BACK TO THE BEGINNING

F170
1950 THE FIRST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
WHERE IT ALL STARTED

It was a bleak spring day in May and 150.000 people had joined HRH King George VI to witness the start of a new era of motor racing. The location was the former airfield circuit of Silverstone and 21 Formula One machines were lined up on the grid waiting for the flag to drop. What followed would lead us on to seventy years of world championship racing and all the memorable moments that have captivated and thrilled us while we have watched the sport that we have loved.

The FIA had decided that now was the time to incorporate the six major Grands Prix that existed at that time into a world championship. The Indianapolis 500 was also a part of this new series to make a seven round season. The Indy 500 was contested mainly by a different set of drivers in totally different cars so the F1 title would be decided by the results from the six European rounds in Britain, Monaco, Switzerland, Belgium, France and Italy.

The main protagonists vying for the title of inaugural F1 World Champion were the famous three F’s from the Alfa Romeo team. Alfa had been out of the sport for a year but the introduction of the world championship had tempted them back to competition. Leading their charge were Luigi Fagioli, Giuseppe “Nino” Farina and Juan Manuel Fangio. Fagioli, at 53 was the elder statesman of the team and would prove to be a title contender right to the final race but would largely be overshadowed by his team mates who would between them claim all six of the European rounds of the season.

Nino Farina was at the age of 43 also a veteran and had been competing in motor racing since 1925 and had had success pre-war. By 1950 Doctor Farina, for he had gained a doctorate in political science from the University of Turin, was still a top class driver but maybe not someone whose career was in the ascendancy. Argentinian Fangio at 38 was the youngster of the team and in only his second season of European competition and is the one who would in years to come carve out a legendary status for himself.

The pre-war Alfa 158 was the car these drivers were armed with and they used it to devastating effect to dominate the year, with the only other contender being future champion Alberto Ascari in a Ferrari. The Ferrari though sadly was not a match for the Alfas and they would have to wait for their time to come.

And so it was that on the 13th May 1950 the three Alfa drivers started from the front of the grid and the flag dropped to start the first ever world championship Grand Prix. Pole man Farina dropped behind Fagioli in the early stages but soon regained the lead and after 70 laps of racing led the team home to score a top three finish for the Italians. Third place went not to Fangio who had retired with an engine failure but to British driver Reg Parnell who had been entered for this race in a fourth 158. The Talbot Lagos drivers were fourth and fifth but hadn’t troubled the leaders and were two laps back at the finish.

At round two in Monaco Fangio made up for his non-finish at Silverstone by taking the win and avoiding the multi car pile up at turn one on the first lap. The race saw the world championship debut of the Works Ferraris who had been absent in Britain and they scored a podium to mark the occasion as Ascari finished a lap behind Fangio in second place.

Round three was technically the Indy 500 but as already mentioned the race was contested by different set of drivers in totally different machinery so had no real bearing on the championship. Johnnie Parsons was the winner of the 500.

Switzerland was the scene of the next race and it brought more bad luck for Fangio as he again suffered an engine failure after starting from pole position. His rivals and team mates kept the Alfa steam roller going though with a 1-2 finish. The race did show promise for the team’s rivals as Ferrari were competing with third placed Fagioli in the early laps before they too had an early bath as a result of engine failures.

At this point Farina was leading the championship courtesy of his two race wins and Fangio after his mechanical problems was in third place 9 points back. The next race took place at the old legendary 8.7 mile super-fast Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. To this day the circuit is known and respected by drivers and fans alike for being a test of driver’s skill and for its famous corners but these days we have a shortened and somewhat sanitised version of what Farina and co would have raced on. This time it was Farina’s turn to hit car trouble as he suffered transmission problems late on. The race saw a different race leader for the season as Raymond Sommer in his private Talbot Lagos took the lead after the leadimng Alfas pitted for fuel. Ultimately though and probably inevitably Fangio and Fagioli took another 1-2 for the Italians after Sommer had his own technical issues. Farina’s rivals for closing the gap.

Farina was to have more technical trouble at the next round at Reims-Gueux in France when fuel problems forced him to the back of the field after he had taken the lead from Pole man Fangio at the start. A determined drive back to third was unrewarded when his later forced to retire and Fangio picked uo his third win of the season ahead of Fagioli.

All that meant that the final round at Monza be a championship shootout between the three team mates Fangio heading to Italy two points up on Fagioli and four ahead of Farina. Both Farina and his Argentine rival were given the new 159 from Alfa for this race with Fagioli having to settle for the aging 158. I’m sure that the atmosphere most have been amazing at Monza that year as the crowd gathered to see the first champion crowned. Added to that Ferrari had given Ascari the new 45000cc Ferrari and he used it to good effect to grab second on the grid behind pole sitter Fangio. His plan was to beat the Alfas by only stopping for fuel once while they made two pit stops. Unfortunately his plan was to no avail as his car failed after he got into the lead. This impressive showing from the Marenello based did show a statement of intent for the future though and probably alerted Alfa Romeo to the challenge that would come their way the following season.

In the championship battle Farina took the lead in the early stages with Fangio chasing in third place until more mechanical problems intervened and Fangio’s car had to be retired. Fortunately that wasn’t the end of the Argentine’s day as Alfa had entered a further two cars for their home race and Fangio was able to take over the car started by Piero Taruffi and continue his chase of his team mate. However that car also failed later in the race and Fangio’s quest for the title was over. Fangio ended up second in the points with Fagioli making it a clean sweep for Alfa Romeo in third.

Farina won the race and with it took the honour of becoming the first ever Formula One World Champion. A tough season of racing, despite being a walkover for the Alfas had delivered a title battle between team mates that went right down to the wire and, inevitably as it was the first, gave all of the protagonists a place in history. Before Clark and Hill, Hunt and Lauda, Senna and Prost and Hamilton and Rsoberg there was Farina, Fangio and Fagioli. The deeds of these drivers and manufacturers set the scene for the title battles that were to come and every champion crowned today is following in their wheel tracks. Seventy years later we all still flock to race tracks and crowd around our TV sets to watch our heroes try to emulate these men.

For that reason we should in this anniversary year remember that first season and the others that followed and appreciate the rich history of our sport.