Ferrari’s first F1 world championship win still carries an asterisk 75 years on

This month we feature two anniversaries, both of them significant and yet shrouded in incertitude. The first forms the basis of our cover story which celebrates 75 years since Ferrari, that most evocative of all racing names, scored its first win in the Formula 1 World Championship. That victory came at Silverstone on July 14, 1951 when Argentinian José Froilán González piloted his 375 across the line leading the Alfa Romeo of Juan Manuel Fangio.

It is worth noting that Enzo Ferrari had chosen not to go to the expense of sending his team to the inaugural F1 GP at Silverstone in 1950 effectively boycotting the first official world championship race but as our feature makes clear it is often precisely these historical oddities and eccentricities that endear Ferrari to us. Take Karun Chandhok’s words about the F1 team’s terrible race strategies or Peter Grimsdale’s retelling of Enzo’s stubborn refusal to put the engine in the back because “the ox does not push the cart”.

“It is often historical oddities and eccentricities that endear Ferrari to us”

The second anniversary is our feature looking ahead to Brooklands’ celebration, on August 8, of the centenary of Britain’s first grand prix. Brooklands Museum, that fantastic institution which keeps the flame of those early pioneers alive, promises a spectacular show with live demo runs, wonderful cars and a festival feel. Motor Sport, which of course started out as the Brooklands Gazette – house mag of the circuit – in 1924 will be joining in the festivities so keep an eye on our website for more details.

So what of the uncertainty mentioned earlier? As I am sure readers will point out, Ferrari won F1 races prior to 1951 – in the post-war era grands prix which had been run to F1 regulations since 1948 (albeit they predated the driver world championship). So, as our resident expert Doug Nye argues, the real significance of the 1951 victory was that it marked the first time Ferrari beat archrival Alfa Romeo…

Likewise, it is tempting to describe the Brooklands race as the inaugural British Grand Prix but historians will tell you that the first true British GP in the modern sense was that Ferrari-boycotted one in 1950. Hence the rather clumsy but pedant-proof description of the 1926 race as the first grand prix to be run in Britain!

On such historical pin-heads we fans of the sport continue to dance.

Joe Dunn, editor
Follow Joe on X @joedunn90