1950 Season Preview

With the conclusion of the Second World War, motor racing had suddenly found its way to become popular again. With this popularity a new formula for Grand Prix racing was created, with cars either having 1.5 litre force induced engines, or 4.5 litre unblown engines. The decision was then made in 1949 that a World Drivers’ Championship would be created for 1950 by using these regulations, with the driver earning the most points becoming World Champion. The World Championship would be sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile’s (FIA) sporting arm, which was known as the Commission Sportive Internationale (CSI). Championship points were awarded to the top five finishers, with first place receiving eight points, second place earned six, third place earned four, fourth place earned three, and fifth place earned one point. An additional point would also be awarded to the driver who completed the fastest timed lap during the race. The season consisted of seven races, six of which were held in Europe, and the other being the Indianapolis 500 race in the United States, to make this a true World Championship. Alfa Romeo entered the season as the title fancies with Italians Giuseppe ‘Nino’ Farnia and Luigi Fagioli being joined by the Argentine driver Juan Manuel Fangio in their 1.5 liter supercharged ‘Alfettas’. Ferrari also intended to enter the season, with Alberto Ascari and Luigi Villoresi spearheading their efforts with a supercharged V12. Maserati also entered a sole car for Louis Chiron, with Franco Rol occasionally joining the Monegasque driver throughout the season, as Maserati, Alfa Romeo and Ferrari were all expected to feature heavily throughout the season with their Pirelli tyres. Talbot-Lago’s Dunlop-shod blue cars were also entered with Yves Giraud-Cabantous, Louis Rosier and Philippe Étançelin driving for the little French team

Calendar Round Date Grand Prix Circuit 1 May 13th British Grand Prix Silverstone 2 May 21st Monaco Grand Prix Monte Carlo 3 May 30th Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis 4 June 4th Swiss Grand Prix Bremgarten 5 June 18th Belgian Grand Prix Spa-Francorchamps 6 July 2nd French Grand Prix Reims-Gueux 7 September 3rd Italian Grand Prix Monza

Round 1-British Grand Prix Official Race Title: RAC Grand Prix d’Europe

Date: May 13th, 1950 Venue: Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire, Great Britain

Race Preview

The first race of the Formula One World Championship was ready to be held at Silverstone, and it was highly anticipated by many. The Silverstone Circuit was situated on the base of an old World War II airfield, which was lined by straw bales with characteristics of long straights followed by fast, sweeping corners. Alfa Romeo had decided to enter their leading trio of drivers, as well as entering an extra car for local driver Reg Parnell. Maserati had their works entry for Chiron at the ready, with a plethora of privately entered Maseratis joining the factory effort. Talbot-Lago had Giraud-Cabantous, and Eugéne Martin represent their works team, with Philippe Étançelin and Rosier entering their own Talbot-Lagos. The rest of the field was joined by a group of British-made ERA and Altas; however these cars were not believed to trouble the frontrunners. Ferrari on the other hand was not present for the first race of the season, when their demands for more start money from the race organisers fell on deaf ears, and they decided to forego this round of the championship.

Lead-up The Thursday before the race was used for practice and it was Giovanbattista Guidotti, one of Alfa Romeo’s engineers and reserve driver who turned out to set the fastest lap time of the day. Qualifying on Friday brought no big surprises as the Alfa Romeos occupying the first four positions on the starting grid, with Farina starting on pole, followed by Fagioli, Fangio and Parnell. Siamese royalty in the form of Prince Bira qualified in fifth position in his Maserati, ahead of Giraud-Cabantous and Martin, whilst Rosier and Chiron qualified in ninth and eleventh positions respectively. Race day brought British royalty to the circuit, notably with King George VI, and Queen Elizabeth, who greeted the drivers before the race, as another 200,000 spectators were waiting in earnest to view the race.

Starting Grid 4th 3rd 2nd 1st Reg Parnell Juan Manuel Fangio Luigi Fagioli Nino Farina 1:52.2 1:51.0 1:51.0 1:50.8

7th 6th 5th Eugène Martin Yves-Giraud-Cabantous Prince Bira

1:55.4 1:53.4 1:52.6

11th 10th 9th 8th Louis Chiron Peter Walker Louis Rosier Toulo de Graffenried 1:56.6 1:56.6 1:56.0 1:55.8 14th 13th 12th Philippe Étançelin Bob Gerard Leslie Johnson

1:57.8 1:57.4 1:57.4

18th 17th 16th 15th David Murray Geoff Crossley David Hampshire Cuth Harrison 2:05.6 2:02.6 2:01.0 1:58.4

21st 20th 19th Johnny Claes Joe Fry Joe Kelly

2:08.8 2:07.0 2:06.2

Race Report Saturday was race day, and as the race began Farina took the lead, as he was followed by his three team mates. Shortly after Fagioli and Fangio took turns at the lead, as the leading three Alfa Romeos kept on swapping positions, although the drivers had been instructed to finish the race with Farina winning ahead of Farina, Fangio and Parnell. The Maseratis of Bira and de Graffenried were running in fifth and sixth respectively until the engine in the Baron’s Maserati blew up, and Bira then ran out of fuel from fifth place. Farina and Fangio kept fighting for the lead until Fangio hit a straw bale, which blocked the grille and forced him to pit and then retire from the race, with a broken conrod with only eight laps to go.. Farina then went on to win the race, ahead of Fagioli in close pursuit with local hero Parnell making it a 1-2-3 finish for Alfa Romeo, despite the Brit running over a hare mid-race. The Talbot-Lagos of Giraud-Cabantous and Rosier climbed up the race order to take the final two points-paying positions.

Follow-Up Fangio started the season with nine points, Fagioli was second with six points and Parnell was third with four points, although he was not expected to return to the Alfa Romeo team. The Talbot drivers of Giraud-Cabantous and Rosier were now fourth and fifth respectively after one round having been completed.

