Charade Circuit – F1 Track Layout, Records & Winners
Where in the world
Every circuit that has hosted a Formula 1 Grand Prix. Marker size shows how many, and green marks the circuits on this year’s calendar.
Circuit de Charade, located on the slopes of an extinct volcano near Clermont-Ferrand, France, opened in 1958 and hosted four French Grands Prix between 1965 and 1972. The original 8.055 km layout featured an exceptional 180 metres of elevation change winding through the Puy de Charade caldera. Often called a mini-Nürburgring, it was abandoned by F1 after Helmut Marko was permanently blinded by a flying stone in 1972.
Layout & Facts
Track Geometry
| Lap distance | 8.055 km / 5.005 mi |
| Circuit type | Permanent circuit |
| Elevation change | 180 meters / 591 feet |
| Driving direction | Clockwise ↻ |
| Corners | 18 corners (2 low / 10 medium / 6 high speed) |
Driving Demands
Traction
Braking
Lateral
Downforce
Performance
| Wins by grid position | P150%P325%P6+25%based on 4 races |
| Pole position side | Left side |
| Top speed | 275 km/h (171 mph) |
| Average race speed | 167 km/h (104 mph) |
| Pit lane time loss | 22.0 seconds |
| Lap record | 2:53.900 (167 km/h / 104 mph) (Chris Amon, 1972) |
Race Strategy
Overtaking
Track Evolution
Rain Risk
Safety Car
Heritage
| Opened | 1958 (68 years ago) |
| Local timezone | Europe/Paris (CEST, UTC+02) |
| Owner | Conseil départemental du Puy-de-Dôme |
| Official website | www.charade.fr |
Surface & Tyres
Asphalt Grip
Asphalt Abrasion
Tyre Stress
Tyre Degradation
History
More circuit history coming soon — we are still adding key corner stories for this track.
Winners & Podiums
| No. | Year | Podium | Team | Fastest Lap | Laps | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1972 | 1  Jackie Stewart 1:52:22.5002  Emerson Fittipaldi +27.7003  Chris Amon +31.900 | Tyrrell Team Lotus Matra | 2:53.900 Chris Amon Matra | 38 | 1972 Race Report & Results |
| 3 | 1970 | 1  Jochen Rindt 1:55:57.0002 Chris Amon +7.6103  Jack Brabham +44.830 | Team Lotus March Brabham | 3:00.750 Jack Brabham Brabham | 38 | 1970 Race Report & Results |
| 2 | 1969 | 1 Jackie Stewart 1:56:47.400 2 Jean-Pierre Beltoise +57.1003  Jacky Ickx +57.300 | Matra Matra Brabham | 38 | 1969 Race Report & Results | |
| 1 | 1965 | 1 Jim Clark 2:41:38.400 2 Jackie Stewart +26.3003 John Surtees +2:33.500 | Team Lotus BRM Ferrari | 40 | 1965 Race Report & Results |
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Drivers Ranking
| NO | Driver | GP | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Pod | Pole | FL | Avg Grid | Avg Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jackie Stewart | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 24 |
| 2 | Jim Clark | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 9 |
| 3 | Jochen Rindt | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 | 9.7 | 9 |
| 4 | Chris Amon | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4.5 | 6.8 | 10 |
| 5 | Emerson Fittipaldi | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 | 2.0 | 6 |
| 6 | Jean-Pierre Beltoise | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10.3 | 10.0 | 6 |
| 7 | John Surtees | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 4 |
| 8 | Jack Brabham | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 4 |
| 9 | Jacky Ickx | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.0 | 10.7 | 4 |
| 10 | Denny Hulme | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 | 5.8 | 6 |
| 11 | Bruce McLaren | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 | 7.0 | 3 |
| 12 | François Cevert | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 | 7.5 | 3 |
| 13 | Graham Hill | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15.3 | 7.8 | 3 |
| 14 | Vic Elford | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 | 5.0 | 2 |
| 15 | Henri Pescarolo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 | 5.0 | 2 |
| 16 |  Ronnie Peterson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 | 11.0 | 2 |
| 17 | Mike Hailwood | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 | 6.0 | 1 |
| 18 |  Dan Gurney | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.0 | 10.0 | 1 |
| 19 |  Jo Siffert | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.0 | 10.3 | 1 |
| 20 | Helmut Marko | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 | 23.0 | 0 |
| 21 | Ignazio Giunti | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.0 | 14.0 | 0 |
| 22 | Ronnie Bucknum | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 0 |
| 23 |  Carlos Reutemann | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17.0 | 12.0 | 0 |
| 24 | David Walker | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22.0 | 18.0 | 0 |
| 25 | Bob Anderson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15.0 | 9.0 | 0 |
| 26 | Piers Courage | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.0 | 12.0 | 0 |
| 27 | Reine Wisell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18.0 | 21.0 | 0 |
| 28 |  George Eaton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19.0 | 12.0 | 0 |
| 29 | Jackie Oliver | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.0 | 20.0 | 0 |
