17th, Lautenschlager's Mercedes Secures Victory in Dieppe
What would Jacques Laffite have thought? The Frenchman arrived in his pyjamas before the 1984 Dallas GP, a protest against a 7am start for Sunday morning warm-up. A few generations before, his antecedents were ready to race at 6am…
Dieppe hosted the French GP for a second time and there were new rules this year, with fuel restrictions lifted and a higher, 1100kg minimum weight limit. The theory ran that heavier cars would be sturdier and safer… although they didn’t appear to stop so well. There is a demonstration of period handling frailties on YouTube, in a short, charming sequence swiped from a Shell VHS documentary.
The 48 cars set off at one-minute intervals, with Dario Resta (Austin) balloted to lead away. The host nation had high hopes, with strong representation from Renault, Clément-Bayard, Panhard-Levassor, Mors and others, but most major manufacturers were present – including Itala and Fiat from Italy, Benz, Opel and Mercedes from Germany, Austin from England and Thomas from America.