Race Results Position # Driver Country Car Laps Time/Retired Points 1st 2 Nino Farina Italy Alfa Romeo 158 70 2:13:26.6 9 2nd 3 Luigi Fagioli Italy Alfa Romeo 158 70 +2.6 6 3rd 4 Reg Parnell Great Britain Alfa Romeo 158 70 +52.0 4 4th 14 Yves Giraud-Cabantous France Talbot-Lago T26C-DA 68 +2 Laps 3 5th 15 Louis Rosier France Talbot-Lago T26C 68 +2 Laps 2 6th 12 Bob Gerard Great Britain ERA B Type 67 +3 Laps 0 7th 11 Cuth Harrison Great Britain ERA B Type 67 +3 Laps 0 8th 16 Philippe Étançelin France Talbot-Lago T26C 65 +5 Laps 0 9th 6 David Hampshire Great Britain Maserati 4CLT/48 64 +6 Laps 0 10th 10 Joe Fry Great Britain Maserati 4CL 64 +6 Laps 0 Brian Shawe-Taylor Great Britain 0 11th 18 Johnny Claes Belgium Talbot-Lago T26C 64 +6 Laps 0 DNF 1 Juan Manuel Fangio Argentina Alfa Romeo 158 62 Oil Leak 0 NC 23 Joe Kelly Ireland Alta GP 57 Not Classified 0 DNF 21 Price Bira Thailand Maserati 4CLT/48 49 Out of Fuel 0 DNF 5 David Murray Great Britain Maserati 4CLT/48 44 Engine 0 NC 24 Geoff Crossley Great Britain Alta GP 43 Not Classified 0 DNF 20 Toulo de Graffenried Switzerland Maserati 4CLT/48 36 Engine 0 DNF 19 Louis Chiron Monaco Maserati 4CLT/48 26 Clutch 0 DNF 17 Eugène Martin France Talbot-Lago T26C-DA 8 Engine 0 DNF 9 Peter Walker Great Britain ERA E Type 5 Gearbox 0 Tony Rolt Great Britain 0 DNF 8 Leslie Johnson Great Britain ERA E Type 2 Compressor 0 Note: Drivers marked in purple text took over another driver’s car mid-race. Fastest Lap: Nino Farina, 1:50.6

Round 2-Monaco Grand Prix Official Race Title: Grand Prix Automobile de Monaco

Date: May 21st, 1950 Venue: Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco

Race Preview

As round two of the championship arrived to Monte Carlo, the tight street circuit around the principality with features such as the tunnel, the Station and Gazomètre hairpins and the run past the Hotel de Paris at Massenet and then past the casino. The Alfa Romeo team was reduced to entering three cars; meanwhile Maserati had Rol joining Chiron, who was racing in his home Grand Prix. Ferrari made their debut in Formula One racing entering three cars for Ascari, Villoresi and Raymond Sommer. The Talbot-Lago works team did not attend the Grand Prix; however four were entered with Étançelin, Rosier and amongst them. Another French team decided to enter at Monaco with the Simca-Gordini team entering Robert Manzon and Maurice Trintignant for the race and Argentina’s José Froilán González was set to make his Formula One début in a privately-entered Maserati. America’s Harry Schell also entered a Cooper that was powered by a V-twin JAP engine that was originally designated for a motorcycle! The Cooper became the first rear-engined entry for a Formula One World Championship race.

Lead-Up The qualifying session was one with a few surprises with Gonzàlez qualifying in third place for his Formula One debut ahead of Éntancelin, Fagioli and the Ferraris of Villoresi and Ascari. Chiron then qualified in eighth place ahead of Sommer, with Rosier rounding out the top ten. There were however no surprises at the front of the field with Fangio taking pole position ahead of team mate Farina. It was in qualifying when Piàn crashed and broke his leg, whilst the Ferrari of Peter Whitehead had an engine failure, ending the pair’s weekend early.

Starting Grid 3rd 2nd 1st José Froilán González Nino Farina Juan Manuel Fangio 1:53.7 1:52.8 1:50.2 5th 4th

Luigi Fagioli Philippe Étançelin 1:54.2 1:54.1

8th 7th 6th Louis Chiron Alberto Ascari Luigi Villoresi 1:56.3 1:53.8 1:52.3 10th 9th

Louis Rosier Raymond Sommer 1:57.7 1:56.6

13th 12th 11th Maurice Trintignant Toulo de Graffenried Robert Manzon 2:01.4 2:00.7 2:00.4 15th 14th Prince Bira Cuth Harrison 2:02.2 2:01.6 18th 17th 16th Alfredo Piàn Franco Rol Bob Gerard No Time 2:04.5 2:03.4 20th 19th Harry Schell Johnny Claes No Time 2:12.0

Race Report As the race began Fangio led, however when the field arrived to the Tabac corner on the first lap, a massive wave crashed into the harbour and onto the track, causing a freakish pileup. The ensuing chaos immediately knocked out ten of the nineteen cars that started the race, including Farina, Fagioli and Gonzàlez who was burned after the accident. Meanwhile Fangio managed to miss the wreckage, attributing it to the fact that he noticed that the majority of spectators were looking in the opposite direction, and not at the oncoming cars, prompting Fangio to think that there was an incident in front of him. Fangio led and won the race finishing ahead of Ascari in a distant second, Chiron who took third at his home race, Sommer in fourth and Bira rounding out the top five.

Follow-Up Fangio’s victory gave him a joint championship lead on nine points with his team mate Farina after two rounds, who did not score any points after the accident. Fagioli and Ascari were in a joint second place with six points each and Chiron was close behind with four points.

Race Results Position # Driver Country Car Laps Time/Retired Points 1st 34 Juan Manuel Fangio Argentina Alfa Romeo 158 100 3:13:16.7 9 2nd 40 Alberto Ascari Italy Ferrari 125 99 +1 Lap 6 3rd 48 Louis Chiron Monaco Maserati 4CLT/48 98 +2 Laps 4 4th 42 Raymond Sommer France Ferrari 125 97 +3 Laps 3 5th 50 Prince Bira Thailand Maserati 4CLT/48 95 +5 Laps 2 6th 26 Bob Gerard Great Britain ERA A Type 94 +6 Laps 0 7th 6 Johnny Claes Belgium Talbot-Lago T26C 94 +6 Laps 0 DNF 38 Luigi Villoresi Italy Ferrari 125 63 Axle 0 DNF 14 Philippe Étançelin France Talbot-Lago T26C 38 Oil Leak 0 DNF 2 José Froilán González Argentina Maserati 4CLT/48 1 Accident 0 DNF 36 Luigi Fagioli Italy Alfa Romeo 158 0 Accident 0 DNF 32 Nino Farina Italy Alfa Romeo 158/50 0 Accident 0 DNF 16 Louis Rosier France Talbot-Lago T26C 0 Accident 0 DNF 10 Robert Manzon France Simca-Gordini T15 0 Accident 0 DNF 52 Toulo de Graffenried Switzerland Maserati 4CLT/48 0 Accident 0 DNF 12 Maurice Trintignant France Simca-Gordini T15 0 Accident 0 DNF 24 Cuth Harrison Great Britain ERA B Type 0 Accident 0 DNF 44 Franco Rol Italy Maserati 4CLT/48 0 Accident 0 DNF 8 Harry Schell United States Cooper T12-JAP 0 Collision 0 DNS 4 Alfredo Piàn Argentina Maserati 4CLT/48 - Accident 0 DNS 28 Peter Whitehead Great Britain Ferrari 125 - Engine 0 Fastest Lap: Juan Manuel Fangio, 1:51.0

Round 3-Indianapolis 500 Official Race Title: International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race

