1950 Formula One season

The 1950 Formula One season was the fourth season of the FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the inaugural FIA World Championship of Drivers , which was contested over seven races between 13 May and 3 September 1950. The only one outside of Europe was the Indianapolis 500 , which was run to AAA National Championship regulations. No Formula One drivers competed in the Indy 500 or vice versa. [ a ] Finally, the season also included several non-championship races for Formula One cars.

Alfa Romeo entered a supercharged 158 , a well-developed pre-war design that debuted in 1938, and managed to win all six races they competed in. Italian Giuseppe "Nino" Farina and Argentine teammate Juan Manuel Fangio both won three races and set three fastest laps. But Fangio did not score points in the other three races, while Farina finished fourth in Belgium , handing him the championship. [ 1 ]

The Alfa Romeo team dominated the British Grand Prix at the fast Silverstone circuit in England, locking out the four-car front row of the grid. With King George VI in attendance, Giuseppe Farina won the race from pole position, also setting the fastest lap. The podium was completed by his teammates Luigi Fagioli and Reg Parnell , while the remaining Alfa driver, Juan Manuel Fangio, was forced to retire after experiencing problems with his engine. The final points scorers were the works Talbot-L...

Scuderia Ferrari made their World Championship debut around the streets of Monaco. Their leading drivers, Luigi Villoresi and Alberto Ascari had to settle for the third row of the grid, however, while the Alfa Romeos of Fangio and Farina again started from the front row, alongside the privateer Maserati of José Froilán González . Polesitter Fangio took a comfortable victory, setting the race's fastest lap, a whole lap ahead of Ascari, with the third-placed Louis Chiron a further lap back in the ...

The Indianapolis 500, the third round of the inaugural World Championship of Drivers held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the United States, was won by the Kurtis Kraft - Offenhauser of Johnnie Parsons , ahead of the Diedt -Offenhausers of Bill Holland and Mauri Rose . The race was stopped after 138 of the scheduled 200 laps due to rain. [ 7 ]

Alfa Romeo's dominance continued when the World Championship returned to Europe for the Swiss Grand Prix at the tree-lined Bremgarten circuit outside Bern. Fangio, Farina, and Fagioli locked out the front row of the grid for Alfa, while the Ferraris of Villoresi and Ascari started from the second row. Fangio was the initial leader, starting from pole position, but Farina passed him on lap seven. Ascari and Villoresi were both able to compete with the third Alfa of Fagioli in the early stages, a...

Alfa Romeo took their third front row lockout of the season at the Belgian Grand Prix at the speedy 8.7 miles (14.0 km) Spa-Francorchamps circuit, while the Ferrari of Villoresi shared the second row with the privateer Talbot-Lago of Raymond Sommer . The Alfas were once again untouchable at the start of the race, but when they stopped for fuel, Sommer emerged as an unlikely race leader. His lead, however, was short-lived, and he was forced to retire when his engine blew up. Fangio ultimately too...

Alfa Romeo was largely unchallenged at the French Grand Prix, held at the high-speed Reims-Gueux circuit, due to the withdrawal of the works Ferraris of Ascari and Villoresi. The Alfas produced yet another lockout of the front row of the grid, with Fangio taking pole for the third time in six races. The power of the Alfas suited this public road circuit- made up entirely of long straights, and Farina, starting from second, led for the first quarter of the race before fuel problems put him to the...

The final championship round of the season was the Italian Grand Prix at the Monza Autodrome near Milan, and all three of the regular Alfa Romeo drivers were in contention for the title. If Fangio finished first or second, he would win the title, regardless of where his teammates finished. If Farina failed to score at least five points, he would be unable to take the title. Fagioli's only chance of becoming World Champion was if he won the race and set the fastest lap; even then, he would need F...

Fangio again took pole position, but Alfa Romeo could not make it a fifth front-row lockout of the season, as Ascari qualified second for Ferrari. Farina started from third, while Consalvo Sanesi completed the front row in an additional Alfa Romeo. Fagioli could only manage fifth on the grid, alongside the fifth Alfa of Piero Taruffi , the second Ferrari of Dorino Serafini , and Sommer in a Talbot-Lago. Farina took the lead early on, with Ascari and Fangio not far behind. Ascari briefly held the...

Points were awarded to the top five classified finishers, with an additional point awarded for setting the fastest lap, regardless of finishing position or even classification. Only the best four results counted towards the championship. Shared drives result in half points for each driver if they finished in a points-scoring position. If more than one driver set the same fastest lap time, the fastest lap point would be divided equally between the drivers. Numbers without parentheses are champion...

The following Formula One races, which did not count towards the World Championship of Drivers, were also held in 1950.