1950 Formula One season

1950 FIA Formula One World Championship season
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Index: Races by country | Races by season

The 1950 Formula One season included the inaugural FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on May 13, 1950, and ended on September 3 after 7 races. The championship consisted of six Formula One races in Europe plus the Indianapolis 500, which was run to AAA regulations.

Numerous other Formula One races, which did not count towards the Championship, were also held during the year.

Season summary

The inaugural World Championship, to a formula which specified engine capacity of 1.5 litres supercharged or 4.5 litres unsupercharged, saw Alfa Romeo dominate with their supercharged 158, a well-developed pre-war design, which won all six European Grands Prix. Alfa drivers consequently dominated the championship with Farina edging out Fangio by virtue of his fourth place in Belgium. Although the Indianapolis 500, which ran to different regulations, was included in the championship series until 1960, it attracted very little European participation and, conversely, very few American Indianapolis drivers entered any grand prix.

Championship points were given to top 5 finishers (8, 6, 4, 3, 2). 1 point was given for the fastest lap. Only the best four of seven scores counted towards the World Championship. Points for shared drives were divided equally between the drivers, regardless of how many laps each driver drove.

Season review

In this first World Championship season, 14 teams (4 works and 10 independent) participated, alongside a number of privately entered cars, in the 6 European Grands Prix. Only US teams, constructors and drivers participated in the Indianapolis 500. The chassis, engine and car numbers varied from race to race.

Grands Prix

Rnd	Race	Circuit	Date	Pole Position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Constructor	Tyre	Report
1	British Grand Prix	Silverstone	May 13	Nino Farina	Nino Farina	Nino Farina	Alfa Romeo	P	Report
2	Monaco Grand Prix	Monaco	May 21	Juan Manuel Fangio	Juan Manuel Fangio	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	P	Report
3	Indianapolis 500	Indianapolis	May 30	Walt Faulkner	Johnnie Parsons	Johnnie Parsons	Kurtis Kraft-Offy	F	Report
4	Swiss Grand Prix	Bremgarten	June 4	Juan Manuel Fangio	Nino Farina	Nino Farina	Alfa Romeo	P	Report
5	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa- Francorchamps	June 18	Nino Farina	Nino Farina	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	P	Report
6	French Grand Prix	Reims-Gueux	July 2	Juan Manuel Fangio	Juan Manuel Fangio	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	P	Report
7	Italian Grand Prix	Monza	September 3	Juan Manuel Fangio	Juan Manuel Fangio	Nino Farina	Alfa Romeo	P	Report

Teams and Drivers

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1950 FIA Formula One World Championship. A total of 79 people entered but 24 people were not counted.

Driver line-ups

Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Tyre	Driver	Rounds
Alfa Romeo SpA	Alfa Romeo	158/50	Alfa Romeo 1.5 L8 Supercharged	P	Juan Manuel Fangio	1-2, 4-7
					Giuseppe Farina	1-2, 4-7
					Luigi Fagioli	1-2, 4-7
					Reg Parnell	1
					Consalvo Sanesi	7
					Piero Taruffi	7
Scuderia Ambrosiana	Maserati	4CLT/48	Maserati 1.5 L4 Supercharged	D	David Murray	1, 7
					David Hampshire	1, 6
					Reg Parnell	6
English Racing Automobiles	ERA	E	ERA 1.5 L6 Supercharged	D	Leslie Johnson	1
Peter Walker	ERA	E	ERA 1.5 L6 Supercharged	D	Peter Walker	1
					Tony Rolt	1
Joe Fry	Maserati	4CL	Maserati 1.5 L4 Supercharged	D	Joe Fry	1
					Brian Shawe-Taylor	1
TC Harrison	ERA	C	ERA 1.5 L6 Supercharged	D	Cuth Harrison	1-2, 7
FR Gerard	ERA	B A	ERA 1.5 L6 Supercharged	D	Bob Gerard	1-2
Automobiles Talbot-Darracq	Talbot-Lago	T26C	Talbot-Lago 4.5 L6	D	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	1, 4-6
					Eugène Martin	1, 4
					Louis Rosier	4-6
					Philippe Étancelin	5
					Raymond Sommer	6
Ecurie Rosier	Talbot-Lago	T26C	Talbot-Lago 4.5 L6	D	Louis Rosier	1-2, 7
					Henri Louveau	7
Philippe Étancelin	Talbot-Lago	T26C	Talbot-Lago 4.5 L6	D	Philippe Étancelin	1-2, 4, 6-7
					Eugène Chaboud	6
Ecurie Belge	Talbot-Lago	T26C	Talbot-Lago 4.5 L6	D	Johnny Claes	1-2, 4-7
Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati	4CLT/48	Maserati 1.5 L4 Supercharged	P	Louis Chiron	1-2, 4, 6-7
					Franco Rol	2, 6-7
Enrico Platé	Maserati	4CLT/48	Maserati 1.5 L4 Supercharged	P	Toulo de Graffenried	1-2, 4, 7
					B. Bira	1-2, 4, 7
Scuderia Milano	Maserati	4CLT/50 Milano	Maserati 1.5 L4 Supercharged	P	Felice Bonetto	1, 4, 6-7
					Franco Comotti	7
Joe Kelly	Alta	GP	Alta 1.5 L4 Supercharged	D	Joe Kelly	1
Geoffrey Crossley	Alta	GP	Alta 1.5 L4 Supercharged	D	Geoff Crossley	1, 5
Raymond Mays	ERA	D	ERA 1.5 L6 Supercharged	D	Raymond Mays	1
Scuderia Achille Varzi	Maserati	4CLT/48	Maserati 1.5 L4 Supercharged	P	José Froilán González	2, 6
					Nello Pagani	4
		4CL			Toni Branca	4
Horschell Racing Corporation	Cooper	T12	JAP 1.1 V2	D	Harry Schell	2
Equipe Simca-Gordini	Simca- Gordini	15	Gordini 1.5 L4 Supercharged	E	Robert Manzon	2, 6-7
					Maurice Trintignant	2, 7
Pierre Levegh	Talbot-Lago	T26C	Talbot-Lago 4.5 L6	D	Pierre Levegh	2, 5-7
Peter Whitehead	Ferrari	125	Ferrari 1.5 V12 Supercharged	D	Peter Whitehead	2, 6-7
Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari	125 275 375	Ferrari 1.5 V12 Supercharged Ferrari 3.3 V12 Ferrari 4.5 V12	P	Luigi Villoresi	2, 4-6
					Alberto Ascari	2, 4-7
					Raymond Sommer	2, 4
					Dorino Serafini	7
Ecurie Espadon	SVA	?	FIAT	P	Rudi Fischer	4
Ecurie Bleue	Talbot-Lago	T26C	Talbot-Lago 4.5 L6	D	Harry Schell	4
Raymond Sommer	Talbot-Lago	T26C	Talbot-Lago 4.5 L6	D	Raymond Sommer	5, 7
Ecurie Lutetia	Talbot-Lago	T26C	Talbot-Lago 4.5 L6	D	Eugène Chaboud	5
Antonio Branca	Maserati	4CL	Maserati 1.5 L4 Supercharged	P	Toni Branca	5
Charles Pozzi	Talbot-Lago	T26C	Talbot-Lago 4.5 L6	D	Charles Pozzi	6
					Louis Rosier	6
Clemente Biondetti	Ferrari	166I	Jaguar 3.4 L6	?	Clemente Biondetti	7
Paul Pietsch	Maserati	4CLT/48	Maserati 1.5 L4 Supercharged	P	Paul Pietsch	7
Guy Mairesse	Talbot-Lago	T26C	Talbot-Lago 4.5 L6	D	Guy Mairesse	7

1950 Drivers Championship final standings

Pos. Driver GBR MON 500 SUI BEL FRA ITA Pts. 1 Nino Farina 1 Ret 1 4 7 1 30 2 Juan Manuel Fangio Ret 1 Ret 1 1 Ret  / Ret† 27 3 Luigi Fagioli 2 Ret 2 2 2 3 24 (28) 4 Louis Rosier 5 Ret 3 3 6† 4 13 5 Alberto Ascari 2 Ret 5 2† 11 6 Johnnie Parsons 1 9 7 Bill Holland 2 6 8 Prince Bira Ret 5 4 Ret 5 9 Peter Whitehead DNS 3 7 4 10 Louis Chiron Ret 3 9 Ret Ret 4 11 Reg Parnell 3 Ret 4 12 Mauri Rose 3 4 13 Dorino Serafini 2† 3 14 Yves Giraud Cabantous 4 Ret Ret 8 3 15 Raymond Sommer 4 Ret Ret Ret Ret 3 16 Robert Manzon Ret 4 Ret 3 17 Cecil Green 4 3 18 Philippe Étancelin 8 Ret Ret Ret 5† 5 3 19 Felice Bonetto 5 Ret Ret 2 20 Eugène Chaboud Ret 5† 1 21 Joie Chitwood 5† 1 22 Tony Bettenhausen 5† 1 23 Toulo de Graffenried Ret Ret 6 6 0 24 Bob Gerard 6 6 0 25 Luigi Villoresi Ret Ret 6 0 26 Lee Wallard 6 0 27 Charles Pozzi 6† 0 28 Johnny Claes 11 7 10 8 Ret Ret 0 29 Cuth Harrison 7 Ret Ret 0 30 Pierre Levegh 7 Ret Ret 0 31 Walt Faulkner 7 0 32 Nello Pagani 7 0 33 Harry Schell Ret 8 0 34 George Connor 8 0 35 Geoff Crossley NC 9 0 36 David Hampshire 9 Ret 0 37 Paul Russo 9 0 38 Toni Branca 11 10 0 39 Pat Flaherty 10 0 40 Brian Shawe Taylor 10† 0 41 Joe Fry 10† 0 42 Myron Fohr 11 0 43 Duane Carter 12 0 44 Mack Hellings 13 0 45 Jack McGrath 14 0 46 Troy Ruttman 15 0 47 Gene Hartley 16 0 48 Jimmy Davies 17 0 49 Johnny McDowell 18 0 50 Walt Brown 19 0 51 Spider Webb 20 0 52 Jerry Hoyt 21 0 53 Walt Ader 22 0 54 Jackie Holmes 23 0 55 Jim Rathmann 24 0 — Joe Kelly NC 0 — Franco Rol Ret Ret Ret 0 — Eugène Martin Ret Ret 0 — José Froilán González Ret Ret 0 — David Murray Ret Ret 0 — Maurice Trintignant Ret Ret 0 — Leslie Johnson Ret 0 — Peter Walker Ret† 0 — Tony Rolt Ret† 0 — Henry Banks Ret 0 — Bill Schindler Ret 0 — Fred Agabashian Ret 0 — Jimmy Jackson Ret 0 — Sam Hanks Ret 0 — Dick Rathmann Ret 0 — Duke Dinsmore Ret 0 — Bayliss Levrett Ret† 0 — Bill Cantrell Ret† 0 — Guy Mairesse Ret 0 — Paul Pietsch Ret 0 — Clemente Biondetti Ret 0 — Henri Louveau Ret 0 — Franco Comotti Ret 0 — Consalvo Sanesi Ret 0 — Piero Taruffi Ret† 0 Pos. Driver GBR MON 500 SUI BEL FRA ITA Pts.

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish, inc. non-classified finish Purple Did not finish (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Light blue Practiced only (PO) Friday test driver (TD) - 2003-2007 only Blank Did not practice (DNP) Injured or ill (Inj) Excluded (EX) Did not arrive (DNA)

• * Fastest lap (1 point awarded)
• † Position shared between more drivers of the same car
• Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

Non-Championship race results

Other Formula One races, which did not count towards the World Championship, also held in 1950.

Race Name	Circuit	Date	Winning driver	Constructor	Report
XI Pau Grand Prix	Pau	April 10	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	Report
II Richmond Trophy	Goodwood	April 10	Reg Parnell	Maserati	Report
V San Remo Grand Prix	Sanremo	April 16	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	Report
IV Grand Prix de Paris	Montlhéry	April 30	Georges Grignard	Talbot-Lago	Report
XII British Empire Trophy	Douglas	June 15	Bob Gerard	ERA	Report
IV Gran Premio di Bari	Bari	July 9	Nino Farina	Alfa Romeo	Report
IV J.C.C. Jersey Road Race	Jersey	July 13	Peter Whitehead	Ferrari	Report
XII Circuit de l'Albigeois	Albi	July 16	Louis Rosier	Talbot-Lago	Report
I Grote Prijs van Nederland	Zandvoort	July 23	Louis Rosier	Talbot-Lago	Report
III Grand Prix des Nations	Geneve	July 30	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	Report
I Nottingham Trophy	Gamston	August 7	David Hampshire	Maserati	Report
IV Ulster Trophy	Dundrod	August 12	Peter Whitehead	Ferrari	Report
XIX Coppa Acerbo	Pescara	August 15	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	Report
I Sheffield Telegraph Trophy	Gamston	August 19	Cuth Harrison	ERA	Report
II BRDC International Trophy	Silverstone	August 26	Nino Farina	Alfa Romeo	Report
III Goodwood Trophy	Goodwood	September 30	Reg Parnell	BRM	Report
X Gran Premio de Penya Rhin	Pedralbes	October 29	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	Report