Date: May 30th, 1950 Venue: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, United States

Race Preview

The third round of the World Championship was the American Indianapolis 500 race which doubled as a Formula One World Championship round, as well as a round for the American Automobile Association National Championship Trail. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was a slightly banked oval, with two long straights joined by four corners, with short chutes separating Turns 1 and 2, and Turns 3 and 4, and a front straight that was laid with bricks, but remained unpaved. Since this was the only race on the calendar to run to AAA regulations, and not the regulations of the European championship rounds, the cars were allowed to be heavier with larger engines. The AAA regulations allowed for 3 litre supercharged, or 4.5 litre unblown engines. The regulations also offered some innovation with supercharged diesel engines being made legitimate with either a 6.6 litre four-stroke engine, or a 4.5 litre two-stroke engine. All of the cars ran on American-made Firestone tyres, compared to the European firms that supplied the European teams. As a result none of the European competitors made the trip across the Atlantic Ocean, and the race would be contested American drivers and their cars. The main contenders would be the Kurtis Kraft team with Fred Agabashian and 1949 AAA Champion Johnnie Parsons or Howard Keck’s Deidt driven by three time 500 winner Mauri Rose. Lou Moore’s four car operation had three different chassis within the one team. The event’s 1949 winner Bill Holland and Tony Bettenhausen drove Deidts, Lee Wallard drove a Moore and George Connor drove a Lesovsky. J.C. Agajanian’s Kurtis Kraft was also a notable entry with first-timer visitor to the speedway Walt Faulkner driving.

Lead-Up Indianapolis had the unique qualifying procedure, where the fastest four laps on the first day of qualifying earned the pole position. Faulkner was not intimidated by the high speeds of the Speedway on his first attempt and managed to record the pole position by almost four seconds, just before the gun fired at 6PM to end qualifying for Pole Day. Agabashian was second, with Rose starting in third place, whilst Connor started the race in fourth position ahead of Parsons in fifth.

Starting Grid 1st 2nd 3rd Walt Faulkner Fred Agabashian Mauri Rose 4:27.97 4:31.10 4:32.07 4th 5th 6th George Connor Johnnie Parsons Jack McGrath 4:32.39 4:32.43 4:33.00 7th 8th 9th Duke Dinsmore Tony Bettenhausen Joie Chitwood 4:34.67 4:34.92 4:35.32 10th 11th 12th Bill Holland Pat Flaherty Cecil Green 4:35.90 4:37.96 4:30.86 13th 14th 15th Duane Carter Spider Webb Jerry Hoyt 4:33.42 4:37.46 4:37.95 16th 17th 18th Myron Fohr Bayliss Levrett Dick Rathmann 4:33.32 4:34.43 4:34.96 19th 20th 21st Paul Russo Walt Brown Henry Banks 4:35.25 4:35.96 4:37.68 22nd 23rd 24th Bill Schindler Lee Wallard Troy Ruttman 4:31.31 4:31.83 4:32.91 25th 26th 27th Sam Hanks Mack Hellings Jimmy Davies 4:33.57 4:35.32 4:36.07 28th 29th 30th Jim Rathmann Walt Ader Jackie Holmes 4:37.01 4:37.05 4:37.57 31st 32nd 33rd Gene Hartley Jimmy Jackson Johnny McDowell 4:38.61 4:38.62 4:37.58 Legend: Black-Drivers whose grid position was set on the first day of qualifications. Blue-Drivers whose grid position was set on the second day of qualifications. Red-Drivers whose grid position was set on the third day of qualifications. Green-Drivers whose grid position was set on the fourth day of qualifications.

Race Report As the field took a rolling start Rose moved into the lead of the race, before Parsons moved through the field to take the lead on lap 10. Rose then briefly retook the lead before Parsons took the lead for another 71 laps until making a pit stop, momentarily giving Rose the lead, when he pitted and escaped a refueling fire. Holland was then leading, until he made his pit stop and Parsons retook the lead on lap 118 and continued to lead until lap 135 when a sudden downpour sent cars spinning all over the circuit and brought out the caution. The race was then red-flagged a few laps later and the race did not reach its entire 200 lap distance, leaving Parsons as the race winner. Holland was second, Rose in third, Green in fourth with Joie Chitwood and Tony Bettenahausen finishing in fifth, as Bettenhausen relieved Chitwood mid-race.

Follow-Up

It was only after the race that Parsons realised how lucky he was to win the race, when a post race inspection discovered a crack in the middle of his car’s Offenhauser engine, which should have ended in disaster for Parsons, had the race lasted its full distance. The drama did not stop there for Parsons, when his first name was misspelled as ‘Johnny’ instead of ‘Johnnie’ when it was engraved on the Borg Warner winners’ trophy! This, as well as the fact that the red flag came out before Parsons made his second pit stop would have made things even more difficult to stomach for Holland, who was leading before the drivers made their second stops. As far as the championship was concerned Parsons, Fangio and Farina were all level on nine points and in the lead of the championship, yet it was highly unlikely that any of the Americans that competed at Indianapolis would compete in the European races.

