In 1906 The French held the very first Grand Prix for manufactures over a 64-mile course near Le Mans. Of the 32 cars that started the race 11 remained after 12 laps split over two days.
The winner was Ferenc Szisz, a Hungarian, driving a 90hp Renault. His Renault utilized detachable rims created by Michelin which enabled him to change tires in 2 to 3 minutes instead of the normal 15 minutes.
The World Championship for Drivers began in 1950 but as we all know J. Young Stewart was most certainly not French