Robert Manzon is a racing driver from France who last raced in Formula 1 for Gordini. Manzon has recorded 0 wins and 2 podiums from 29 starts.[1]
A Racer Rating of 4,281 ranks Manzon 869th of 15,348 indexed drivers, on an Elo scale where the strongest reach the low five figures. It is built from every indexed race in the driver's file, decayed for time since their last race.
| 1956-09-02 | Autodromo Nazionale di Monza | DNF | −73 |
| 1956-08-05 | Nürburgring | DNF | −72 |
| 1956-07-14 | Silverstone Circuit | P9 | +81 |
| 1956-07-01 | Reims-Gueux | P9 | +28 |
| 1956-05-13 | Circuit de Monaco | DNF | +17 |
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Podiums | DNFs | Poles | Points | Pos | Gain/Loss | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | ▸Formula 1 | Gordini | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | P28 | −18 | 4,281 |
| 1955 | ▸Formula 1 | Gordini | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | P26 | −250 | 4,299 |
| 1954 | ▸Formula 1 | Ferrari | 6 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | P15 | −310 | 4,550 |
| 1953 | ▸Formula 1 | Gordini | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | P20 | −22 | 4,860 |
| 1952 | ▸Formula 1 | Gordini | 7 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 9 | P6 | +145 | 4,881 |
| 1951 | ▸Formula 1 | Simca | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | P20 | −5 | 4,736 |
| 1950 | ▸Formula 1 | Simca | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | P13 | −60 | 4,740 |
| Rival | Rating | Raced | Ahead | Behind | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇦🇷 Juan Fangio | 6,092 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% |
| 🇮🇹 Nino Farina | 5,565 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% |
| 🇮🇹 Alberto Ascari | 5,339 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% |
| 🇫🇷 Louis Rosier | 4,858 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% |
| 🇮🇹 Luigi Villoresi | 5,038 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% |
| 🇫🇷 Jean Behra | 4,855 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% |
| 🇬🇧 Mike Hawthorn | 5,537 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 50% |
| 🇦🇷 José Froilán González | 5,180 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0% |
| 🇮🇹 Piero Taruffi | 5,122 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0% |
| 🇬🇧 Peter Collins | 4,904 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 33% |
Robert Manzon was a French driver who competed in Formula 1 from 1950 to 1956, spanning the championship's first seven seasons. Across 29 starts, all for Gordini, he scored two podium finishes and never won a race. His average finishing position of 6.9th places him among the competent professionals of the early championship era; his Racer Rating of 4,281 reflects a driver competitive at the mid-field level of a strong professional series rather than at its leading edge.[1]
Manzon shared the grid with many of the era's dominant figures. Against five-time champion Juan Fangio he never finished ahead, losing all seven head-to-head encounters. He faced similar results against two-time champion Alberto Ascari, finishing behind him in all six races they contested. However, the record shows occasional victories against front-ranking drivers; he beat Nino Farina, a one-time champion, once across six shared races, and defeated Mike Hawthorn, another champion, twice. His most competitive record came against Jean Behra, whom he outfinished three times in five meetings. Against Louis Rosier he held a 2-4 head-to-head record. These results suggest a driver who could momentarily match or exceed the very best on any given Sunday but lacked the consistency to challenge them across a season.[2]
Manzon's tenure with Gordini, the French constructor that fielded him for the majority of his 29 starts, coincided with a period in which the team produced no race winners despite running multiple drivers. His career came to a quiet close in 1956, when he contested five rounds without scoring points. He remained a notable figure in motor racing for decades afterward, living to 2015 and becoming the last surviving driver from Formula 1's inaugural 1950 season.