Race Results Position # Driver Country Car Laps Time/Retired Points 1st 1 Johnnie Parsons United States Kurtis Kraft 3000-Offenhauser 138 2:46:55.97 9 2nd 3 Bill Holland United States Deidt Tufanelli Derrico-Offenhauser 137 +1 Lap 6 3rd 31 Mauri Rose United States Deidt Tufanelli Derrico-Offenhauser 137 +1 Lap 4 4th 54 Cecil Green United States Kurtis Kraft 3000-Offenhauser 137 +1 Lap 3 5th 17 Joie Chitwood United States Kurtis Kraft 2000-Offenhauser 136 +2 Laps 1 Tony Bettenhausen United States 1 6th 8 Lee Wallard United States Moore-Offenhauser 136 +2 Laps 0 7th 98 Walt Faulkner United States Kurtis Kraft 2000-Offenhauser 135 +3 Laps 0 8th 5 George Connor United States Lesovsky-Offenhauser 135 +3 Laps 0 9th 7 Paul Russo United States Nichels-Offenhauser 135 +3 Laps 0 10th 59 Pat Flaherty United States Kurtis Kraft 3000-Offenhauser 135 +3 Laps 0 11th 2 Myron Fohr United States Marchese-Offenhauser 133 +5 Laps 0 12th 18 Duane Carter United States Stevens-Offenhauser 133 +5 Laps 0 13th 15 Mack Hellings United States Kurtis Kraft 2000-Offenhauser 132 +6 Laps 0 14th 49 Jack McGrath United States Kurtis Kraft 3000-Offenhauser 131 Spun Off 0 15th 55 Troy Ruttman United States Lesovsky-Offenhauser 130 +8 Laps 0 16th 75 Gene Hartley United States Langley-Offenhauser 128 +10 Laps 0 17th 22 Jimmy Davies United States Ewing-Offenhauser 128 +10 Laps 0 18th 62 Johnny McDowell United States Kurtis Kraft 2000-Offenhauser 128 +10 Laps 0 19th 4 Walt Brown United States Kurtis Kraft 2000-Offenhauser 127 +11 Laps 0 20th 21 Spider Webb United States Maserati 8CTF-Offenhauser 126 +12 Laps 0 21st 81 Jerry Hoyt United States Kurtis Kraft 2000-Offenhauser 125 +13 Laps 0 22nd 27 Walt Ader United States Rae-Offenhauser 123 +15 Laps 0 23rd 30 Jackie Holmes United States Olson Special-Offenhauser 123 Spun Off 0 24th 76 Jim Rathmann United States Wetteroth-Offenhauser 122 +16 Laps 0 Ret 12 Henry Banks United States Maserati 8CTF-Offenhauser 112 Oil Line 0 Fred Agabashian United States 0 DNF 67 Bill Schindler United States Snowberger-Offenhauser 111 Transmission 0 DNF 24 Bayliss Levrett United States Adams-Offenhauser 108 Oil Pressure 0 Bill Cantrell United States 0 DNF 28 Fred Agabashian United States Kurtis Kraft 3000-Offenhauser 64 Oil Leak 0 DNF 61 Jimmy Jackson United States Kurtis Kraft 3000-Cummins 52 Compressor 0 DNF 37 Sam Hanks United States Kurtis Kraft 2000-Offenhauser 42 Oil Pressure 0 DNF 14 Tony Bettenhausen United States Deidt Tufanelli Derrico-Offenhauser 30 Wheel Bearing 0 DNF 45 Dick Rathmann United States Watson Indy Roadster-Offenhauser 25 Retirement 0 DNF 7 Duke Dinsmore United States Kurtis Kraft 2000-Offenhauser 10 Oil Leak 0 DNQ 44 Joe James United States Weidel-Mercury - Did Not Qualify 0 DNQ 85 Manny Ayulo United States Maserati 8CTF-Offenhauser - Did Not Qualify 0 DNQ 26 George Fonder United States Deidt-Sparks - Did Not Qualify 0 DNQ 66 Cliff Griffith United States Miller-Offenhauser - Did Not Qualify 0 DNQ 63 Joe James United States Kurtis 2000-Offenhauser - Did Not Qualify 0 DNQ 79 Chuck Leighton United States Cantarano-Wayne - Did Not Qualify 0 WD 44 Bill Cantrell United States Adams-Offenhauser - Withdrew 0 WD 99 Kenny Eaton United States Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser - Withdrew 0 WD 52 Mark Light United States Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser - Withdrew 0 WD 87 Bill Vukovich United States Rounds RE-Offenhauser - Withdrew 0 WD 47 Ralph Pratt United States Gdula-Offenhauser - Withdrew 0 WD 58 Billy Devore United States Scopa-Offenhauser - Withdrew 0

WD 99 Emil Andres United States Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser - Withdrew 0 WD 16 Hal Cole United States Kurtis Kraft 2000-Offenhauser - Accident 0 WD 65 Marvin Burke United States Kurtis Kraft-Duray - Failed Rookie Test 0 WD 16 Ted Duncan United States Kurtis Kraft 2000-Offenhauser - Withdrew 0 WD 19 Kenny Eaton United States Bardazon-Offenhauser - Withdrew 0 WD 74 Carl Forberg United States Miller-Offenhauser - Withdrew 0 WD 52 Dick Frazier United States Meyer-Offenhauser - Withdrew 0 WD 34 Johnny Fedricks United States Kupiec-Offenhauser - Withdrew 0 WD 41 Milt Fankhauser United States Stevens-Offenhauser - Withdrew 0 WD 63 Bob Gregg United States Kurtis Kraft 2000-Offenhauser - Withdrew 0 WD 65 Norm Houser United States Kurtis Kraft-Duray - Withdrew 0 WD 39 Danny Kladis United States Maserati 8CTF - Withdrew 0 WD 9 Andy Linden United States Bromme-Offenhauser - Withdrew 0 WD 67 George Lynch United States Snowberger-Offenhauser - Withdrew 0 WD 51 Mark Light United States Stevens-Offenhauser - Withdrew 0 WD 83 Al Miller United States Miller RE4D - Withdrew 0 WD 43 Chet Miller United States Kurtis Kraft FD-Novi - Withdrew 0 WD 78 Cy Marshall United States Miller - Withdrew 0 WD 25 Johnny Mauro United States Alfa Romeo 8C-308 - Withdrew 0 WD 38 Duke Nalon United States Kurtis Kraft FD-Novi - Withdrew 0 WD 10 Bill Vukovich United States Maserati 8CTF - Withdrew 0 WD 29 Charles Van Acker Belgium Stevens-Offenhauser - Withdrew 0 WD 19 Ralph Pratt United States Bardazon-Offenhauser - Withdrew 0 WD 33 Joel Thorne United States Kurtis Kraft-Sparks - Withdrew 0 WD 85 Jim Rigsby United States Maserati 8CTF-Offenhauser - Withdrew 0 Note: Drivers marked in purple text took over another driver’s car mid-race. Fastest Lap: Johnnie Parsons, 1:09.77

Round 4-Swiss Grand Prix Official Race Title: Großer Preis der Schweiz

Date: June 4th, 1950 Venue: Circuit Bremgarten, Bern, Switzerland

Race Preview

Round 4 was held at Bremgarten, a fast and daunting circuit, which was winding through the treacherous tree-lined forests. The after effects of a chaotic first lap in Monte Carlo were still being felt as the European drivers contested the fourth round of the World Championship, as González was still recovering from his injuries and did not race at Bremgarten. The general consensus was that this race would be another Alfa Romeo benefit considering their form from the races in Silverstone and Monte Carlo, with one of their three drivers expected to take victory.

Lead-Up In Friday’s practice session the Alfas were dominant again and in qualifying the Alfa Romeo trio was far superior, as Fangio took pole position ahead of team mates Farina and Fagioli. The two Ferraris of Villoresi and Ascari followed the Alfettas, with the numerous Maseratis, Talbot-Lagos and third Formula Two-spec Ferrari of Raymond Sommer filling out the field.

