowed the Grand Prix de Pau back in the spotlight ahead of theMonaco Grand Prix. In the early 1960s, the event was won by such famous drivers asJack Brabham,Maurice Trintignant, andJim Clark (who achieved his first victory in a Formula One car in Pau Grand Prix in 1961, and went on to win the Pau Grand Prix three more times in 1963–1965).
In 1964, after switching the format of the Grand Prix again from Formula One to Formula Two,Jim Clark won the Grand Prix for the second consecutive year, repeating his success for the third time in a row the following year. In 1967, drivers such asJean-Pierre Beltoise andHenri Pescarolo made their debut at Pau.Jochen Rindt won his first Grand Prix de Pau that year before winning twice more in 1969 and 1970. In 1968,Jackie Stewart won withMatra Sports.
During this period, several former and future world champions also raced at the event:Graham Hill,Jackie Stewart,Jack Brabham,Denny Hulme, andEmerson Fittipaldi. There also appeared more young French drivers likeJohnny Servoz-Gavin,Jean-Pierre Jarier,Jean-Pierre Jabouille,Patrick Depailler andFrançois Cevert, as well as other drivers such asReine Wisell andPeter Gethin, who won the Grand Prix in 1971 and 1972 respectively.
In 1973, the event was threatened by problems with thehomologation of the circuit, it was quickly brought up to standard by the personal intervention of the MayorAndré Labarrère (who had been in office since 1971). François Cevert won that year.
Drivers such asJacques Laffite,Patrick Depailler andRené Arnoux won in Pau, and many F1 drivers at the time continued to race inFormula Two. In 1980, the 40th Grand Prix de Pau was won by the French driverRichard Dallest.
In 1985,Formula 3000 replacedFormula Two as the "second-division" formula belowFormula One and the Grand Prix de Pau became part of the new Formula 3000 European Championship. That same year,Alain Prost became co-organiser of the race.[7]
In 1989,Jean Alesi took his first victory after a turbulent start (the race was restarted four times because of successive problems on the grid, and a spectacular crash).[citation needed]
In 1994, French driverNicolas Leboissetier had a spectacular accident at theVirage de la gare ("train station corner"), reviving the climate of tension that followed the deaths ofAyrton Senna andRoland Ratzenberger atImola during the1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
The Pau-born driverDavid Dussau participated in the race in 1996. He was well-positioned on the grid, but was forced to retire because of a crash.[citation needed]
ColombianJuan-Pablo Montoya won the race twice, in 1997 and 1998.
TheFrench Supertouring Championship was a support event from 1993 to 2000.
At the end of 1998, it was decided that all Formula 3000 races would be organised exclusively as the curtain-raiser of European-based Formula One Grand Prix,[7] and thus the event in Pau could no longer be run as a Formula 3000 race.
Following the disappearance of the Formula 3000 race in Pau, theFIA organised the newEuropean Formula Three Cup in 1999. Formula Three, however, had already come to Pau before as part of the French championship and a support race of F3000. The Grand Prix format also changed completely: the race became shorter (40 minutes instead of 1.5 hours in F3000).
The switch to a more junior formula raised an outcry from the passionate spectators because at that time the European Cup Formula Three was not sufficiently popular in motorsport.[citation needed] The first edition of the European Cup is won byBenoît Tréluyer. This event also included theFrench Formula Three Championship race, which was a non-championship race.[citation needed]
In 2000, the European Cup is stopped and replaced by the new championshipFormula 3 Euro Series, a fusion of the French and German championships. Over the years the Grand Prix became a very important race in the Formula Three calendar. In 2001 the race was won byAnthony Davidson from the pole position, driving a Carlin Dallara-Honda. Davidson went on to win the Euro F3 series that year.
The 2005 edition saw victory for a youngLewis Hamilton, who went on to become a Formula One World Champion three years later.
In 2006, Formula Three was back on the calendar but within theBritish Championship, and the two races were won byRomain Grosjean who was not a regular competitor in the championship.[citation needed]
TheFFSA Silhouettes was a support event from 2001 to 2004, whereas theFFSA GT Championship raced in 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005. TheBritish GT Championship visited Pau in 2006 with a few FFSA GT guests.[citation needed]
From 2007 to 2009, the event changed to touring cars, hosting theWorld Touring Car Championship (WTCC) for theRace of France. The F3 Euro Series returned to support the WTCC during the 2008 event which saw the Brazilian driverAugusto Farfus (WTCC) involved in a crash in the Foch Chicane.
