First world champion

Nino Farina (pictured above) wins the 1950 Italian Grand Prix at the Autódromo di Monza in his Alfa Romeo 159, becoming the first Formula 1 World Champion.

The party is complete for the fans gathered in the stands as Farina leads an all-Italian podium with Dorino Serafini and Alberto Ascari second and Luigi Fagioli third.

Emilio Giuseppe “Nino” Farina (1906–1966) was an Italian racing driver who competed in Formula One from 1950 to 1956. Farina won the inaugural World Drivers’ Championship in 1950, and won five Grand Prix races in seven seasons.

Farina also excelled in endurance racing, winning the 1000 km Nürburgring, the 24 Hours of Spa, and the 12 Hours of Casablanca, all three races in 1953 in a Ferrari. He died in 1966 when he lost control of his Lotus Cortina in the French Alps while en route to watch the French Grand Prix as a spectator.