Starting Grid 3rd 2nd 1st Luigi Fagioli Nino Farina Juan Manuel Fangio 2:45.2 2:42.8 2:42.1 5th 4th Alberto Ascari Luigi Villoresi 2:46.8 2:46.1 8th 7th 6th Prince Bira Yves Giraud-Cabantous Philippe Étançelin 2:53.2 2:52.7 2:51.1

10th 9th Louis Rosier Eugène Martin 2:54.0 2:53.7

13th 12th 11th Raymond Sommer Felice Bonetto Toulo de Graffenried 2:54.6 2:54.6 2:54.2 15th 14th Nello Pagani Johnny Claes 3:06.9 2:59.0 18th 17th 16th Harry Schell Toni Branca Louis Chiron 3:11.5 3:10.0 3:06.9

Race Report At the start Fangio led Farina, and Ascari who had gotten ahead of Fagioli until Ascari and Villoresi retired with engine problems. Pit stops were then taken as Farina took the lead at the end of the pit stop shuffle with Fangio in second place and Fagioli in third. This promoted Prince Bira to fourth place, until he made his pit stop. ‘Phi-Phi’ Étançelin’s Talbot-Lago was then promoted to fourth position, until a gearbox failure forced him to pull out and Louis Rosier’s works Talbot was now in fourth place. Rosier’s team mate, Eugène Martin then had a large accident in his works Talbot-Lago, which left him seriously injured as his body was thrown out of the car. Fangio’s Alfa Romeo was then struck electrical problems, with ten laps remaining as Farina went on to win in formation with Fagioli in second place, with Rosier becoming the beneficiary of Fangio’s misfortune with a third place finish. Bira recovered to finish in fourth place after multiple pit stops, with Felice Bonetto’s Maserati taking the final two points for fifth place.

Follow-Up

Farina now assumed sole control of the championship lead with 18 points, ahead of Fagioli in second with 12 points. Fangio’s win at Monaco kept him level with Johnnie Parsons in third place with 9 points each.

Race Results Position # Driver Country Car Laps Time/Retired Points 1st 16 Nino Farina Italy Alfa Romeo 158 42 2:02:53.7 9 2nd 12 Luigi Fagioli Italy Alfa Romeo 158 42 +0.4 6 3rd 10 Louis Rosier France Talbot-Lago T26C-DA 41 +1 Lap 4 4th 30 Prince Bira Thailand Maserati 4CLT/48 40 +2 Laps 3 5th 34 Felice Bonetto Italy Maserati 4CLT/50 40 +2 Laps 2 6th 32 Toulo de Graffenried Switzerland Maserati 4CLT/48 40 +2 Laps 0 7th 2 Nello Pagani Italy Maserati 4CLT/48 39 +3 Laps 0 8th 44 Harry Schell United States Talbot-Lago T26C 39 +3 Laps 0 9th 26 Louis Chiron Monaco Maserati 4CLT/48 39 +3 Laps 0 10th 4 Johnny Claes Belgium Talbot-Lago T26C 38 +4 Laps 0 11th 40 Toni Branca Switzerland Maserati 4CL 35 +7 Laps 0 DNF 14 Juan Manuel Fangio Argentina Alfa Romeo 32 Engine 0 DNF 42 Philippe Étançelin France Talbot-Lago T26C 25 Gearbox 0 DNF 8 Eugène Martin France Talbot-Lago T26C-DA 19 Accident 0 DNF 20 Raymond Sommer France Ferrari 166 F2 19 Suspension 0 DNF 22 Luigi Villoresi Italy Ferrari 125 9 Engine 0 DNF 18 Alberto Ascari Italy Ferrari 125 4 Oil Pump 0 DNF 6 Yves Giraud-Cabantous France Talbot-Lago T26C-DA 0 Accident 0 Fastest Lap: Nino Farina, 2:41.6

Round 5-Belgian Grand Prix Official Race Title: Grand Prix de Belgique

Date: June 18th, 1950 Venue: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Francorchamps, Belgium

Race Preview

The fifth round of the championship was held on the closed public roads at the Spa-Francorchamps track, which drove through local villages with tricky high-speed corners such as Eau Rouge, the Masta Kink, and the flat-out blasts through Malmedy and Stavelot. The Belgian crowd met a watered down field, with only 14 cars being entered. Ferrari downgraded to entering two cars for Ascari and Villoresi, with Ascari driving the new Ferrari 275 with a 3.3 liter normally aspirated engine, whilst Sommer entered a Talbot-Lago. The works Talbot team entered three cars with Étançelin replacing the injured Eugéne Martin. Along with another three privateer Talbots being entered, a privateer Maserati of Toni Branca, and the Alta of Geoff Crossley was also entered.

Lead-Up Qualifying was the same old story with the three Alfa Romeos starting on the front row, as Farina and Fangio set identical fastest times with Farina starting on pole due to being ahead of Fangio in the championship, and Fagioli started third. Villoresi’s Ferrari was fourth, with the Talbot-Lagos of Sommer and Étançelin qualifying in fifth and sixth with Ascari in the second Ferrari qualifying in seventh, with Rosier qualifying in eighth place.

Starting Grid 1st 2nd 3rd Nino Farina Juan Manuel Fangio Luigi Fagioli 4:37.0 4:37.0 4:41.0 4th 5th Luigi Villoresi Raymond Sommer 4:47.0 4:47.0 6th 7th 8th Philippe Étançelin Alberto Ascari Louis Rosier 4:49.0 4:52.0 4:53.0

9th 10th Yves Giraud-Cabantous Pierre Levegh 4:56.0 5:01.0

11th 12th 13th Eugène Chaboud Geoff Crossley Toni Branca 5:13.0 5:44.0 5:45.0 14th Johnny Claes No Time

Race Report As the race began the Alfa Romeos set off into the distance with Sommer and his former Ferrari team mates trailing behind. The three Alfas then had to make pit stops for fuel, as Sommer took the lead with the intent of completing the whole race without making a pit stop. Sommer was able to maintain his lead and it looked as if Alfa Romeo’s stranglehold could be broken, until he dropped to third and his engine blew up, ending the chances of a shock result. This put Ascari into the lead, however he had to make a pits top as Fangio, Farina and Fagioli assumed the status quo up front. Fagioli then began to encounter gearbox problems late in the race, and Fagioli moved into second place, and Rosier moved up into third, as Farina settled for fourth place in the finish. Ascari took the final points-paying finish in fifth ahead of Villoresi; however it was Fangio who won ahead of Fagioli.

Follow-Up

Farina still had the consolation of scoring the bonus point for setting the fastest lap and left Belgium on 22 points, with Fagioli on 18 points in second, with Fangio a further point behind him.

