After the Gordon Bennet Cup came to an end in 1905, the Automobile Club de France l’ACF, organised the following race events according to their preferences. No more limitations of three participating cars per nation and the likes. More background information on the transition of Gordon Bennett Cup to Grand Prix races can be seen in a separate chapter „Gordon-Bennett – Grand Prix Transition„.

For reasons of structure, we’ll divide the Grand Prix Era in a Pre-war and a Post-war era. The Pre-war Grand Prix in itself can be considered to consist of two active three-year periods: 1906-1908 and 1912-1914. In between these two periods lay a three-year hiatus, in which no or hardly any significant Grand Prix was organized. And also, up to about 1921, we only discuss the French Grand Prix de l’ACF. After 1921, more and more different nations cane to organize a Grand Prix.

The period of 1906-1908 drew three different winners of the French Grand Prix for the history books.
   In 1906 the first Grand Prix de l’ACF ran in two days on the Sarthe course, which was situated in the vicinity of the later Le Mans track. Although the first-ever Grand Prix  was a dull race, Ferenc Szisz in a Renault was the winner who finished far ahead of the others. His car was equipped with detachable wheel rims; so called “jantes amovibles”. These detachable rims enabled much shorter pits stops, giving him a dominant time advantage in the race. 
In 1907, the location and the duration of the contest was improved; only one day of Grand Prix racing and in a much more better accessable location: Dieppe. Winner was Felice Nazzaro in a Fiat.
The 1908 Grand Prix, again in Dieppe, was won by Christian Lautenschlager in a Mercedes.
So here it was, three different winners in three consecutive Grand Prix years.

The 1912 Grand Prix de l’ACF was won by Boillot and Goux second on the historical Peugeot race car with his four-valve, overhead twin-cam engine with hemispherical combustion chamber. An engine that would set design standards for over more than a decade.
   In 1913 it was Boillot again who won and now even his stallmate Jules Goux finished 2nd, both in a Peugeot. The two raced, as one would say, in a class of their own. This year it was the EX3 with a reduced cylinder capacity.
   The 1914 Grand Prix saw a fierce, some say an epic battle between Peugeot and the challenging Mercedes cars. The race was decided by the Mercedes team, that dominated mostly by fine racing team tactics. It was all in the wake of the First World War, bringing rage and destruction over Europe, just a month later. After that, the automotive world would look very different.

In 1921, the first Post-war French Grand Prix was won by an American car and driver; Jimmy Murphy in a Duesenberg, indicating what kind of change had taken place in the meantime.
   From then on, more and more countries, such as Italy (Monza), Belgium (Francorchamps), Spain (San Sebastian), England (Brooklands) and Germany (Avus and Nürburgring) gradually joined the Grand Prix scene by organising their own Grands Prix. Even the Indianapolis 500 race was incorporated in the Grand Prix schedule.
   1923 saw the most technical advances in car and engine engineering. More and more, new technologies, such as turbochargers, front drive and low air resistance chassis were introduced. In 1924, the largest number of entries were registered, 22 in all. 1925 even saw the introduction of the World Manufacturers‘ Championship with four races to account for.
   After that, European manufacturers from time to time lost their interest to particpate, leading to small starter fields. Almost yearly changes in technical regulations and less profitable economic times for the automotive industry will have played their part in it.
   But finally, European Grand Prix races grew into a race series, that would stand the test of time and is still alive and kicking till today.

Excellent read on the development of Grand Prix racing, in comparison to American racing for the first quartrer of the twentieth century, gives the book „Auto Racing Comes of Age“ by Robert Dick.
Interesting and extensive information can also be found on the website: „The Golden Era of Grand Prix Racing“ goldenera.fi