Though 1948 proved to be less than spectacular; 1949 proved to be memorable for Charles, though the year began rather unremarkable.
In April, Charles took part in the Grand Prix du Pau with a Talbot-Lago T26. Pozzi’s race came to an early end when he was forced to retire from the race after only 23 laps. Charles’ next race was the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Charles once again partnered with Chaboud, driving a Delahaye 175S. After only 52 laps completed, the Delahaye developed problems that were not able to be rectified. As a result, Pozzi and Chaboud had to retire from the race. Though the end result of his race at Le Mans was not memorable, Charles did provide one special memory that will live on in motor racing legend. Pozzi will be remembered for his car spewing hot latté (or lait, since it happened in France) down the straightaway. Charles’ car was overheating and was led to substitute milk when no water could be found. One other interesting thing to note about the race was that the number 4 car of Charles Pozzi, driven by Pierre Flahault and André Simon, set the fastest lap of the race.
Things changed in August though. August 7th was a big day for Charles. Charles went to Saint-Gaudens, France to take part in the Grand Prix de l’ A.C.F. The street circuit in Saint-Gaudens was over 6.8 miles in length. The race’s total number of laps was 46, which meant the race distance would cover over 300 miles. For the grand prix race, Pozzi used his older Delahaye 135. Charles was always known for his consistency and endurance and these two attributes needed to pay dividends for Charles at some point, and at Saint-Gaudens, they did. Charles was able to wield his Delahaye around for those 46 laps and took his first ever victory!
Charles then finished 1949 with a couple of races at Montlhery. Charles took part in the Coupes du Salon sports car race and the Grand Prix du Salon. For the Grand Prix du Salon the field was a little thin. Only nine drivers took the green flag. However, there were some competent and competitive drivers that entered the race besides Pozzi. Raymond Sommer and Harry Schell came with their own Talbot-Lago T26Cs and Pierre Meyrat also came with a Talbot-Lago. The race was 64 laps of the shorter 3.9 mile street course. Driving his Delahaye 135, Charles finished the race 5 laps down to the winner Raymond Sommer but he did finish the race 4th.
As 1949 drew to a close, Charles enjoyed probably one of his most successful seasons in motor racing. 1947 was still perhaps his best overall year as he had a number of top-five finishes in many events. However, 1949 provided Pozzi his first victory.
Heading into 1950, and Formula One’s inaugural season, Charles began to start focusing more on sports cars though he was still present at many grand prix. In fact, Pozzi would only compete in one sports car race in 1950, but the long endurance-type races were more suited to his style of racing, especially since he would never have an accident behind the wheel throughout his career. Of course Charles had said that was more because of the fact he ‘didn’t drive fast enough’ to have them.
Anyway, the 1950 season got started for Pozzi in April once again with the Grand Prix du Pau. Pretty much all of the heavyweights of grand prix racing at the time were there. Scoring a good result would be no easy task for any driver with the talent that was present that weekend. Charles battled these talented drivers in a new car for him, a Talbot-Lago T26C (see Talbot-Lago T26C article). This car had been owned by Georges Grignard a couple of years prior, but was to be the car Pozzi would use as he attempted to compete in Formula One first season. Charles finished the race with a rather good result. He finished 8th, but some 10 laps down to Fangio in his Maserati 4CLT/48.
Pozzi’s first Formula One event he attempted to take part was the Monaco Grand Prix. Unfortunately, Charles suffered problems with the Talbot-Lago and couldn’t get them sorted in time to take part in qualifying or the race.
Charles’ friendship with Chaboud led to the two drivers starting Ecurie Lutetia. Charles would co-drive under this banner, along with Flahault, in a Delahaye 175S for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Over 160 laps into the event, Charles’ Delahaye started to develop overheating issues again. While Charles was able to find water this time, a seal worked loose and Pozzi and Flahault were disqualified after 165 laps.
Charles’ next race was his first and only race he ever competed in Formula One. After failing to qualify for the Monaco Grand Prix, Pozzi waited until grand prix racing returned to French soil. At the French Grand Prix at Reims, driving a Talbot-Lago T26C, Charles started the race from 17th on the grid. He was assigned this starting spot as he did not post a time during qualifying. His consistent driving style paid dividends during the race, however, as he was able to steadily make his way up through the field. Pozzi then turned the car over to Louis Rosier and the paired missed out finishing in the points by one spot. The two Frenchmen finished the race 6th. Most of the credit for the result does need to be given where it is most deserved. Ten laps into the race Louis Rosier developed overheating problems and was forced to retire from the race. Being the sportsman he was, Charles then pulled over on lap fourteen and gave his drive to Rosier. Pozzi’s good friend Chaboud could have taken over but he was preparing to take over for Philippe Etancelin who came in after completing the first twenty-six laps. At the end of July, Pozzi took part in his only other race for 1950. The event was the Grand Prix of Rouen. Not only did Charles take part but he also fielded two other cars for Guy Mairesse and Pierre Meyrat. Charles went back to driving his old Delahaye 135CS. Pozzi started the race on the 3 mile circuit from 3rd. Despite the car’s age, Charles was able to muscle his Delahaye around the track to finish the race 2nd behind his co-driver earlier in the month Louis Rosier.
After 1950 Charles took part in only a handful of grand prix races, and instead, focused on sports car and endurance racing. Charles finished Formula One’s first season having competed in one race, failing to qualify for another and scoring no points.
The next year, Charles took part in a sports car race in Nice and finished 2nd in an Aston Martin DB2. He was beaten by one of the talented women drivers of the day Yvonne Simone in the powerful Ferrari 166MM.
Some of Charles’ most impressive results came over the next few years. In 1952, Charles took the victory at the 12 hours of Casablanca, Morocco driving a Talbot-Lago T26GS. Paired with Lucien Vincent, Charles was able to complete 264 laps in 12 hours.
1953 provided Pozzi with some of his most impressive highlights. In February of that year Charles travelled across the Mediterranean again to take part in the 12 hour Grand Prix of Agadir, Morocco. Driving a Lancia Aurelia, Charles was able to finish the race 3rd.
Then, in the very early part of June, Pozzi drove a 2.0 liter Ferrari 166MM in the 12 hours of Hyéres. Along with co-driver and car owner François Picard, the pair drove to a 3rd place finish overall and 1st in the 2 liter class. What was really impressive about Picard and Pozzi’s result was the fact they had a 12 laps lead in class at the end of the event, and were only another 12 laps behind the Jaguar C-type of the overall winners Whitehead and Cole.
One week later, Pozzi co-drove with fellow Frenchman Pierre Levegh in a Talbot-Lago T26GS in the 24 hours of Le Mans. The two, driving for the factory Talbot-Lago team, were able to finish the 24 hour race 8th overall.
