Who won Belgium's first Formula One World Championship Grand Prix in 1950?

Juan Manuel Fangio won Belgium’s first Formula One World Championship Grand Prix in 1950.

The 1950 Belgian Grand Prix was held on 18 June at Spa-Francorchamps as round five of the inaugural seven-race World Championship of Drivers. Fangio started second in an Alfa Romeo and won the 35-lap race after 2 hours, 47 minutes and 26 seconds.

His Alfa Romeo teammate Luigi Fagioli finished second, 14 seconds behind, while France’s Louis Rosier took third for Talbot-Lago. Nino Farina, who had started from pole and would become the first World Champion that season, finished fourth after late transmission trouble.

A common mix-up is to associate the race with Farina because he set pole position and the fastest lap. Fangio, however, was the winner. The result was also part of Alfa Romeo’s early dominance: the team’s leading drivers filled the top two places, while Ferrari’s Alberto Ascari finished fifth after fuel problems.