Need for Speed - On May 13, 1950, Formula One racing entered into its first World Championship

season at the
British Grand Prix on the famed Silverstone circuit in Northhamptonshire, England. Among the drivers particiapting
was the great French champion, Louis Chiron, pictured above, on the track in his Maserati. Chiron retired on the
24th lap with clutch failure. He would finish the inaugural season tenth overall. Mechanics make final adjustments to a
British Racing Motors car during the 1950 season. Of the 24 races held in 1950, drivers were able to earn points
toward the World Championship in only seven races. There were no shortage of
privateers - drivers who operated on their own and who bought and raced their
own cars. Nevertheless, the formula was dominated by major pre-war
manufactures such as Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Maserati and Mercedes Benz.
Although Giuseppe ("Nino") Farina won the inaugural title,

the key driver in the 1950s was Juan Manuel Fangio who won the drivers'
championship in 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956 and 1957 with five different
manufacturers. It was not an easy beginning. In 1952 and 1953 the lack of
entrants meant the authorities ran races to Formula Two regulations, with
Alberto Ascari winning the championship in both years. Of the 20 makes that
competed in 1950, most were soon forced out by the cost. Only Ferrari have
competed since the off. The death toll in races was gruesome - 13 drivers were
killed in F1 cars in the first decade.

The cars made considerable technological

advances. The first seasons were run using pre-war cars like Alfa's 158. They
were front engined, with narrow-treaded tyres and 1.5 litre supercharged or 4.5
litre normally aspirated engines. When Formula One regulations returned in
1954 engines were limited to 2.5 litres. Mercedes Benz made major
developments until they withdrew from all motor sports in the aftermath of the
1955 disaster at Le Mans. In the late 1950s Cooper introduced a rear-engined
car and by 1961 all manufacturers were running them. As an added incentive for
the teams, a constructors' championship was introduced in 1958.
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 An era of British dominance was ushered in by Mike Hawthorn's championship
win in 1958, although Stirling Moss had been at the forefront of the sport without
ever securing the world title. Between Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, John Surtees,
Jack Brabham, Graham Hill, and Denny Hulme, British and Commonwealth
drivers won nine drivers' championships and

British teams won ten constructors' titles between 1962 and 1973. The iconic British Racing Green Lotus, with a
revolutionary aluminum-sheet monocoque chassis instead of the traditional space-frame design, was the dominant
car, and in 1968 the team broke new boundaries when they were the first to carry advertising on their cars. In 1970
Lotus' Jochen Rindt won the drivers' championship posthumously, the only man to do so, underlining the continuing
risks. His replacement as Lotus' No. 1, was young Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi, he then split the next four
championships, with Jackie Stewart taking 1971 and 1973 for the new Team Tyrrell and Fittipaldi 1972 and 1974.

The cars became faster and slicker - Lotus again were the innovators when they introduced ground-effect
aerodynamics that provided enormous downforce and greatly increased cornering speeds - by the early 1970s the
days of private entries were all but over as the costs of racing rocketed. Not only that, with the advent of
turbocharged cars, speeds and power also raced ahead. Speed Freak Great Britain's Jim Clark, a two time world
champion (1963 and 1965), takes the trophy at the American Grand Prix in 1967. The old points system was going
to be scrapped in favor of the driver who wins the most GP's taking the championship title. But after the teams
accused the International Automobile Federation (FIA) of ignoring the rules by imposing a change without their
unanimous agreement, the governing body reverted to the old format. Had it been in place last season, Lewis
Hamilton wouldn't have won.

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