Race Results Position # Driver Country Car Laps Time/Retired Points 1st 10 Juan Manuel Fangio Argentina Alfa Romeo 158 35 2:47:26 8 2nd 12 Luigi Fagioli Italy Alfa Romeo 158 35 +14.0 6 3rd 14 Louis Rosier France Talbot-Lago T26C-DA 35 +2:19.0 4 4th 8 Nino Farina Italy Alfa Romeo 158/50 35 +4:05.0 4 5th 4 Alberto Ascari Italy Ferrari 275 34 +1 Lap 2 6th 2 Luigi Villoresi Italy Ferrari 125 33 +2 Laps 0 7th 22 Pierre Levegh France Talbot-Lago T26C 33 +2 Laps 0 8th 24 Johnny Claes Belgium Talbot-Lago T26C 32 +3 Laps 0 9th 26 Geoff Crossley Great Britain Alta GP 30 +5 Laps 0 10th 30 Toni Branca Switzerland Maserati 4CL 29 +6 Laps 0 DNF 20 Eugène Chaboud France Talbot-Lago T26C 22 Oil Pipe 0 DNF 6 Raymond Sommer France Talbot-Lago T26C 20 Oil Pressure 0 DNF 16 Philippe Étançelin France Talbot-Lago T26C-DA 15 Overheating 0 DNF 18 Yves Giraud-Cabantous France Talbot-Lago T26C-DA 2 Oil Pipe 0 Fastest Lap: Nino Farina, 4:34.1

Round 6-French Grand Prix Official Race Title: Grand Prix de l’ A.C.F.

Date: July 2nd, 1950 Venue: Circuit de Reims-Gueux, Reims, France

Race Preview

The championship had now moved to the French Grand Prix to Reims, another fast clockwise circuit on closed public roads, with three slow left hand turns, as the cars passed through the villages of Thillois and Gueux. The Simca-Gordini team entered their home race with Robert Manzon behind the wheel. Rol also returned for the factory Maserati team, whilst José Froilán González had recovered from his Monaco injuries and returned in a privatter Maserati. Ferrari also arrived with the 275 for Villoresi and Ascari, and Peter Whitehead returned in his privately entered Ferrari. Raymond Sommer’s heroic performance in Belgium was enough to promote him to the works Talbot-Lago team, who were fresh off their success with Louis Rosier and his son in the Le Mans 24 Hour Race. Philippe Étançelin then reverted back to his privateer Talbot.

Lead-Up In qualifying the Alfa Romeo team dominated qualifying again with Fangio on pole, ahead of Farina and Fagioli. The Talbots of Giraud-Cabantous, Étançelin and Rosier took the next three positions in their home Grand Prix. Rol and Gonzàlez then qualified in seventh and eighth. The factory Ferraris of Ascari and Villoresi practiced with their new engines, however they withdrew from the race when they realised that the engines were not going to be competitive enough during the race.

Starting Grid 3rd 2nd 1st Luigi Fagioli Nino Farina Juan Manuel Fangio 2:34.7 2:32.5 2:30.6 5th 4th Yves Giraud-Cabantous Philippe Étançelin 2:42.7 2:39.0 8th 7th 6th José Froilán González Franco Rol Louis Rosier 2:48.0 2:46.7 2:46.0 10th 9th Eugène Chaboud Pierre Levegh No Time 2:49.0 13th 12th 11th Robert Manzon Reg Parnell Felice Bonetto No Time No Time No Time 15th 14th Johnny Claes Louis Chiron No Time No Time 18th 17th 16th David Hampshire Raymond Sommer Charles Pozzi No Time No Time No Time 19th Peter Whitehead No Time

Race Report Farina took the lead at the start of the race, with Fangio and Fagioli chasing behind. Farina then dropped down the order, when his fuel pump failed, before making his way back through the field to third position, until his fuel pump problem became terminal and he retired. Fangio had then taken over the lead which he would never relinquish to the chequered flag, with Farina finishing in second place. Whitehead finished in third place in a race of attrition, three laps behind the Alfas after starting the race at the back of the grid and barely making it to the finish with a broken head gasket. Manzon then gave the home fans some joy by bringing his Simca-Gordini home in fourth place whilst Étançelin’s Talbot-Lago finished in fifth place, when he handed his car over to Eugène Chaboud.

Follow-Up Farina’s retirement dropped him from first to third in the championship standings; meanwhile Fangio was the big winner with his victory helping him jump to the head of the championship standings on 26 points. Fagioli was second in the championship with 24 points, with Farina staying on 22 points. This left the three Alfa Romeo drivers with a mathematical chance of claiming the World Championship with one round remaining at the manufacturer’s home race at Monza.

Race Results Position # Driver Country Car Laps Time/Retired Points 1st 6 Juan Manuel Fangio Argentina Alfa Romeo 158 64 2:57:52.8 9 2nd 4 Luigi Fagioli Italy Alfa Romeo 158 64 +25.7 6 3rd 14 Peter Whitehead Great Britain Ferrari 125 61 +3 Laps 4 4th 44 Robert Manzon France Simca-Gordini Type 15 61 +3 Laps 3 5th 16 Philippe Étançelin France Talbot-Lago T26C-DA 59 +5 Laps 1 Eugène Chaboud France 1 6th 26 Charles Pozzi France Talbot-Lago T26C 56 +8 Laps 0 Louis Rosier France 0 7th 2 Nino Farina Italy Alfa Romeo 158/50 55 Fuel Pump 0 8th 18 Yves Giraud-Cabantous France Talbot-Lago T26C-DA 52 +12 Laps 0 DNF 22 Pierre Levegh France Talbot-Lago T26C 36 Engine 0 DNF 40 Felice Bonetto Italy Maserati 4CLT/50-Milano 14 Engine 0 DNF 42 Johnny Claes Belgium Talbot-Lago T26C 11 Overheating 0 DNF 20 Louis Rosier France Talbot-Lago T26C-DA 10 Overheating 0 DNF 32 Reg Parnell Great Britain Maserati 4CLT/48 9 Engine 0 DNF 28 Franco Rol Italy Maserati 4CLT/48 6 Engine 0 DNF 30 Louis Chiron Monaco Maserati 4CLT/48 6 Engine 0 DNF 34 David Hampshire Great Britain Maserati 4CLT/48 5 Engine 0 DNF 12 Raymond Sommer France Talbot-Lago T26C-GS 4 Overheating 0 DNF 36 José Froilán González Argentina Maserati 4CLT/48 3 Engine 0 DNS 24 Eugène Chaboud France Talbot-Lago T26C - Drove Étançelin’s Car 0 WD 8 Luigi Villoresi Italy Ferrari 275 - Withdrew 0 WD 10 Alberto Ascari Italy Ferrari 275 - Withdrew 0 Note: Drivers marked in purple text took over another driver’s car mid-race. Fastest Lap: Juan Manuel Fangio, 2:35.6

Round 7-Italian Grand Prix Official Race Title: Gran Premio d’Italia

Date: September 3rd, 1950 Venue: Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza, Italy

