The 1950 Italian Grand Prix was a
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
motor race
Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...
held on 3 September 1950 at
Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. It was race 7 of 7 in the
1950 World Championship of Drivers. In this race,
Nino Farina
Emilio Giuseppe Farina, also known as Giuseppe Antonio "Nino" Farina, (; 30 October 1906 – 30 June 1966) was an Italian racing driver and first official Formula One World Champion. He gained the title in 1950. He was the Italian Champion in ...
became the first World Drivers' Champion, and the only driver to win the title in his home country.
Background
After
Juan Manuel Fangio's win at the , Fangio had obtained 26 points, two ahead of teammate
Luigi Fagioli
Luigi Cristiano Fagioli (; 9 June 1898 – 20 June 1952), nicknamed "the Abruzzi robber", was an Italian motor racing driver. Having won his last race at 53 years old, Fagioli holds the record for the oldest Formula One driver to win a race, and ...
and four ahead of another teammate,
Giuseppe Farina
Emilio Giuseppe Farina, also known as Giuseppe Antonio "Nino" Farina, (; 30 October 1906 – 30 June 1966) was an Italian racing driver and first official Formula One World Champion. He gained the title in 1950. He was the Italian Champion in ...
. Having already finished four times in the points (all second places), Fagioli would only be able to drop six points or not gain at all, while Fangio and Farina had only finished three times. All three of Fangio's finishes were wins.
To win the championship,
* For Fangio:
** Win or come 2nd to guarantee the title.
** Come 3rd, 4th or 5th with Farina 2nd or lower.
** With the fastest lap ''only'', Farina 3rd or lower.
** Scoring no points, Farina would have to finish 3rd or lower without the fastest lap, 4th with; and Fagioli not to win with the fastest lap.
* For Fagioli:
** Win the race with the fastest lap, with Farina 3rd or lower, and Fangio not to score any points.
* For Farina:
** Win with the fastest lap, and Fangio 3rd or lower.
** Win without the fastest lap, and Fangio 4th or lower.
** 2nd with fastest lap, and Fangio 5th or lower without fastest lap.
** 3rd with fastest lap, and Fangio not to score.
Entries
: — Giovanni Bracco, Luigi de Filippis, Reg Parnell, Luigi Platé and Franco Bordoni all withdrew from the event prior to practice.
: — Dorino Serafini qualified and drove 47 laps of the race in the #48 Ferrari.
Alberto Ascari
Alberto Ascari (; 13 July 1918 – 26 May 1955) was an Italian racing driver and a two time Formula One World Champion. He was a multitalented racer who competed in motorcycle racing before switching to cars. Ascari won consecutive world titles ...
, whose own vehicle had already retired, took over Serafini's car for the remaining 33 laps of the race.
: — Piero Taruffi qualified and drove 25 laps of the race in the #60 Alfa Romeo.
Juan Manuel Fangio, whose own Alfa had already retired, took over Taruffi's car for a further 9 laps before again being forced to retire.
[
]
Race report
Ferrari pulled out all the stops to impress at their home circuit, producing a new unsupercharged 4½ litre engine to try to end the Alfa Romeo monopoly. Alberto Ascari
Alberto Ascari (; 13 July 1918 – 26 May 1955) was an Italian racing driver and a two time Formula One World Champion. He was a multitalented racer who competed in motorcycle racing before switching to cars. Ascari won consecutive world titles ...
used it to achieve second place on the grid to Juan Manuel Fangio's Alfa Romeo 158
The Alfa Romeo 158/159, also known as the ''Alfetta'' (''Little Alfa'' in Italian), is a Grand Prix racing car produced by Italian manufacturer Alfa Romeo. It is one of the most successful racing cars ever; the 158 and its derivative, the 1 ...
and then in the race behind the fast starting Nino Farina
Emilio Giuseppe Farina, also known as Giuseppe Antonio "Nino" Farina, (; 30 October 1906 – 30 June 1966) was an Italian racing driver and first official Formula One World Champion. He gained the title in 1950. He was the Italian Champion in ...
(Alfa Romeo 158) before briefly leading. The pace was too punishing for the new car and a porous block broke on lap 20 and the battle returned as usual to the Alfas. Fangio retired twice; once in his own Alfa Romeo 158 and a second time after taking over Piero Taruffi
Piero Taruffi (12 October 1906 – 12 January 1988) was a racing driver from Italy.
Sports car career
Taruffi began his motorsport career racing motorcycles. He won the 1932 500cc European Championship on a Norton and in 1937 set the motorcycle ...
's. Farina led to the finish from Ascari who was now in teammate Dorino Serafini
Teodoro "Dorino" Serafini (22 July 1909 – 5 July 2000) was a motorcycle road racer and racing driver from Italy.
A native of Pesaro (Marche), he won the 1939 500cc European Championship on a Gilera. He participated in one Formula One World C ...
's Ferrari 375
:''See also the Ferrari 340, 340 and Ferrari America, 375 road cars sharing the same engine''
After finding only modest success with the Supercharger, supercharged Ferrari 125 F1, 125 F1 car in Formula One, Ferrari decided to switch for 1950 to t ...
with Luigi Fagioli
Luigi Cristiano Fagioli (; 9 June 1898 – 20 June 1952), nicknamed "the Abruzzi robber", was an Italian motor racing driver. Having won his last race at 53 years old, Fagioli holds the record for the oldest Formula One driver to win a race, and ...
finishing third in his Alfa Romeo 158. Louis Rosier
Louis Rosier (5 November 1905 in Chapdes-Beaufort – 29 October 1956 in Neuilly-sur-Seine) was a racing driver from France.
Career highlights
He participated in 38 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 13 May 1950. He ach ...
finish fourth in his Talbot-Lago T26C
The T26C was a single-seater racing car with a box section chassis, an unsupercharged 4.5 litre straight six engine and a four speed Wilson preselector gearbox. The chassis and gearbox were derived from the company's 1930s racing cars and were si ...
with Philippe Étancelin
Philippe Étancelin (28 December 1896 – 13 October 1981) was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver who joined the new Formula One circuit at its inception.
Biography
Born in Rouen, Seine-Maritime, in Normandy, he worked as a merchant in the w ...
fifth in his Lago-Talbot. Étancelin would become the oldest driver to ever score a world championship point with that finish. Only seven cars finished out of the 27 starters and with Farina's win and Fangio's failure to score and Fagioli's third place points removed as his worst scoring finish, Farina became the first recipient of the World Driver's Championship crown.
Classification
Qualifying
Race
;Notes
* – 1 point for fastest lap
Championship standings after the race
;Drivers' Championship standings
* Note: Only the top five positions are listed. Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.
References
{{F1GP 50-59
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
Italian Grand Prix
1950 in Italian motorsport
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...