The First Formula One Championship Race
Next: May 13, 2027
Lights out at Silverstone.
The story
Where it comes from
On 13 May 1950, at Silverstone in England, 21 drivers took the start of the first race of the new Formula One World Championship. Officially it was the Grand Prix d'Europe, incorporating the British Grand Prix, and King George VI watched with Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret: the only time a reigning monarch has attended a British motor race. After 70 laps and nearly two and a quarter hours, Giuseppe 'Nino' Farina won for Alfa Romeo, 2.6 seconds ahead of his teammate Luigi Fagioli. This Story marks the anniversary of the sport's first championship race.
How it's celebrated
There is no organised observance, though Formula One and Silverstone have marked the race's big anniversaries. It is a good day to watch an old race, build a toy racing car with a child, or look up how many of the 21 cars that started that day made it to the finish.
Did you know
- Prince Bira of the Thai royal family qualified fifth in a Maserati, and he was the only Thai driver in Formula One until Alexander Albon in 2019.
- The average age of the drivers was 39, and three of them were in their fifties.
- A hare dented the bodywork of Reg Parnell's Alfa Romeo, yet he still finished third.
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