Race Preview

The final round of the season was to be held at Monza, a permanent circuit with long straights and fast corners such as Curva Grande, the Lesmos and the Curva di Vedano which would test the handling of cars and the bravery of drivers. Set to be a battle for the championship were the Alfa Romeo drivers of Juan Manuel Fangio, Luigi Fagioli and Nino Farina, with the team entering two additional cars for their home race with Piero Taruffi in one, and Consalvo Sanesi in the other. If Fangio was to clinch the World Championship, he needed to finish in third or higher, for Fagioli to be champion he needed to win, take fastest lap, whilst have Farina finish third or lower and not have Fangio score any points. For Farina to take the championship he needed to at least win and take fastest lap, with Fangio finishing third or lower. Ferrari also returned with another new V12 engine, with this car being called the 375, but this one had a 4.5 litre unit. Former motorcycle racer Dorino Serafini raced the second car for Ferrari in the place of Villoresi, who was injured in a sportscar race. The French Talbot and Simca-Gordini teams were also present, with Simca-Gordini entering a second car for Maurice Trintignant. There was also an obscure Jaguar-powered Ferrari entry in the hands of Italian driver Clemente Biondetti. In all this was the largest entry list for all of the European races, with 26 cars taking to the grid for the season finale.

Lead-Up Fangio qualified on pole position; however it was not without receiving a fright when Ascari proved the capabilities of the new Ferrari by qualifying in second place. Farina lined up third, with Sanesi and Fagioli in fourth and fifth respectively with Serafini qualifying in sixth and Taruffi in seventh in what seemed destined for a fight between the Italian cars.

Starting Grid 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Juan Manuel Fangio Alberto Ascari Nino Farina Consalvo Sanesi 1:58.6 1:58.8 2:00.2 2:00.4

5th 6th 7th 8th Luigi Fagioli Dorino Serafini Piero Taruffi Raymond Sommer 2:04.0 2:05.2 2:05.8 2:08.6

9th 10th 11th 12th Franco Rol Robert Manzon Guy Mairesse Maurice Trintignant 2:10.0 2:12.4 2:13.2 2:13.4

13th 14th 15th 16th Louis Rosier Henri Louveau Prince Bira Philippe Étançelin 2:13.4 2:13.8 2:14.0 2:14.4

17th 18th 19th 20th Toulo de Graffenried Peter Whitehead Louis Chiron Pierre Levegh 2:14.4 2:16.2 2:17.2 2:17.2

21st 22nd 23rd 24th Cuth Harrison Johnny Claes Felice Bonetto David Murray 2:18.4 2:18.6 2:19.8 2:22.0

25th 26th 27th Clemente Biondetti Franco Comotti Paul Pietsch 2:40.6 2:43.6 3:00.2

Race Report As the race began Farina got the jump on Fangio and Ascari, as the Ferrari momentarily led before Farina retook the lead. After 21 laps Ascari’s challenge ended when his car’s engine blew and a couple of laps later championship leader Fangio pulled out with gearbox problems. Fangio then took over the Alfa Romeo of Taruffi in an attempt to score some points, however this Alfa then blew its own engine and Fangio was out of the race for good. Farina stayed out in the lead to win the race and snatch the World Championship away from Fangio by three points. Ascari took over Serafini’s Ferrari to finish in second place, ahead of Fagioli, who finished the race in third position. Rosier was the next car to finish, albeit five laps down in fourth position, with Philippe Étançelin’s Talbot grabbing the last point with a fifth place finish.

Follow-Up Fangio proved to be the fastest driver all season long; however it was Farina’s consistency being the deciding factor in giving him the World Championship with 30 points ahead of Fangio’s 27 points, with Fagioli ending his year as Alfa’s support act third in the championship with 24 points.

Race Results Position # Driver Country Car Laps Time/Retired Points 1st 10 Nino Farina Italy Alfa Romeo 158 80 2:51:17.4 8 2nd 48 Dorino Serafini Italy Ferrari 375 80 +1:18.6 3 Alberto Ascari Italy 3 3rd 36 Luigi Fagioli Italy Alfa Romeo 158 80 +1:35.6 4 4th 58 Louis Rosier France Talbot-Lago T26C 77 +5 Laps 3 5th 24 Philippe Étançelin France Talbot-Lago T26C-DA 77 +5 Laps 2 6th 38 Toulo de Graffenried Switzerland Maserati 4CLT/48 72 +8 Laps 0 7th 8 Peter Whitehead Great Britain Ferrari 125 72 +8 Laps 0 DNF 50 David Murray Great Britain Maserati 4CLT/48 56 Gearbox 0 DNF 32 Cuth Harrison Great Britain ERA B Type 51 Radiator 0 DNF 12 Raymond Sommer France Talbot-Lago T26C 48 Gearbox 0 DNF 40 Guy Mairesse France Talbot-Lago T26C 42 Oil Pipe 0 DNF 4 Franco Rol Italy Maserati 4CLT/48 39 Retirement 0 DNF 60 Piero Taruffi Italy Alfa Romeo 158 34 Engine 0 Juan Manuel Fangio Argentina 0 DNF 56 Pierre Levegh France Talbot-Lago T26C 29 Gearbox 0 DNF 18 Juan Manuel Fangio Italy Alfa Romeo 158 23 Gearbox 1 DNF 2 Johnny Claes Belgium Talbot-Lago T26C 22 Overheating 0 DNF 16 Alberto Ascari Italy Ferrari 375 21 Engine 0 DNF 22 Clemente Biondetti Italy Ferrari 166S-Jaguar 17 Engine 0 DNF 64 Henri Louveau France Talbot-Lago T26C-GS 16 Brakes 0 DNF 62 Franco Comotti Italy Maserati 4CLT/50-Milano 15 Retirement 0 DNF 42 Maurice Trintignant France Simca-Gordini T15 13 Water Pipe 0 DNF 6 Louis Chiron Monaco Maserati 4CLT/48 13 Oil Pressure 0 DNF 46 Consalvo Sanesi Italy Alfa Romeo 158 11 Engine 0 DNF 44 Robert Manzon France Simca-Gordini T15 7 Transmission 0 DNF 30 Prince Bira Thailand Maserati 4CLT/48 1 Engine 0 DNF 28 Paul Pietsch Germany Maserati 4CLT/48 0 Engine 0 DNS 52 Felice Bonetto Italy Maserati 4CLT/50-Milano - Non Starter 0 Note: Drivers marked in purple text took over another driver’s car mid-race. Fastest Lap: Juan Manuel Fangio, 2:00.0

Season Review The first season of the Formula One World Championship was totally dominated by ‘The Three F’s’, Nino Farina, Juan Manuel Fangio and Luigi Fagioli of the Alfa Romeo team, who won all of the European rounds of the championship. Farina was able to become the inaugural World Champion through sheer consistency, over Fangio who was faster, yet more inconsistent with mechanical failures proving detrimental to his Championship hopes. Fagioli in the third Alfetta was another who was consistent; however he lacked the outright pace to challenge Farina and Fangio for race wins and the championship. Louis Rosier was able to pick up the pieces when one of the Alfa Romeos pulled out of the race, and he was able to outrun the more favoured Ferraris in the Talbot-Lago. Alberto Ascari was able to mix it with the Alfa Romeos, but the Ferrari still lacked the Alfettas’ bulletproof reliability that had been developed over a series of years and the Ferrari was still a work in progress. The first Formula One World Championship proved to be a success, although there was only one truly competitive car, it seemed that a World Drivers’ Championship had caught the imagination of drivers, teams and fans alike.

