Farina Wins Silverstone: The First F1 World Championship
Giuseppe Farina won the inaugural Formula One World Championship race at Silverstone on May 13, 1950, driving an Alfa Romeo 158 "Alfetta" to victory in front of King George VI and an estimated 150,000 spectators. The circuit was a converted RAF bomber airfield, and the track used the runways and perimeter roads with hay bales for barriers. Twenty-one drivers started the race. Farina, a 43-year-old Italian aristocrat known for his aggressive driving style and distinctive arms-outstretched technique, went on to win the first drivers' championship that season with three race victories. Alfa Romeo dominated the early championship, winning every race in 1950 with their supercharged straight-eight engines. Farina's career was plagued by injuries; he died in a road accident driving to the 1966 French Grand Prix.
May 13, 1950
76 years ago
Key Figures & Places
inaugural
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Formula One
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Silverstone Circuit
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Giuseppe Farina
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Formula One Drivers' championship
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Formula One
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Silverstone Circuit
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Giuseppe Farina
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List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions
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British
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British Grand Prix
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Silverstone
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