1950 F1 World Championship

The 1950 Formula 1 season introduced the first-ever FIA World Championship of Drivers, giving drivers an official seven-race championship calendar and setting the stage for F1 we know and love today.

In addition to the races that counted towards the World Championship, the 1950 season also had a number of non-championship races, offering teams and drivers other races to showcase their cars and on-track race craft.

Season

The championship started on May 13 at Silverstone and ran until September 3 at Monza. During the season, drivers competed in six official Grand Prix events across Europe, driving cars that adhered to the FIA’s specific Formula 1 regulations. Outside of the non-championship races, other cars were allowed to compete.

The Indianapolis 500 was also a counted event, unique to the championship, even though it operated under the AAA National Championship regulations, which were distinct from the standard F1 rules.

Giuseppe Farina emerged as the 1950 Drivers’ Champion, clinching the title ahead of other F1 legends Juan Manuel Fangio and Luigi Fagioli. The win solidified Farina’s position in F1 history as the first-ever championship winner in Formula One.

1950 F1 Entries drivers and teams

Team	Driver	Race entries	Victories	Podiums	Poles	Fastes Laps
Adams	Bayliss Levrett	1				
	Bill Cantrell	1				
Alfa Romeo	Consalvo Sanesi	1				
	Giuseppe Farina	6	3	3	2	3
	Juan Manuel Fangio	7	3	3	4	3
	Luigi Fagioli	6		5		
	Piero Taruffi	1				
	Reg Parnell	2		1		
Alta	Geoffrey Crossley	2				
	Joe Kelly	1				
Automobiles Talbot-Darracq	Charles Pozzi	1				
	Eugen Martin	2				
	Eugene Chaboud	2				
	Guy Mairesse	1				
	Henri Louveau	1				
	Johnny Claes	6				
	Louis Rosier	7		2		
	Philippe Etancelin	6				
	Pierre Levegh	3				
	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	4				
Cooper	Harry Schell	2				
Deidt	Bill Holland	1		1		
	Mauri Rose	1		1		
	Tony Bettenhausen Sr.	1				
Ewing	Jimmy Davies	1				
Ferrari	Alberto Ascari	6		2		
	Dorino Serafini	1		1		
	Luigi Villoresi	4				
	Raymond Sommer	5				
Ferrari–Jaguar	Clemente Biondetti	1				
Gordini	Maurice Trintignant	2				
	Robert Manzon	3				
Kurtis	Cecil Green	1				
	Duke Dinsmore	1				
	Freddie Agabashian	1				
	Jack McGrath	1				
	Jerry Hoyt	1				
	Jimmy Jackson	1				
	Johnnie Parsons	1	1	1		1
	Johnny McDowell	1				
	Joie Chitwood	1				
	Mack Hellings	1				
	Pat Flaherty	1				
	Sam Hanks	1				
	Walt Brown	1				
	Walt Faulkner	1			1	
Langley	Gene Hartley	1				
Lesovsky	George Connor	1				
	Troy Ruttman	1				
Marchese	Myron Fohr	1				
Maserati	Alfredo Pian	1				
	Antonio Branca	2				
	Birabongse Bhanudej	4				
	Bob Gerard	2				
	Brian Shawe-Taylor	1				
	David Hampshire	2				
	David Murray	2				
	Emmanuel de Graffenried	4				
	Felice Bonetto	4				
	Franco Rol	3				
	Henry Banks	1				
	Joe Fry	1				
	Jose Froilan Gonzalez	2				
	Leslie Johnson	1				
	Louis Chiron	5		1		
	Nello Pagani	1				
	Paul Pietsch	1				
	Peter Walker	1				
	Spider Webb	1				
	T. Cuth Harrison	3				
	Tony Rolt	1				
Moore	Lee Wallard	1				
Nichels	Paul Russo	1				
Olson	Jackie Holmes	1				
Peter Whitehead	Peter Whitehead	3		1		
Rae	Walt Ader	1				
Scuderia Milano	Gianfranco Comotti	1				
Snowberger	Bill Schindler	1				
Stevens	Duane Carter	1				
Watson	Dick Rathmann	1				
Wetteroth	Jim Rathmann	1				

1950 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Date	Grand Prix	Laps	Distance	Country
13 May	Silverstone	70	4.649	Great Britain
21 May	Monte Carlo	100	3.1801	Monaco
30 May	Indianapolis	200	4.01	Indianapolis
04 Jun	Bremgarten	42	7.28	Switzerland
18 Jun	Spa-Francorchamps	35	14.12	Belgium
02 Jul	Rheims	64	7.815	France
03 Sep	Monza	80	6.3	Italy

1950 Formula 1 Race Reports

Round 1: British Grand Prix

Race date: 13 May 1950
Circuit: Silverstone Circuit
Laps: 70
Circuit length: 4.649 km (2.889 mi)

On 13 May 1950, the world witnessed the debut of the FIA Formula One World Championship with its first race held at Silverstone, the 1950 British Grand Prix. Officially titled the Grand Prix d’Europe and recognised as the season’s fifth race, it was dominated by the Alfa Romeo cars. Nino Farina clinched the win, followed by his teammate Luigi Fagioli in second place, after Juan Manuel Fangio retired due to an engine issue, and Reg Parnell, also of Alfa Romeo finished third. Not only did Farina win the first official F1 Grand Prix he would also go on to win the first Formula 1 World Championship at the end of the 1950 season. Among those who attended the race were King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, and a crowd of more than 120,000 people.

