When in Reims… The Story of the Reims-Gueux Circuit
October 27, 2026
There hasn’t been a French Grand Prix since July 2022, which is a real shame, because France has played a pivotal role in motor racing since the very beginning. “Grand Prix” is of course a French term, and indeed the first Grand Prix was held near Le Mans in 1906. France has staged 90 French Grands Prix since then, 62 of them as Formula One World Championship rounds between 1950 and 2022.
For those nostalgic for F1 racing in France, the start finish straight and pit garages from the Reims-Gueux circuit survive on country roads just outside Reims (pronounced “rahnss”), northeast of Paris in the heart of the Champagne region. It celebrated its centenary in 2026: a triangular road circuit that originally connected the villages of Gueux and Thillois. It hosted the first World Championship French Grand Prix in 1950 and 11 in total, the last in 1966.
A circuit built for speed
The Champagne region is criss-crossed with long, straight roads, making it a natural home for a circuit designed around maximum speed. Reims-Gueux was essentially a triangle of three long straights on public roads, the two longest running for roughly 2.2 km (about 1.4 miles) each, which made slipstreaming a decisive factor in many races.
Racing legends at the Reims-Gueux circuit
In 1951, 53-year-old Luigi Fagioli shared the winning Alfa Romeo with Juan Manuel Fangio, who took over after a faulty magneto ended his own race. This made Fagioli the oldest driver ever to win a World Championship race.
In 1953, Mike Hawthorn took his first Grand Prix win, beating Fangio by a second in a slipstreaming dash to the finish after 300 miles. In 1954, Mercedes debuted its streamlined W196, and Fangio and Karl Kling finished one-two, a tenth of a second apart.
Fangio drove his last World Championship race at Reims in 1958, finishing fourth. It was also the race in which Luigi Musso suffered a fatal crash. Hawthorn won again.
In 1961, Giancarlo Baghetti won on his championship debut, using the slipstream on the final run to the line to beat Dan Gurney by a tiny margin. In 1966, Jack Brabham became the first driver to win a championship Grand Prix in a car bearing his own name, in what was the last F1 race at Reims.
Other racing continued until the circuit closed permanently in 1972 because of financial difficulties, though parts of the pit complex and grandstands still stand today, and the site has been protected as a historic monument since 2009.
Reims-Gueux today
The great news is that much of it is still there, and because the old triangle is still a public road, you can drive the same straights the Grand Prix cars once flew along. Les Amis du Circuit de Gueux, a non-profit organisation that has been working on the site since the early 2000s, maintains the surviving pit straight, has restored the buildings and has helped protect the site from demolition.
A public centenary celebration took place over the weekend of 12–13 September 2026, marking 100 years since racing began on these roads. Roadside stopping has been restricted since 2022, although local tourist information suggests visits are still permitted so long as you keep out of the buildings and gated grounds. We parked a good distance away and explored on foot.
For those passing through Reims, the circuit’s remains are well worth seeking out. There’s something incredibly evocative about the atmosphere of any deserted racetrack, especially one frozen in time, with the historic sponsors’ signs still adorning the weathered pit garages and grandstands.
Finding the circuit today
The Reims-Gueux circuit lies on the D27 in the commune of Gueux (51390), about 5 miles (8 km) west of Reims, in the Grand Est region of France.
