The FIA World Championship of Drivers was created to provide Grand Prix racing with a structured season-long points competition. Seven races counted toward the championship: six European Grands Prix — in Britain, Monaco, Switzerland, Belgium, France, and Italy — plus the Indianapolis 500, which was included despite being run under AAA National Championship regulations. In practice, no Formula One drivers competed at Indianapolis and no Indianapolis entrants participated in the European rounds, making the American race a nominal inclusion.
Alfa Romeo entered their Type 158, a supercharged 1.5-litre straight-eight design that had first raced in 1938 but had been continuously developed. Against the naturally aspirated 4.5-litre Ferrari and Talbot-Lago entries, the Alfa's 350 horsepower engine gave it a decisive performance advantage. Four works teams entered the championship — Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Maserati, and Talbot-Lago — alongside 26 privateer teams.
Alfa Romeo locked out the front row of the grid at the opening round, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, held in the presence of King George VI. Giuseppe Farina took victory from pole position, with teammates Luigi Fagioli and Reg Parnell completing the podium. Juan Manuel Fangio, the fourth Alfa driver, retired with engine problems.
At Monaco, Fangio reversed that result with a dominant win, crossing the finish line a full lap ahead of Ferrari's Alberto Ascari. A first-lap accident triggered by a damp track eliminated nine of nineteen starters, including Farina and Fagioli.
Alfa Romeo continued their winning run through Switzerland — where Farina took victory at the demanding tree-lined Bremgarten circuit — and Belgium at Spa-Francorchamps, where Fangio won after Farina picked up transmission problems near the end. The French Grand Prix at Reims-Gueux saw Fangio win again on the high-speed public road circuit, with Fagioli finishing second for the fourth time in five starts.
Entering the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, all three Alfa Romeo regulars — Farina, Fangio, and Fagioli — remained in mathematical contention for the title. Farina needed to win, while Fangio required only a first or second place to clinch. Farina led the race and absorbed the pressure, taking the victory while Fangio retired with gearbox failure. Fangio took over Piero Taruffi's car but retired again with engine failure. Ascari finished second after taking over Dorino Serafini's Ferrari, with Fagioli third.
Farina's win gave him the title by three points over Fangio, with Fagioli third in the standings. Alfa Romeo won all six races they competed in during the World Championship.
Points were awarded to the top five finishers on a 8-6-4-3-2 scale, with an additional point for setting the fastest lap regardless of finishing position. Only each driver's best four results counted toward the championship, a rule that added strategic nuance to the standings. Shared drives — a common practice of the era — awarded half-points to each driver involved.
Giuseppe Farina won the inaugural Drivers' Championship with 30 points, becoming the first Formula One World Champion. Juan Manuel Fangio finished second with 27 points, and Luigi Fagioli third with 24.
The 1950 season established the template for Formula One World Championship racing: manufacturer teams competing across a series of national Grands Prix for a recognised title. Alfa Romeo's dominance with a pre-war design demonstrated the gap that existed at the time between the Alfetta's development level and the field, a gap Ferrari would begin to close the following season. The championship structure — points across multiple rounds, a recognised champion — has remained the organisational core of Formula One ever since.