Before you race off to book your Grand Prix holiday, let’s get you into gear with a little Grand Prix history. We’ll keep things brief, otherwise we’d be here all day. Nevertheless, here are the instances and incidents that have defined how Grand Prix came to be...
The Grand Prix has its roots in newspaper owner James Gordon Bennet Jr, who established the Gordon Bennett Cup in Europe in 1900, an annual race that brought in drivers from all over the world, with each country allowed to enter up to three cars.
Inspired by the Gordon Bennett Cup, and other similar races that popped up across the US, the first race to carry the Grand Prix name was organised by the Automobile Club de France in 1906. Running over two days in June, the race consisted of six 65-mile laps, each of which took an hour to complete due to the primitive form and function of cars back then. Of the 32 entries, Hungarian Ferenc Szisz won the race in his Renault.
It’s worth noting that all competing cars also had a mechanic on board. Only the mechanics and the driver themselves were allowed to work on the cars during the race. Good news, since the roads were also incredibly bumpy, and wheel repairs were a regular occurrence.
Similar races would then take place in the likes of Brooklands, England; Indianapolis, USA; and Monza, Italy. Though using the Grand Prix name, these were not part of a formal championship.