PHOTOGRAPH - Three-quarters of a century ago, Formula 1 started with an Alfa Romeo show

Officially, the first Formula 1 race of the modern era was called "The Royal Automobile Club Grand Prix d'Europe Incorporating The British Grand Prix." It took place on May 13th at the Silverstone Circuit in Silverstone, Northamptonshire. The first race of the 1950 World Automobile Championship was held on a Saturday, not on a Sunday as usual, because King George VI of England valued his Sunday rest at the time.

Twenty-four drivers were registered for the Silverstone race, each competing in their first Grand Prix in the World Championship. However, two drivers, Italian Giuseppe Farina and Swiss Toulo de Graffenried, had previously each won at the Silverstone Circuit.

However, Ferrari was absent from the first official round of the 1950 Formula 1 World Championship, although fans had been looking forward to the duel with Alfa Romeo. Enzo Ferrari withdrew his factory team after suffering a heavy defeat to Juan Manuel Fangio's Maserati in a race in Pau, France.

Farina set the fastest time in qualifying and secured the first grid position for the race. Three other Alfa Romeo cars were on the front row. The second row consisted of Prince Bira in a Maserati and two Talbot-Lago cars.

At the start of the race, in front of a total of 200,000 spectators, Farina took the lead, just ahead of Luigi Fagioli and Juan Manuel Fangio. The drivers swapped the lead several times in the opening laps.

Left: Three Alfa Romeo 159 Alfettas dominated the first round of the 1950 Formula 1 World Championship at Silverstone. The fourth car, driven by Juan Manuel Fangio, failed to finish. – Right: Fangio had to retire his Alfa Romeo with a defect seven laps before the end of the race.

Fangio retired from third place with seven laps to go with an engine failure. Farina extended his lead to 2.6 seconds ahead of Fagioli until the final lap. The two crossed the finish line in this manner. Briton Parnell, running fourth, collided with a hare on the track, but managed to hold on to his position and finished third, much to the delight of the home crowd.

The first race in Formula 1 history lasted exactly two hours, 23 minutes, and 13.6 seconds. Farina and the other drivers who finished covered a total of 325.4 kilometers. The winner achieved an average speed of 145.5 km/h.

Unusual for today's times was the average age of the drivers in the first five places, for which World Championship points were awarded: it was 44.6 years.