A former RAF airfield in England. Wooden grandstands. The king and queen in the front row. And 21 drivers are set to do something no one has done before.
This was May 13, 1950, at Silverstone. The first ever meeting of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile’s (FIA) Formula One World Championship. There was no TV broadcast deal. No title sponsor. No social media. Just the roar of roaring supercharged engines, screaming fans (200,000 of them), and an Italian named Nino Farina who was not going to be denied.
Farina won. He won the championship. And, without realising it, he started the most profitable motorsport.
Seven Races, One Champion, Zero Margin
The 1950 championship season was remarkably straightforward. It consisted of seven races, five of which took place across Europe, Britain, Monaco, Switzerland, Belgium, and France, and the remaining race was the iconic Indianapolis 500 in the United States, run under different rules that no European drivers entered. The competition featured four factory teams, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Maserati, and Talbot-Lago, and 26 independent racers, known as privateers.
Points were awarded to the top five finishers: 8, 6, 4, 3, 2, and an additional point was given for the fastest lap. Interestingly, only the top four results from the six European races counted toward the final standings, making the competition both ruthless and fair.
Alfa Romeo was the dominant force. Their Tipo 158, a supercharged car dating back to before World War II and largely unchanged since 1938, was clearly in a league of its own. Drivers like Farina and Fangio were neck and neck; each won three races, yet it was Farina’s consistent fourth-place finish in Belgium that ultimately carried him ahead. By season’s end, Farina amassed 30 points, narrowly beating Fangio’s 27, just a three-point difference. That small margin marked how close the first-ever Formula One season was, with a five-time champion like Fangio only slightly behind the debut race winner in this new era of racing.
The Cast Was Unlike Anything in Sport Today
King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, and Princess Margaret were present at the inaugural race at Silverstone. The atmosphere was as eclectic as the crowd—drivers ranged in age, with an average of 39, and included a Thai prince, a Swiss baron, and a renowned jazz musician. It felt more like an exclusive social gathering on the French Riviera than a traditional sporting event.
However, the racing itself told a different story. It was rough and unpredictable. On that first lap in Monaco, rain turned the race into chaos, with nine out of 19 cars crashing out almost immediately. Mechanical failures were common: cars broke down, were shared between drivers to finish races, and points were often divided. During the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Farina and Fangio pushed their cars to the limit, so much so that both cars failed. Fangio even took over a teammate’s car after he broke down, only for that car to give out too. In the end, Farina took the victory and clinched the championship.
There was a darker side to this daring sport. In 1950, several drivers lost their lives racing, yet the pursuit of speed and glory pressed on, undeterred. The risks were palpable, the danger ever-present, but the allure of racing kept pushing the sport forward raw, relentless, and fiercely human.
From War-time Runway to $26 Billion Empire
Over 75 years, the history of Formula One has been nothing short of extraordinary. Few sports franchises have endured that long, yet F1 not only survives but thrives, transforming into one of the world’s most lucrative entertainment brands.
In 2017, Liberty Media invested $8 billion to acquire Formula One, sparking doubts about its worth. Today, that investment has grown into a value exceeding $26 billion, offering an impressive 16% annual return. In 2025, F1’s revenues reached $3.87 billion, a 14% jump from $3.41 billion the year prior. Media rights alone brought in $1.18 billion in 2024, more than double the $606 million they earned in 2017. Additionally, $1.4 billion was distributed to teams from the sport’s prize fund, with Ferrari, the only team to compete in every season since 1950, earning an estimated $277.7 million.
The numbers grow even more compelling. TV viewership in 2024 hit 1.6 billion, while race attendance set a record with 6.5 million fans across a 24-race season. Fan engagement on social media surpassed 97 million, while F1 TV subscriptions rose 15% year-over-year, driven primarily by the U.S.
Sponsorships tell a powerful story of growth. In 2024, over $2 billion was spent on team sponsorships, including more than $500 million from tech giants. The value of an average F1 team now hovers between $3.4 and $3.6 billion, with Ferrari topping the list at $4.78 billion. Reflecting on the journey, Lawrence Stroll’s deal for Racing Point in 2018, less than $100 million, looked reckless at the time. Fast forward to 2023, Aston Martin F1, its successor, is valued at over $1.3 billion, a staggering 13-fold increase without a single profitable season.