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  1950 British Grand Prix: The First World Championship Formula One Race

Round 2: Monaco Grand Prix

Race date: 21 May 1950
Circuit: Circuit de Monaco
Laps: 100
Circuit length: 3.180 km (1.976 miles)

The second Formula One World Championship race took place in Monaco on May 21, 1950, and was won by Juan Manuel Fangio. Due to windy conditions, waves and spray from the harbour made the Tabac corner exceptionally slippery, causing a nine-car pileup on the first lap. Fangio, driving an Alfa Romeo, avoided the chaos and secured victory in the 100-lap race, finishing over a lap ahead of Alberto Ascari in the Ferrari. Luigi Villoresi added excitement by stalling at the start but fought back to second place before retiring with a mechanical issue. Local hero and Monégasque Louis Chiron in a Maserati finished third. It was also the first Formula One race for Ferrari.

Round 3: Indianapolis 500

Race date: 30 May 1950
Circuit: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Laps: 200
Circuit length: 4.023 km (2.500 mi)

The 1950 Indianapolis 500, held on May 30, 1950, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was the 34th running of the race. It was significant as it was the first time the Indy 500 was included in the FIA Formula One World Championship. Johnnie Parsons won the race in a Offenhauser-powered Kurtis Kraft. Bill Holland took second place with Mauri Rose in third. The race was stopped after 138 laps (345 miles) due to rain, making it one of the shortest completed Indy 500s. As part of the 1950 Formula One season, this race awarded World Championship points, though most Formula One teams did not participate.

Round 4: Swiss Grand Prix

Race date: 4 June 1950
Circuit: Bremgarten, Bern, Switzerland
Laps: 42
Circuit length: 7.28 km (4.524 miles)

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.

Round 5: Belgian Grand Prix

Race date: 18 June 1950
Circuit: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
Laps: 35
Circuit length: 14.120 km (8.825 miles)

The 1950 Belgian Grand Prix, part of the first World Championship season, was dominated by the Alfa Romeo trio of Nino Farina, Juan Manuel Fangio, and Luigi Fagioli. Raymond Sommer briefly led in his Talbot-Lago while the Alfas pitted, but his engine failed soon after. Ascari then led briefly before the Alfas regained the front positions, culminating in a win for Fangio, followed by Farina and Fagioli.

Round 6: French Grand Prix

Race date: 2 July 1950
Circuit: Reims-Gueux, Reims, France
Laps: 64
Circuit length: 7.815 km (4.856 miles)

The 1950 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 2 July 1950 at Reims-Gueux. It was race 6 of 7 in the 1950 World Championship of Drivers. The 64-lap race was won by Alfa Romeo driver Juan Manuel Fangio after he started from pole position. His teammate Luigi Fagioli finished second and Peter Whitehead took third in a privateer Ferrari.

Round 7: Italian Grand Prix

Race Date: 3 September 1950
Circuit: Autodromo Nazionale di Monza
Laps: 80
Circuit length: 6.300 km (3.915 miles)

Giuseppe Farina won the 1950 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, finishing three points ahead of his main rival, Juan Manuel Fangio to secure the first-ever F1 World Drivers’ Championship. This race marked Alfa Romeo‘s first significant challenge in a world championship event, with the Ferrari of Alberto Ascari battling alongside Fangio and Farina. However, Ascari retired after 21 laps due to an overheating engine, while Fangio went out shortly after with a gearbox problem. Farina led to the finish from Ascari, who was now in teammate Dorino Serafini’s Ferrari, with Luigi Fagioli finishing third in his Alfa Romeo 158.

1950 Formula 1 Race Results

Round	Grand Prix	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver	Winning Constructor	Report
1	British Grand Prix	Giuseppe Farina	Giuseppe Farina	Giuseppe Farina	Alfa Romeo	Report
2	Monaco Grand Prix	Juan Manuel Fangio	Juan Manuel Fangio	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	Report
3	Indianapolis 500	Walt Faulkner	Johnnie Parsons	Johnnie Parsons	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	Report
4	Swiss Grand Prix	Juan Manuel Fangio	Giuseppe Farina	Giuseppe Farina	Alfa Romeo	Report
5	Belgian Grand Prix	Giuseppe Farina	Giuseppe Farina	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	Report
6	French Grand Prix	Juan Manuel Fangio	Juan Manuel Fangio	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	Report
7	Italian Grand Prix	Juan Manuel Fangio	Juan Manuel Fangio	Giuseppe Farina	Alfa Romeo	Report

1950 Formula 1 Standings

In the scoring system of the 1950 Formula One season, drivers were allocated points based on their finishing positions in each Grand Prix. Specifically, the distribution was as follows:

• The race winner received 8 points.
• The second-place finisher was awarded 6 points.
• Third place earned 4 points.
• Fourth place got 3 points.
• The driver finishing fifth was given 2 points.

Furthermore, an additional point was up for grabs for the driver who set the fastest lap during the Grand Prix.

However, there was a notable caveat in the championship calculations: only a driver’s best four race results contributed to their championship total. This meant that even if a driver competed in more races and amassed points, only the points from their top four performances would count towards their championship standing.

Driver standings