Robert Manzon

Robert Jean Joseph Manzon was born on 12 April 1917 in Marseille, France.^[1] Manzon began his career as a mechanic and after World War II he started racing, initially with a Cisitalia D46. Earning a contract with the Gordini team for 1948, Manzon won some minor races although his machinery was not always reliable.^[2]

Manzon continued with Gordini into the new Formula One era, scoring points at the 1950 French Grand Prix, and finishing sixth in the World Drivers' Championship in 1952, taking third place in the 1952 Belgian Grand Prix. He left Gordini in 1953 and joined Louis Rosier's team, which was campaigning Ferraris. He subsequently achieved his second podium at the 1954 French Grand Prix at the wheel of a Ferrari 625.^[2]

Manzon then returned to the Gordini team, but found little success in World Championship events. Outside the Championship, he won the 1956 Naples Grand Prix and a sports car race at Pescara.^[2]

After racing, Manzon later operated his own diesel equipment distribution business.^[3] Manzon died at his home in the south of France on 19 January 2015 aged 97.^[4] He was the last surviving entrant of the 1950 Formula One season.

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