1950 Swiss Grand Prix: Full Weekend Report & Highlights

Nino Farina won the 1950 Swiss Grand Prix ahead of Luigi Fagioli, repeating Alfa Romeo‘s dominance from the first round of the championship a week earlier.

Once again, Juan Manuel Fangio‘s Alfa failed to finish. The Ferraris of Alberto Ascari, Gigi Villoresi, and Raymond Sommer were expected to challenge the Alfas but were all forced to retire. Fangio took an early lead but was overtaken by Farina on lap seven, with the Alfas securing the top three positions.

As the Ferraris struggled, Prince Bira moved into fourth, only to be overtaken by Philippe Etancelin’s Talbot-Lago during a pit stop. Factory Talbot-Lago driver Eugene Martin crashed heavily on the 19th lap, seriously injuring himself. Etancelin retired with gearbox trouble on the 25th lap, and Fangio retired seven laps from the end, leaving factory Talbot-Lago driver Louis Rosier to take third ahead of four Maseratis.

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	14	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	2:42.1	–
2	16	Nino Farina	Alfa Romeo	2:42.8	+ 0.7
3	12	Luigi Fagioli	Alfa Romeo	2:45.2	+ 3.1
4	22	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	2:46.1	+ 4.0
5	18	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	2:46.8	+ 4.7
6	42	Philippe Étancelin	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	2:51.1	+ 9.0
7	6	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	2:52.7	+ 10.6
8	30	Prince Bira	Maserati	2:53.2	+ 11.1
9	8	Eugène Martin	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	2:53.7	+ 11.6
10	10	Louis Rosier	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	2:54.0	+ 11.9
11	32	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati	2:54.2	+ 12.1
12	34	Felice Bonetto	Maserati	2:54.6	+ 12.5
13	20	Raymond Sommer	Ferrari	2:54.6	+ 12.5
14	4	Johnny Claes	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	2:59.0	+ 16.9
15	2	Nello Pagani	Maserati	3:06.8	+ 24.7
16	26	Louis Chiron	Maserati	3:06.8	+ 24.7
17	40	Toni Branca	Maserati	3:10.0	+ 27.9
18	44	Harry Schell	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	3:11.5	+ 29.4
DNA	24	Peter Whitehead	Ferrari	–	–
DNA	28	Franco Rol	Maserati	–	–
DNA	36	Reg Parnell	Maserati	–	–
DNA	38	Rudi Fischer	SVA-Fiat	–	–

1950 Swiss Grand Prix Starting Grid

Pos	No	Driver	Car
1	14	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo
2	16	Nino Farina	Alfa Romeo
3	12	Luigi Fagioli	Alfa Romeo
4	22	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari
5	18	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari
6	42	Philippe Etancelin	Talbot-Lago
7	6	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	Talbot-Lago
8	30	Prince Bira	Maserati
9	8	Eugene Martin	Talbot-Lago
10	10	Louis Rosier	Talbot-Lago
11	32	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati
12	34	Felice Bonetto	Maserati
13	20	Raymond Sommer	Ferrari
14	4	Johnny Claes	Talbot-Lago
15	2	Nello Pagani	Maserati
16	26	Louis Chiron	Maserati
17	30	Toni Branca	Maserati
18	44	Harry Schell	Cooper JAP

1950 Swiss Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	16	Nino Farina	Alfa Romeo	42	2:02:53.700	9
2	12	Luigi Fagioli	Alfa Romeo	42	+0.400s	6
3	10	Louis Rosier	Talbot-Lago	41	+1 lap	4
4	30	Prince Bira	Maserati	40	+2 laps	3
5	34	Felice Bonetto	Maserati Milano	40	+2 laps	2
6	32	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati	40	+2 laps	0
7	2	Nello Pagani	Maserati	39	+3 laps	0
8	44	Harry Schell	Talbot-Lago	39	+3 laps	0
9	26	Louis Chiron	Maserati	39	+3 laps	0
10	4	Johnny Claes	Talbot-Lago	39	+3 laps	0
11	40	Toni Branca	Maserati	35	+7 laps	0
NC	14	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	33	DNF	0
NC	42	Philippe Etancelin	Talbot-Lago	25	DNF	0
NC	20	Raymond Sommer	Ferrari	19	DNF	0
NC	8	Eugene Martin	Talbot-Lago	19	DNF	0
NC	22	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	9	DNF	0
NC	18	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	4	DNF	0
NC	6	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	Talbot-Lago	0	DNF	0

1950 Post-Race F1 Drivers’ Championship Standings

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Giuseppe Farina	18
2	Luigi Fagioli	12
3	Juan Manuel Fangio	9
4	Johnnie Parsons	6
5	Alberto Ascari	6

Only the top five positions are included. Only the best four results counted towards the Championship.

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Ben is a staff writer specialising in F1 from the 1990s to the modern era. Ben has been following Formula 1 since 1986 and is an avid researcher who loves understanding the technology that makes it one of the most exciting motorsport on the planet. He listens to podcasts about F1 on a daily basis, and enjoys reading books from the inspirational Adrian Newey to former F1 drivers.