STORY OF THE DAY: Lehoux Completes Ferrari’s Monaco Quartet

Marcel Lehoux finished fourth in the 1934 Monaco Grand Prix, driving Scuderia Ferrari’s number 18 Alfa Romeo Tipo B/P3. Starting tenth, he completed 99 of the 100 laps and was classified one lap behind the leading pair. Guy Moll won for Ferrari ahead of Louis Chiron, while René Dreyfus placed third for Bugatti; Lehoux’s finish therefore put a third Scuderia Ferrari Alfa among the first four cars.

The race was shaped by Chiron’s long command and his late collision with the sandbags near the railway station, which allowed Moll to take a celebrated victory. Behind that drama, Lehoux advanced from the fifth row and kept his P3 running through a demanding contest of constant braking, gear-changing and close proximity to the barriers. His fourth place lacked the sudden theatre of the lead change but completed an exceptionally strong team performance.

Vittorio Jano’s Tipo B/P3 was a purpose-built single-seat Grand Prix car powered in 1934 form by a supercharged straight-eight of approximately 2.9 litres, developed beyond the earlier 2.6-litre specification. Its engine used twin four-cylinder blocks and twin superchargers, while two propeller shafts carried power to the rear axle on either side of the driver. The car’s compact dimensions, acceleration and mechanical brakes demanded precision but suited Monaco’s slow corners and short bursts of speed.

Marcel Lehoux was born in France and built much of his life and racing career in French North Africa, becoming closely associated with events in Algeria and Tunisia. A successful private entrant before joining Scuderia Ferrari, he had won the Tunis Grand Prix and competed widely in Bugatti and Alfa Romeo machinery. His measured fourth place at Monaco demonstrated the experience that made him a dependable member of Ferrari’s 1934 Grand Prix line-up.