1950 Formula One season



The 1950 Formula One season included the inaugural FIA World Championship of Drivers which was contested over a seven race series which commenced on 13 May and ended on 3 September. The championship consisted of six Grand Prix races, held in Europe and open to Formula One cars, plus the Indianapolis 500, which was run to AAA National Championship regulations. Giuseppe Farina won the championship from Juan Manuel Fangio and Luigi Fagioli.

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

Championship summary
The inaugural World Championship of Drivers saw Alfa Romeo dominate with their supercharged 158, a well-developed pre-war design, which won all six European Grands Prix. Alfa Romeo drivers consequently dominated the championship with Giuseppe Farina edging out Juan Manuel Fangio by virtue of his fourth place in Belgium. Although the Indianapolis 500, which ran to different regulations, was included in the World Championship each year from 1950 to 1960, it attracted very little European participation and, conversely, very few American Indianapolis drivers entered any grands prix.

Championship points were awarded to the top five finishers in each race on an 8, 6, 4, 3, 2 basis. 1 point was awarded for the fastest lap of each race. Points for shared drives were divided equally between the drivers, regardless of how many laps each driver completed during the race. Only the best four results from the seven races could be retained by each driver for World Championship classification.

Championship review
In this first World Championship of Drivers, 14 teams (4 works and 10 independent) participated, along with a number of privately entered cars, in the six 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.

Teams and drivers
The following teams and drivers competed in the 1950 FIA World Championship of Drivers.

1950 World Championship of Drivers - final standings

 * Italics indicate fastest lap (1 point awarded)
 * Bold indicates pole position
 * † Position shared between more drivers of the same car
 * Only the best four results counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

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