In 2009, after a number of incidents on the opening lap of the second race, the decision was made to deploy the safety car. However, the 'SC' boards informing the drivers of a safety car period had only just been displayed when the safety car driver drove onto the track without being given the order to do so.Franz Engstler, leading the race at the time, was in the process of slowing down when he came around the first corner and had a heavy collision with the safety car which was nearly stopped in the middle of the track. The FIA subsequently sanctioned the officials in charge of the safety car at the event.[8]
The 2009 event featured theFormula Renault 2.0 West European Cup; theFrench Formula Renault had last raced at Pau in 2006.
Following a decision taken by the municipality for financial reasons, the Grand Prix was suspended in 2010, and the WTCC was no longer from this point.
The event was revived in 2011 byPeter Auto and with the return of Formula Three with theInternational Trophy as the main event. However, the race was shorter than in previous years and only had fifteen drivers on the entry list, so there were few spectators. In addition, the only French driver,Tom Dillmann, retired on the fourth lap of the race, which was won by the GermanMarco Wittmann.[9]
One of the most important support races of the weekend was the first electric Grand Prix, run with cars with full electric drivetrains. The category included mostly French drivers such asSoheil Ayari,Franck Lagorce andOlivier Panis. Also, theFormula Renault 2.0 Alps made their first visit to Pau.
In 2012, the organisers announced that in addition to the International Trophy there would also be a round of theBritish Formula Three Championship. But on March 9, 2012, the World Motor Sport Council of the FIA announced that it would be part of a newFIA Formula 3 European Championship, revived from the previous series which ended in 1984. The ItalianRaffaele Marciello won the Grand Prix after dominating qualifying and the race sprint. This victory made him one of the youngest winners of the Pau Grand Prix at only 18 years of age. There were no French drivers in the event
ThePorsche Carrera Cup France was also added to the program for 2012 and one of the drivers wasSébastien Loeb and his teamSébastien Loeb Racing. The Alsatian dominated the weekend and impressed when he won both races with leads of over ten seconds.
At the second Grand Prix de Pau electric, the two races were won by the same winners as the previous year, but in reverse order; the first race was won byAdrien Tambay, the second byMike Parisy. The participants included the Canadian driverMarc-Antoine Camirand (fromQuebec) who, with his car in the colours of theGrand Prix de Trois-Rivières, was present to pay tribute to the Formula One driverGilles Villeneuve and to bring the electric GP to Trois-Rivières.
The 2012 event received between 22,000 and 23,000 spectators, 10 to 15% more than in 2011.
The 2013 event took place on 18, 19 and 20 May. At the Whit Monday holiday, an historical tradition of Pau Grand Prix, the headliner should have been theBritish Formula Three Championship. But this series, with a lot of concurrence with theFIA Formula 3 European Championship, was forced to reduce its calendar to 4 events and so cancelled many rounds including Pau. The headliner would, therefore, take place as a non-championship "special" race forFormula Renault 2.0 open to several European championships teams and drivers: the Formula Renault 2.0 Pau Trophy.
At the end of January 2013, the organisers announced thatSébastien Loeb andJacques Villeneuve would be present in Pau in the Mitjet 2L category.
From 2014 to 2018, the Pau Grand Prix was headlined by theFIA Formula 3 European Championship. TheFormula Renault 2.0 Alps also returned to Pau in 2014. TheGT4 European Series joined the event in 2016, being replaced by theFFSA GT Championship from 2017 to 2019. For 2019 and 2022, theEuroformula Open Championship became the new headlining formula race. 2020 race was cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, and there was no race planned for 2021. TheWorld Touring Car Cup andFIA ETCR – eTouring Car World Cup joined the event in 2022.
Also in 2023, theEuroformula Open Championship was intended to be the headlining formula race, however the Euroformula Open race was cancelled on 5 May due to a misunderstanding between the organisers of Euroformula and Pau GP organizers linked with the possibility to run on sustainable fuel during the weekend.[10][11][12] After the cancellation of Euroformula race, the weekend program was updated andFrench F4 Championship was designated to be the titular race, in which the thirdFormula 4 race would be considered the Grand Prix.[13] Besides French F4 Championship,TCR Europe Touring Car Series joined the event in 2023.
The outright unofficial all-time track record is 1:08.600, set byAndrea Montermini in aReynard 92D, during qualifying for the1992 Pau Grand Prix.[14] As of May 2023, the fastest official race lap records at the Pau Grand Prix street circuit are listed as:
Since 2001, races for historical cars are held one week before or after the "modern" Grand Prix. Races include events for former Formula One cars of the 1960s amongst others.
Notable races during theGrand Prix Historique de Pau since 2001:
