Formula 1 reached the 1000 races of the world championship in the 2019 Chinese Grand Prix , a history that dates back to 1950, the year in which the highest category of motorsport played its first season with a calendar of just seven races, very different from the current ones that exceed 20 tests.
The end of the Second World War allowed the birth of the Formula 1 World Championship, with the establishment of a regulation in 1946 that prospered until the creation of the highest category and a first calendar with stops in Great Britain, Monaco, Indianapolis, Switzerland, Belgium. , France and Italy.
But Formula 1 was not born with that name. In fact, its first registration was International Formula, although it was also recognized in Europe as Formula A, a step higher than Formula 2 or Formula B.
The final name was adopted when Formula 500cc, a category of single-seaters with engines similar to those of a motorcycle, was officially recognized as Formula 3 in 1950, leaving Formula B to maintain the status of Formula 2 and placing Formula International as the top under the name of Formula 1.
The birth of the world
The first season started on May 13, 1950 at the Silverstone circuit, a track created on a former British Royal Air Force base and where 26 pilots met for the British Grand Prix.
The grill had some peculiarities. For example, that the average age of the pilots present was 39, with Geoffrey Crossley being the youngest at 29.
At his side were pilots of great experience such as Luigi Fagioli , Louis Chiron and Philippe Etancelin , who were over 50 years old. Giuseppe Farina was 43, while the Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio already had 38 springs.
But in addition to widely recognized pilots at the time, and who would later become historic figures of the sport, an important part of the world’s crème de la crème gathered , not only with the presence of his royal highness, King George VI , as well as Queen Elizabeth, Princess Margaret and guests Lord and Lady Mountbatten, but also for the participation on track of the Prince of Thailand Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh, better known as Prince Bira, who ran a Maserati 4CLT/48. At his side was also the Swiss Baron Emmanuel ‘Toulo’ de Graffenried with the same car.
A well-known jazz musician, the Belgian Johnny Claes, also participated in the historic event behind the wheel of a Talbot-Lago T26C with which he finished the race six laps behind the winner.
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The race
As expected, Alfa Romeo occupied the first four positions on the grid with its four factory cars. The Italians Giuseppe Farina and Luigi Fagioli took the first and second places, with a time of 1:50.8s for the poleman.
Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio and Reg Parnell completed the top four places for the Italian firm, followed by Principe Bira, who took his Maserati to fifth place.
With almost 120,000 fans, according to Formula 1 data, 21 drivers, representing nine countries, took the start of the first race in the history of the world championship.
Farina, Fagioli and Fangio occupied the top three positions for many laps, fighting for victory amongst themselves. However, the Argentine driver’s chances disappeared when an engine problem sidelined him on lap 62.
The South American’s incident opened the door for Farina, who led 63 of the 70 laps, to take victory 2.5 seconds ahead of Fagioli. Reg Parnell took advantage of Fangio’s retirement to escort the two Italians on the podium and complete Alfa Romeo’s treble.
The award was presented by George VI , marking the last time a sitting British monarch attended a Formula 1 race in his country.
With his victory, Farina achieved the first nine points of the championship, which would later become 30 after two more victories in Switzerland and Italy, enough to become the first Formula 1 champion, beating Juan Manuel Fangio by three points.
1950 British Grand Prix Results:
| pos | No. | Pilot | Equipment | laps | Time/Gap | Grill | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 |  |
Alfa Romeo | 70 | 2: 13: 23.6 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | 3 | |
Alfa Romeo | 70 | + 2.6 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | 4 |  |
Alfa Romeo | 70 | + 52.0 | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | 14 |  |
Talbot-Lake-Talbot | 68 | + 2 laps | 6 | 3 |
| 5 | fifteen | |
Talbot-Lake-Talbot | 68 | + 2 laps | 9 | two |
| 6 | 12 | |
IT WAS | 67 | + 3 laps | 13 | |
| 7 | 11 | |
ERA | 67 | + 3 vueltas | 15 | |
| 8 | 16 | |
Talbot-Lake-Talbot | 65 | + 5 turns | 14 | |
| 9 | 6 | |
Maserati | 64 | + 6 vueltas | 16 | |
| 10 | 10 | |
Maserati | 64 | + 6 vueltas | 20 | |
| eleven | 18 |  |
Talbot-Lake-Talbot | 64 | + 6 laps | twenty-one | |
| ab | 1 |  |
Alfa Romeo | 62 | Engine | 3 | |
| NC | 23 |  |
high | 57 | Not qualified | 19 | |
| Ab | 21 |  |
Maserati | 49 | Combustible | 5 | |
| Ab | 5 | |
Maserati | 44 | Motor | 18 | |
| ab | 24 | |
high | 43 | Transmission | 17 | |
| Ab | 20 |  |
Maserati | 36 | Engine | 8 | |
| Ab | 19 |  |
Maserati | 26 | Embrague | 11 | |
| Ab | 17 | |
Talbot-Lake-Talbot | 8 | Pressure oil | 7 | |
| ab | 9 | |
IT WAS | 5 | Gearbox | 10 | |
| Ab | 8 | |
ERA | 2 | Compresor | 12 |
Review all the world championships in the history of F1 with the champion and his statistics
(Click on ‘Full version’ at the end of the article if you can’t see the photos or their information)
| Careers | 7 |
| victories | 3 |
| podiums | 3 |
| Poles | two |
| fast laps | 3 |
| Points | 30 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 8 |
| victories | 3 |
| podiums | 5 |
| Poles | 4 |
| fast laps | 5 |
| Points | 31 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 8 |
| victories | 6 |
| podiums | 6 |
| Poles | 5 |
| fast laps | 6 |
| Points | 36 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 9 |
| victories | 5 |
| podiums | 5 |
| Poles | 6 |
| fast laps | 4 |
| Points | 34.5 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 9 |
| victories | 6 |
| podiums | 7 |
| Poles | 5 |
| fast laps | 3 |
| Points | 42 |
After the third round at Spa-Francorchamps, Fangio, who started the championship with Marserati, decided to move to Mercedes Benz, a manufacturer that was trying to revive the Silver Arrows era that shone in the mid-1930s under Alfred Neubauer. .
Photo by: Daimler AG
| Careers | 7 |
| victories | 4 |
| podiums | 5 |
| Poles | 3 |
| fast laps | 3 |
| Points | 40 |
At the end of the season, Mercedes-Benz withdrew from all its activities in the world of motorsports due to the Le Mans tragedy that occurred on June 11, 1955.
The German manufacturer returned to F1 in 1994 as an engine supplier, and did not return to being an official team until 2010. p>
Photo by: Daimler AG
| Careers | 8 |
| victories | 3 |
| podiums | 5 |
| Poles | 6 |
| fast laps | 4 |
| Points | 30 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 8 |
| victories | 4 |
| podiums | 6 |
| Poles | 4 |
| fast laps | two |
| Points | 40 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | eleven |
| victories | 1 |
| podiums | 7 |
| Poles | 4 |
| fast laps | 5 |
| Points | 42 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 9 |
| victories | two |
| podiums | 5 |
| Poles | 1 |
| fast laps | 1 |
| Points | 31 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 10 |
| victories | 5 |
| podiums | 5 |
| Poles | 3 |
| fast laps | 3 |
| Points | 43 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 8 |
| victories | two |
| podiums | 6 |
| Poles | 5 |
| fast laps | two |
| Points | 3. 4 |
Photo by: Ferrari Media Center
| Careers | 9 |
| victories | 4 |
| podiums | 6 |
| Poles | 1 |
| fast laps | 3 |
| Points | 42 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 10 |
| victories | 7 |
| podiums | 9 |
| Poles | 7 |
| fast laps | 6 |
| Points | 54 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 10 |
| victories | two |
| podiums | 6 |
| Poles | two |
| fast laps | two |
| Points | 40 |
After winning the world championship title in the 350cc and 500cc categories with MV Agusta between the 1958 and 1960 seasons, Sutrees wanted to find new challenges.
He tried his hand at Formula 1 in 1960, finishing second on his British GP debut with Lotus.
The highlight of his F1 career came in 1964, when he won the title with Ferrari. p>
Until now, there is no other driver who can match the milestone of achieving world championships in motorcycling and Formula 1. p>
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 10 |
| victories | 6 |
| podiums | 6 |
| Poles | 6 |
| fast laps | 6 |
| Points | 54 |
Photo by: Patrice Vatan
| Careers | 9 |
| victories | 4 |
| podiums | 5 |
| Poles | 3 |
| fast laps | 1 |
| Points | 42 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | eleven |
| victories | two |
| podiums | 8 |
| Poles | 0 |
| fast laps | two |
| Points | 51 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 12 |
| victories | 3 |
| podiums | 6 |
| Poles | two |
| fast laps | 0 |
| Points | 48 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | eleven |
| victories | 6 |
| podiums | 7 |
| Poles | two |
| fast laps | 5 |
| Points | 63 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 9* |
| victories | 5 |
| podiums | 5 |
| Poles | 3 |
| fast laps | 1 |
| Points | 41 |
Jochen Rindt had a fatal accident at Parabolic corner when he tested the Lotus 72 without wings during practice for the Italian GP. p>
Holding a 20-point lead over nearest rival Jackie Stewart, Lotus boss Collin Chapman chose young Brazilian driver Emerson Fitipaldi as the Austrian’s replacement.
With the difficult task of preventing Rindt’s rival from overtaking him in points, Fittipaldi won the final race, at Watkins Glen. p>
The victory gave the title to Rindt, who is the only posthumous Formula 1 world champion.
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
| Careers | eleven |
| victories | 6 |
| podiums | 7 |
| Poles | 6 |
| fast laps | 3 |
| Points | 62 |
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| Careers | 12 |
| victories | 5 |
| podiums | 8 |
| Poles | 3 |
| fast laps | 0 |
| Points | 61 |
Photo by: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch
| Careers | fifteen |
| victories | 5 |
| podiums | 8 |
| Poles | 3 |
| fast laps | 1 |
| Points | 71 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | fifteen |
| victories | 3 |
| podiums | 7 |
| Poles | two |
| fast laps | 0 |
| Points | 55 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 14 |
| victories | 5 |
| podiums | 8 |
| Poles | 9 |
| fast laps | two |
| Points | 64.5 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 16 |
| victories | 6 |
| podiums | 8 |
| Poles | 8 |
| fast laps | two |
| Points | 69 |
If you’ve seen the movie Rush, you’ll know what this season was like. p>
Yes. The film brought up the rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda, which took place during the 1976 season. P>
The points lead Lauda built in the first half of the season were lost after a horrific crash at the Nurburgring nearly cost him his life. p>
By deciding not to contest the last race at the Fuji circuit, Japan, due to the insecurity caused by the rain, Lauda lost the world championship with a difference of one point compared to Hunt, who finished the race in third place. p>
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 17 |
| victories | 3 |
| podiums | 10 |
| Poles | two |
| fast laps | 3 |
| Points | 72 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 16 |
| victories | 6 |
| podiums | 7 |
| Poles | 8 |
| fast laps | 3 |
| Points | 64 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | fifteen |
| victories | 3 |
| podiums | 6 |
| Poles | 1 |
| fast laps | 0 |
| Points | 51 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 14 |
| victories | 5 |
| podiums | 10 |
| Poles | 3 |
| fast laps | 5 |
| Points | 67 |
Photo by: Williams F1
| Careers | fifteen |
| victories | 3 |
| podiums | 7 |
| Poles | 4 |
| fast laps | 1 |
| Points | fifty |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 16 |
| victories | 1 |
| podiums | 6 |
| Poles | 1 |
| fast laps | 0 |
| Points | 44 |
One of the “darkest” seasons in the history of Formula 1. p>
Conflicts between teammates, boycotts, incidents and political wars between FISA and FOCA.
Several teams defending the FOCA (Formula 1 Manufacturers Association) boycotted the San Marino GP, resulting in only 14 cars taking part in the event. p>
The race itself saw a conflict between two Ferrari drivers, Gilles Villeneuve and Didier Pironi. p>
Villeneuve had a fatal accident in qualifying for the Belgian GP at Zolder after crashing into the rear of Jochen Mass’s car and being thrown into the air. p>
The tragedy did not end there: the young Italian driver, Ricardo Paletti, also lost his life after colliding with Pironi’s car that stopped at the start of the Canadian GP at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit (previously called Notre Dame) p>
Arriving in Germany with a 9-point lead, Pironi had a terrible accident at the Hockenheimring that damaged his leg and forced him to end his Formula 1 career. p>
With the conflict experienced by Ferrari, the technical problems experienced by Renault, Keke Rosberg and Williams used it to win the drivers’ title in the 1982 season with a 5-point lead over Pironi. p>
This title is also the last for Cosworth’s DFV engine, which has dominated Formula 1 since 1968. p>
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | fifteen |
| victories | 3 |
| podiums | 8 |
| Poles | 1 |
| fast laps | 4 |
| Points | 59 |
Photo Credit: BMW AG
| Careers | 16 |
| victories | 5 |
| podiums | 9 |
| Poles | 0 |
| fast laps | 5 |
| Points | 72 |
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
| Careers | 16 |
| victories | 5 |
| podiums | eleven |
| Poles | two |
| fast laps | 5 |
| Points | 73 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 16 |
| victories | 4 |
| podiums | eleven |
| Poles | 1 |
| fast laps | two |
| Points | 72 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 16 |
| victories | 3 |
| podiums | eleven |
| Poles | 4 |
| fast laps | 4 |
| Points | 73 |
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
| Careers | 16 |
| victories | 8 |
| podiums | eleven |
| Poles | 13 |
| fast laps | 3 |
| Points | 90 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 16 |
| victories | 4 |
| podiums | eleven |
| Poles | two |
| fast laps | 5 |
| Points | 76 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 16 |
| victories | 4 |
| podiums | eleven |
| Poles | two |
| fast laps | 5 |
| Points | 76 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 16 |
| victories | 7 |
| podiums | 12 |
| Poles | 8 |
| fast laps | two |
| Points | 96 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 16 |
| victories | 9 |
| podiums | 12 |
| Poles | 14 |
| fast laps | 8 |
| Points | 108 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 16 |
| victories | 7 |
| podiums | 12 |
| Poles | 13 |
| fast laps | 6 |
| Points | 99 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 16 |
| victories | 8 |
| podiums | 10 |
| Poles | 6 |
| fast laps | 8 |
| Points | 92 |
After 12 years without fatal incidents, Formula 1 lost two of its drivers in the same weekend.
Simtek-Ford driver Roland Ratzenberger suffered a fatal accident during qualifying for the San Marino GP. For his art, three-time world champion Ayrton Senna, who was driving for Williams-Renault that year, died after suffering an accident at the Tamburello curve when he was leading the race. Q>
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 17 |
| victories | 9 |
| podiums | eleven |
| Poles | 4 |
| fast laps | 8 |
| Points | 102 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 16 |
| victories | 8 |
| podiums | 10 |
| Poles | 9 |
| fast laps | 5 |
| Points | 97 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 17 |
| victories | 7 |
| podiums | 8 |
| Poles | 10 |
| fast laps | 3 |
| Points | 81 |
In his second season in Formula 1, Jacques Villeneuve fought fiercely with Michael Shumacher during 1997. p>
In the last race of the year, at Jerez, Schumacher, who at the time had a one-point lead, crashed his car into Vilenneuve’s. p>
Schumacher failed to finish the race, while Villeneuve finished third and secured the title. p>
Not only that, the FIA also removed all the points that Schumacher achieved in that season after considering that the incident had been on purpose. p>
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 16 |
| victories | 8 |
| podiums | eleven |
| Poles | 9 |
| fast laps | 6 |
| Points | 100 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 16 |
| victories | 5 |
| podiums | 10 |
| Poles | eleven |
| fast laps | 6 |
| Points | 76 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 17 |
| victories | 9 |
| podiums | 12 |
| Poles | 9 |
| fast laps | two |
| Points | 108 |
It was Ferrari’s first title since Jody Scheckter became world champion 21 years ago.” p>
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 17 |
| victories | 9 |
| podiums | 14 |
| Poles | eleven |
| fast laps | 3 |
| Points | 123 |
Photo by: Ferrari Media Center
| Careers | 17 |
| victories | eleven |
| podiums | 17 |
| Poles | 7 |
| fast laps | 7 |
| Points | 144 |
Photo by: Ferrari Media Center
| Careers | 16 |
| victories | 6 |
| podiums | 8 |
| Poles | 5 |
| fast laps | 5 |
| Points | 93 |
Schumacher surpassed the record that Juan Manuel Fangio held for 46 years by winning his sixth title that year.
Photo by: Michael Kim
| Careers | 18 |
| victories | 13 |
| podiums | fifteen |
| Poles | 8 |
| fast laps | 10 |
| Points | 148 |
Photo by: Bridgestone Corporation
| Careers | 19 |
| victories | 7 |
| podiums | fifteen |
| Poles | 6 |
| fast laps | two |
| Points | 133 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | 18 |
| victories | 7 |
| podiums | 14 |
| Poles | 6 |
| fast laps | 5 |
| Points | 134 |
Photo by: Eric Gilbert
| Carreras | 17 |
| Victorias | 6 |
| Podios | 12 |
| polish | 3 |
| Vueltas rapidas | 6 |
| Puntos | 110 |
Raikkonen is Ferrari’s last world champion to date.
Photo de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
| Careers | 18 |
| victories | 5 |
| podiums | 10 |
| Poles | 7 |
| fast laps | 1 |
| Points | 98 |
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
| Careers | 17 |
| victories | 6 |
| podiums | 9 |
| Poles | 4 |
| fast laps | two |
| Points | 95 |
Photo by: Steve Etherington/Motorsport Images
| Careers | 19 |
| victories | 5 |
| podiums | 10 |
| Poles | 10 |
| fast laps | 3 |
| Points | 256 |
Photo by: Charles Coates/Motorsport Images
| Careers | 19 |
| victories | eleven |
| podiums | 17 |
| Poles | fifteen |
| fast laps | 3 |
| Points | 392 |
Photo by: Alessio Morgese
| Careers | twenty |
| victories | 5 |
| podiums | 10 |
| Poles | 6 |
| fast laps | 6 |
| Points | 281 |
Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt
| Careers | 19 |
| victories | 13 |
| podiums | 16 |
| Poles | 9 |
| fast laps | 7 |
| Points | 397 |
Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt
| Careers | 19 |
| victories | eleven |
| podiums | 16 |
| Poles | 7 |
| fast laps | 7 |
| Points | 384 |
Mercedes managed to dominate the first season of the V6 hybrid engine era. In addition, it was also the first Silver Arrows title in almost 60 years. Q>
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
| Careers | 19 |
| victories | 10 |
| podiums | 17 |
| Poles | eleven |
| fast laps | 8 |
| Points | 381 |
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
| Careers | twenty-one |
| victories | 9 |
| podiums | 16 |
| Poles | 8 |
| fast laps | 6 |
| Points | 385 |
Photo by: LAT Images
| Careers | twenty |
| victories | 9 |
| podiums | 13 |
| Poles | eleven |
| fast laps | 7 |
| Points | 363 |
Photo by: Sam Bloxham/Motorsport Images
| Careers | 19 |
| victories | 9 |
| podiums | fifteen |
| Poles | 9 |
| fast laps | 3 |
| Points | 358 |
Photo by: Steve Etherington/Motorsport Images
