and Hawthorn would swap the lead several times, sometimes more than once a lap, pulling slowly away from Ascari who was locked in a close battle with Farina, González and Marimón. Villoresi, meanwhile, fell back, but not enough to be challenged for seventh place. González continued to push, catching and overtaking Farina then Ascari on lap 37. This spurred Ascari on, and he and González duelled for third place over the following 20 laps. Both the duels, for first place and for third place, would last until very near the end of the race, with the drivers separated by not more than a carlength at any stage. With two laps to go, Fangio and Hawthorn crossed the finish line side by side, followed less than a second later by González and Ascari, also side by side. Hawthorn led into the last lap, with González very close now, but Ascari well off the pace having eased off. Coming into the final straight González was able to overlap slightly on Fangio, but Hawthorn lead the pair, winning the race by just one second from Fangio, with González just 0.4 seconds behind in third place. Race classification Notes – Includes 1 point for fastest lap Championship standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Note: Only the top five positions are included. Notes References External links ddavid.com: The French Grand Prix of 1953 The Story of the Grand Prix – The Race of the Century French GP 1953 French Grand Prix French Grand Prix 1953 in French motorsport Fra