The first F1 seasons

Early racing organisations agreed a new set of rules, Formula One in the late 1940's. The first non-championship race was held in 1946. Drivers' World Championship started in 1950. Although a little different from today. For example, for many decades, there were also some F1 races held that didn't count in the World Championship.

To get a feeling of it, here's a video of the first F1 seasons (actually the video begins with a different race, the Mille Miglia). Then you see the 1950 Silverstone (the first ever F1 World Championship race) and the 1950 Monaco. A part is missing from here, and it continues with the 1951 Nürbugring race (German GP), the Italian GP, and Pedralbes (Spanish GP).

Mille Miglia

Just a short detour from F1. The Mille Miglia is one of the predecessors of the F1 World Championships. It was held yearly between 1927 and 1957, on a thousand-mile stretch of public roads in Italy, between Rome and Brescia. Many later F1 drivers were racing in it, including Fangio, Ascari and Stirling Moss. These days it is held as an oldtimer show. The following images show how it looks today.

A piece of history

This blog tries to serve as a tribute and lasting memory for all Formula 1 race drivers who perished on track, or during their career, many of whom are little known today, even though some of them were the best of their time. The last driver to die on track was Ayrton Senna, who passed away more than 10 years ago. Since then, safety in Formula 1, and probably in car racing in general has improved a lot, however, we one should never forget the inherent dangers that are always present.