French F1 Cars, Drivers, and Teams Celebrated at Retromobile Paris 2025
Retromobile remembers. The giant indoor swap meet/art show/car parts party has exhibits, cars, and art—not to mention watches, model cars, and displays by car clubs and car dealers—and is a destination every true car enthusiast must attend at least once in life. And when Retromobile opens its doors at the Porte de Versailles in Paris on February 5, a special exhibit will also open that celebrates French Formula 1 teams and drivers, with 16 French F1 cars on display, along with numerous engines and other memorabilia.
'Our story begins shortly after World War II,' Retromobile states. 'The nascent Formula 1 was beginning to attract a few French car manufacturers like Gordini, Talbot-Lago, and Bugatti. However, success was not in the cards and gradually these constructors left the paddocks. It wasn't until 1968, 12 years after the last appearance of a French team in Formula 1, that a French single-seater was seen again in the discipline.'
Surely you've heard of Matra. If you're lucky, you heard this French screamer at full song around a race track. There was nothing else like it.
Matra had enjoyed success in Formula 3 and Formula 2, and by 1967 had stepped up to F1. That year, a young Belgian driver named Jacky Ickx surprised the world by taking third on the grid at the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, despite his 1,600cc Matra MS7 F2, which was allowed to enter alongside the 3,000cc F1 cars, being down 1.4 liters of engine displacement. A broken suspension meant he failed to finish, but notice had been given.
Greater things were coming.
'Matra, under the leadership of managing director, Jean-Luc Lagardère, and with the support of the oil company ELF, gave the British team led by Ken Tyrrell an MS 10 chassis powered by a Ford-Cosworth V8,' Retromobile recalls. 'For its part, the French firm was using a vehicle based on an MS 11 chassis powered by an in-house V12 engine. Both vehicles were in Monaco for the 1967 Grand Prix with Johnny Servoz-Gavin qualifying 11th on the grid. Jean-Pierre Beltoise was a DNQ.
'In 1968, with another Jackie behind the wheel, this one a young Scotsman named Jackie Stewart, victory came in the driving rain at Zandvoort. In 1969, Matra won the Constructors' championship while its lead driver, Jackie Stewart, became World Champion.'
But that was it for French constructors for a while. They weren't represented again in Formula 1 until 1975. In the meantime, French drivers rose to prominence.
'Numerous talented French drivers sought out foreign teams,' Retromobile said. '(Jean-Pierre) Beltoise, who had gone to British Racing Motors (BRM), won at Monaco (in 1972). Patrick Depailler, Jean-Pierre Jarier and Jacques Laffite did well representing the tricolour. Ten years later, no less than seven French drivers were on the starting grid in F1: in addition to the three above, there was René Arnoux, Jean-Pierre Jabouille, Didier Pironi and Patrick Tambay.'
The first all-French victory happened on June 19, 1977 in Anderstorp, Sweden, when French driver Jacques Laffite drove a French Ligier to the win.
'This success was so unexpected that Laffite did not get to hear the Marseillaise (French national anthem) on the podium, as the organizers had never for a moment thought that the Frenchman could win.'
On July 1, 1979, Jean-Pierre Jabouille and Renault claimed a historic victory on the Dijon-Prenois track. Then the great Alain Prost took the first world championship by a French driver when he won the first of three titles for McLaren in 1985, followed by wins in 1986 and 1989, all for McLaren, followed by another championship with Williams Renault in 1993. Spaniard Fernando Alonso won titles with Renault power in 2005 and 2006.
All of the above will be celebrated at Retromobile February 5-9.
'Through this unique exhibition, Rétromobile aims to pay tribute to the great figures who have shaped the history of French Formula 1. But that's not all: throughout the week, numerous iconic figures from the world of motorsport will join Rétromobile to connect with enthusiasts (including) appearances by drivers Jean Alesi and Olivier Panis.'
Flights are cheap, F1 is not. So book a middle seat now and allez-vous to Paris!
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