| 30 | Innes Ireland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17.0 | 13.0 | 0 |
| 31 | Wilson Fittipaldi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14.0 | 8.0 | 0 |
| 32 | Nanni Galli | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19.0 | 13.0 | 0 |
| 33 | Niki Lauda | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21.0 | 24.0 | 0 |
| 34 | Mike Spence | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 | 7.0 | 0 |
| 35 | Mike Beuttler | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23.0 | 19.0 | 0 |
| 36 | Carlos Pace | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.0 | 22.0 | 0 |
| 37 | Richie Ginther | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 | 15.0 | 0 |
| 38 | Brian Redman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.0 | 9.0 | 0 |
| 39 | Tim Schenken | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 17.0 | 0 |
| 40 | Lorenzo Bandini | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 8.0 | 0 |
| 41 | Silvio Moser | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.0 | 7.0 | 0 |
| 42 | Patrick Depailler | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16.0 | 20.0 | 0 |
| 43 |  Pedro Rodríguez | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 | 19.0 | 0 |
| 44 | Jo Bonnier | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 0 |
| 45 |  Rolf Stommelen | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14.5 | 11.5 | 0 |
| 46 | Andrea de Adamich | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.5 | 14.5 | 0 |
| 47 | John Miles | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15.0 | 10.5 | 0 |
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Constructors Ranking
| NO | Team | GP | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Pod | Pole | FL | Avg Grid | Avg Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team Lotus | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10.9 | 8.5 | 25 |
| 2 | Matra | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3.4 | 4.8 | 21 |
| 3 | Tyrrell | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8.7 | 8.3 | 12 |
| 4 | March | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12.4 | 14.1 | 8 |
| 5 | BRM | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13.0 | 14.6 | 8 |
| 6 | Brabham | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 11.5 | 8.2 | 12 |
| 7 | Ferrari | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6.9 | 11.0 | 4 |
| 8 | McLaren | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.1 | 7.3 | 9 |
| 9 | Surtees | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 | 12.3 | 1 |
| 10 |  Honda | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.5 | 15.5 | 0 |
| 11 | Cooper-Climax | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.5 | 13.5 | 0 |
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Charade Circuit — Frequently Asked Questions
How many F1 Grands Prix have been held at Charade Circuit?
Charade Circuit has hosted 4 Formula 1 Grands Prix since the first edition in 1965.
Who has the most F1 wins at Charade Circuit?
Jackie Stewart holds the record at Charade Circuit with 2 victories.
Which constructor has won most often at Charade Circuit?
Team Lotus is the most successful constructor at Charade Circuit with 2 wins.
What is the lap record at Charade Circuit?
The lap record at Charade Circuit is 02:53.900, set by Chris Amon in 1972.
Where is Charade Circuit located?
Charade Circuit is located in Clermont-Ferrand.
When was Charade Circuit built?
Charade Circuit opened in 1958.
In which direction is Charade Circuit driven?
Charade Circuit is driven clockwise.
How many corners does Charade Circuit have?
Charade Circuit has 18 corners.
Is Charade Circuit a street or permanent circuit?
Charade Circuit is a permanent circuit.
History
Charade Circuit History
Host of the French GP on four occassions, the Circuit Louis Rosier - better known as Clermont-Ferrand - twisted and turned around the side of two extinct volcanos over its five mile length. A trio of champions, Jim Clark, Jochen Rindt and Jackie Stewart (twice), were the victors of the GPs, although the ever-unlucky Chris Amon was denied the win in 1972 by a puncture, having dominated the meeting in his Matra.
It certainly brought out the best in the bravest of drivers - Denny Hulme commenting once that many drivers wore open-face helmets so they could throw up more easily as they went down the left-right-left hills - but in truth Clermont-Ferrand was never likely to survive as a venue for the French GP for long. The world's most complete and modern circuit sprang up at Paul Ricard in 1971 and the French GP moved away, never to return.
This is also the circuit were Helmut Marko lost his left eye when it got hit by a stone flying from the tyre of Emerson Fittipaldi's Lotus that penetrated the helmet visor of Marko.
Clermont-Ferrand soldiered on, continuing to host races for the Trophées d'Auverne until 1988, when it closed for the construction of a new, smaller circuit utilising the lower sections only. This became known as Charade - although its official title is Circuit de Montagne d'Auvergne - and has hosted French championship races ever since on its still challenging layout.
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