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The first-ever 1-2-3 finish in a grand prix was recorded by Mercedes in 1914 at the French Grand Prix at Lyons. Peugeot had won the previous two French GPs with Georges Boillot at the wheel but for 1914 Boillot was merely a pawn in the Mercedes startegy. At the start of the event on the 23.3 mile circuit (20 laps) Mercedes driver Max Sailer shot to the lead and ran very hard pulling a lead over the second place Boillot Peugeot. The remaining Mercedes drivers were waiting back and letting the two front-runners pursue each other in a high stakes game of automobile reliability. After three circuits Sailer was 90 seconds up on second place Boillot and had clearly displayed the superior engineering of the Mercedes GP car. The fourth lap saw Sailer break the track record and subsequently a connecting rod in his massive (though small by previous standards) 4-1/2L engine. The Mercedes plan was working. When there were three laps to go the Peugeot lead was only 14 seconds. Boillot's 112bhp Peugeot was ailing and was sitting dead in the water on the 18th lap when Mercedes driver Christian Lautenschlager over took him. To add insult to injury the Mercedes' of Louis Wagner and Otto Salzer also passed the dead Peugeot before the stunning finish. Peugeot was barely able to muster a fourth place with Jules Goux. The 1914 Mercedes GP shown above was at the 1998 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. |