The long and exciting history of Formula 1 began in 1950, when the sport went global with the first "Formula 1 World Championship", which was almost exclusively staged on European circuits. The first race took place on the bends of Silverstone, the time-honoured location of the Grand Prix of Great Britain and still one of the most important tracks on the calendar, on 13 May, 69 years ago. Since then the automotive world has changed radically but two factors remain the same; the enthusiasm of the public and the presence of Alfa Romeo on the Grand Prix start line.

At the first race, the Alfa Romeo racing team presented four 158 single-seaters, driven by Giuseppe “Nino” Farina, Juan Manuel Fangio, Luigi Fagioli and Reg Parnell, the latter as a token of respect towards the host country. The cars took the first four places in the qualifiers and occupied the entire front row of the grid.