1950 World Drivers’ Championship Standings Note: Points counted from the drivers’ best four results from seven races. Position Driver Country Car Points 1st Nino Farina Italy Alfa Romeo 158 30 2nd Juan Manuel Fangio Argentina Alfa Romeo 158 27 3rd Luigi Fagioli Italy Alfa Romeo 158 24 4th Louis Rosier France Talbot-Lago T26C, Talbot-Lago T26C-DA 14 5th Alberto Ascari Italy Ferrari 125, Ferrari 275, Ferrari 375 11 6th Johnnie Parsons United States Kurtis Kraft 3000-Offenhauser 9 7th Bill Holland United States Deidt Tuffanelli Derrico-Offenhauser 6 8th Prince Bira Thailand Maserati 4CLT/48 5 9th Peter Whitehead Great Britain Ferrari 125 4 10th Louis Chiron Monaco Maserati 4CLT/48 4 11th Reg Parnell Great Britain Alfa Romeo 158, Maserati 4CLT/48 4 12th Mauri Rose United States Deidt Tuffanelli Derrico-Offenhauser 4 13th Dorino Serafini Italy Ferrari 375 3 14th Yves Giraud-Cabantous France Talbot-Lago T26C-DA 3 15th Raymond Sommer France Ferrari 125, Ferrari 166 F2, Talbot-Lago T26C, Talbot-Lago T26C-GS 3 16th Cecil Green United States Kurtis Kraft 3000-Offenhauser 3 17th Robert Manzon France Simca-Gordini T15 3 18th Philippe Étançelin France Talbot-Lago T26C, Talbot-Lago T26C-DA 3 19th Felice Bonetto Italy Maserati 4CLT/50-Milano, Maserati 4CLT/50 3 20th Joie Chitwood United States Kurtis Kraft 2000-Offenhauser 1 21st Tony Bettenhausen United States Deidt Tufanelli Derrico-Offenhauser, Kurtis Kraft 2000-Offenhauser 1 22nd Eugène Chaboud France Talbot-Lago T26C, Talbot-Lago T26C-DA 1 23rd Toulo de Graffenried Switzerland Maserati 4CLT/48 0 24th Bob Gerard Great Britain ERA B Type, ERA A Type 0 25th Luigi Villoresi Italy Ferrari 125 0 26th Charles Pozzi France Talbot-Lago T26C 0 27th Lee Wallard United States Moore-Offenhauser 0 28th Johnny Claes Belgium Talbot-Lago T26C 0 29th Pierre Levegh United States Talbot-Lago T26C 0 30th Cuth Harrison Great Britain ERA B Type 0 31st Nello Pagani Italy Maserati 4CLT/48 0 32nd Walt Faulkner United States Kurtis Kraft 2000-Offenhauser 0 33rd Harry Schell United States Cooper T12-JAP, Talbot-Lago T26C 0 34th George Connor United States Lesovsky-Offenhauser 0 35th David Hampshire Great Britain Maserati 4CLT/48 0 36th Geoff Crossley Great Britain Alta GP 0 37th Paul Russo United States Nichels-Offenhauser 0 38th Toni Branca Switzerland Maserati 4CL 0 39th Brian Shawe-Taylor Great Britain Maserati 4CL 0 40th Pat Flaherty United States Kurtis Kraft 3000-Offenhauser 0 41st Myron Fohr United States Marchese-Offenhauser 0 42nd Duane Carter United States Stevens-Offenhauser 0 43rd Mack Hellings United States Kurtis Kraft 2000-Offenhauser 0 44th Jack McGrath United States Kurtis Kraft 3000-Offenhauser 0 45th Troy Ruttman United States Lesovsky-Offenhauser 0 46th Gene Hartley United States Langley-Offenhauser 0 47th Jimmy Davies United States Ewing-Offenhauser 0

48th Johnny McDowell United States Kurtis Kraft 2000-Offenhauser 0 49th Walt Brown United States Kurtis Kraft 2000-Offenhauser 0 50th Spider Webb United States Maserati 8CTF-Offenhauser 0 51st Jerry Hoyt United States Kurtis Kraft 2000-Offenhauser 0 52nd Walt Ader United States Rae-Offenhauser 0 53rd Jackie Holmes United States Olson Special-Offenhauser 0 54th Jim Rathmann United States Wetteroth-Offenhauser 0 55th David Murray Great Britain Maserati 4CLT/48 0 56th José Froilán González Argentina Maserati 4CLT/48 0 57th Guy Mairesse France Talbot-Lago T26C 0 58th Franco Rol Italy Maserati 4CLT/48 0 59th Joe Kelly Ireland Alta GP 0 60th Piero Taruffi Italy Alfa Romeo 158 0 61st Eugène Martin France Talbot-Lago T26C-DA 0 62nd Maurice Trintignant France Simca-Gordini Type 15 0 63rd Clemente Biondetti Italy Ferrari 166S-Jaguar 0 64th Henri Louveau France Talbot-Lago T26C-GS 0 65th Peter Walker Great Britain ERA E Type 0 66th Tony Rolt Great Britain ERA E Type 0 67th Franco Comotti Italy Maserati 4CLT/50-Milano 0 68th Leslie Johnson Great Britain ERA E Type 0 69th Consalvo Sanesi Italy Alfa Romeo 158 0 70th Paul Pietsch Germany Maserati 4CLT/48 0 71st Henry Banks United States Maserati 8CTF-Offenhauser 0 72nd Bill Schindler United States Snowberger-Offenhauser 0 73rd Bayliss Levrett United States Adams-Offenhasuer 0 74th Bill Cantrell United States Adams-Offenhauser 0 75th Fred Agabashian United States Kurtis Kraft 3000-Offenhauser, Maserati 8CTF-Offenhauser 0 76th Jimmy Jackson United States Kurtis Kraft 3000-Cummins 0 77th Sam Hanks United States Kurtis Kraft 2000-Offenhauser 0 78th Dick Rathmann United States Watson Indy Roadster-Offenhauser 0 79th Duke Dinsmore United States Kurtis Kraft 2000-Offenhauser 0 80th Alfredo Piàn Argentina Maserati 4CLT/48 0

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