100 Years of the First World Motor Racing Championship

Background

Races in the Grand Prix format have been held since 1906, with the one in France at Le Mans being the first example, although it was a two-day race. They were the response to the Gordon-Bennett Cup, which took place from 1900 to 1905, an annual race that had a certain championship feel but was never officially recognized as such. Various national brands competed in them - races were held by countries and gave rise to national colors in racing - and the winner also organized the race the following year in their country.

To be concise, France, after winning in 1905, declined to organize the 1906 race and came up with the concept of the Grand Prix, which began to be held as the pinnacle of motor racing, albeit in isolation, outside of a formal championship that would award victory to a specific team or driver. Races like the Targa Florio, which emerged in 1906 just before the Grand Prix, somewhat assumed a status role for winning drivers and brands, but the official award was lacking.

The Creation of the World Championship

The lack was evident until 1923. The French newspaper L’Auto, precursor to the current L’Equipe, launched a proposal in its pages that same year: to organize a world championship, following other disciplines like cycling or boxing. As a result of this idea, at the annual meeting of the AIACR -Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus, you know, the precursor to the current FIA-, in October 1923, the agenda included discussing the possible organization of a championship. The idea began as a European championship for both drivers and brands, the latter very interested in the idea.

But the various motor racing federations had several discussions, to which the voices of drivers and brands were added. All resulted in a perpetual conflict that did not seem to lead to any common ground. It was not until the Automobile Club d’Italia, with its president Arturo Mercanti at the helm, took the reins and made a firm regulatory proposal for a championship that the idea began to take shape seriously: neither a European championship nor a drivers' championship. It was necessary to organize a World Constructors' Championship.

The proposal was discussed and finally received its approval in early 1925, which was to be its debut year. In fact, on February 18, the magazine Motor Age published the rules and announced the championship, just four days before the first international race, the first Reale Premio di Roma in Monte Mario - which was not valid for the championship.

The Regulations

A clearer regulation was sought than that used in the Gordon-Bennett. A world championship with five races, three in Europe, one in Great Britain, and another in the United States. The initial idea was six, including the Spanish Grand Prix, but Italian opposition caused the event to be dropped - it would enter the championship in 1926, under the Grand Prix of Europe in San Sebastián - because being after the transalpine race could harm its notoriety.

Another race that fell out early was the British one, as the 500 Miles of Brooklands were canceled due to noise complaints. The calendar was thus set at four events: the 500 Miles of Indianapolis, the European Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps, the French Grand Prix in Montlhéry, and the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

The results of three of the four races counted for the championship - the federative body did not expect European cars to land in the United States, and vice versa. A mandatory requirement for all wanting to count for the world championship was to race in Italy - not doing so implied exclusion even if racing the other three events - and also in the race of their country of origin. Therefore, at least two races had to be participated in. Interestingly, no German car could compete because its federation was not a recognized member of the AIACR.

As for the cars, they had to have a maximum displacement of two liters, a minimum weight of 650 kilograms, two seats - although for the first time it was prohibited to be accompanied by a mechanic due to danger - and a maximum body width of eighty centimeters. This clashed directly with the American regulations, with its previously approved rules: the minimum weight of American cars was 635 kilograms, and they did not meet the width required for the world championship. The initial race distance was 500 kilometers, but that meant the 500 Miles of Indianapolis did not comply, so it was increased to 800 kilometers per Grand Prix.

The scoring was one point for the winner, two for second, three for third, four for the other positions, five for those who did not finish the race, and six for those who did not start or did not show up. The champion would be the one with the fewest points at the end of the season, and only the best-placed car of the respective brand scored. And if there was a tie? A 200-kilometer race would be run in Monza forty-eight hours after the Italian GP. The prize for the winner, which was initially intended to be something symbolic, took on a different dimension when a prize of 100,000 francs was awarded, seventy thousand in cash and thirty thousand in a bronze trophy by sculptor Antonio Maraini, offered by the city of Milan.

Brands from four countries would participate. From Italy, Alfa Romeo stood out with its P2 designed by Vittorio Jano in 1924, delivering 140 horsepower, and with drivers like Antonio Ascari, Gastone Brilli Peri, and Giuseppe Campari; there was Diatto, a small brand from Turin, whose car for 1925 had been designed by Alfieri Maserati, with a power of 130 horsepower, with himself as a driver, his brother Ernesto, and Emilio Materassi, although by the end of the year the brand would withdraw from racing, and the Maserati brothers would found their own car brand; also Italian was the Chiribiri brand, based in Turin, but they only participated in their home race; and there was also FIAT, which had officially abandoned racing the previous year, but participated unofficially with Pietro Bordino in the 500 Miles of Indianapolis.

From France, there was Bugatti, whose T35 suffered from low power with its 90 horsepower, so they only participated in France and Italy, with drivers like Jules Goux, the Spaniards Fernando and Pierre de Vizcaya, or Meo Costantini, preparing for the arrival of the new regulation for 1926; Delage was the French competitor with the most possibilities, with its 2LCV of 190 horsepower and drivers of the caliber of Alberto Divo, Robert Benoist, or Louis Wagner; the small Guyot only participated in France.

From England, although they did not have their local race, there was Sunbeam, with a car that delivered 138 horsepower and notable drivers like Henri Segrave and Giulio Masetti, but they only participated in France; the handmade Eldridge-Special made by driver Ernest Eldridge, but only participated in Italy. Finally, from the United States, Duesenberg participated, with the Type 122 of 150 horsepower and Miller, smaller, which only participated in the Indy 500.

The Indy 500

And with that, the world championship was ready. The first race was scheduled for Saturday, May 30, the already important and recognized 500 Miles of Indianapolis, which would be the thirteenth held since its debut in 1911 and the pause of 1917 and 1918 due to World War I. Despite the attempts of Pop Meyers, the European brands, given the difference in cars, did not attend, except for Pietro Bordino and his Fiat 805, but unofficially-

The press did not give much importance to the fact that it was going to be the first race of a world championship, curiously except for the German publication Allgemeine Automobil Zeitung. Others spoke of the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. On Memorial Day, 145,000 people gathered on that hot day for the race, which began at 10 in the morning with the cars behind the ‘pace car’.

Pete DePaolo, at the wheel of the Dusenberg Special, stalled the engine, so from the second initial position he found himself closing the group. Fortunately, he was able to make his way during the lap and regain his position. And not only that, but he took the lead from the start of the race. It would not be until lap 50 that his teammate Phil Shaffer in his green Duesenberg got behind him to the excitement of the crowd and passed him on lap 55. But DePaolo regained the lead on lap 61.

For the Europeans, things were not going so well. Pietro Bordino stopped on lap 70, with three laps lost, and ceded the car to Antoine Mourre. The Italian had injured his hand and went directly to the hospital. Meanwhile, DePaolo had to defend himself from the attacks of Harry Hartz aboard a Miller Special, who managed to take the lead on lap 86. But DePaolo soon returned to the lead. Only on lap 106, when he stopped in the pits to change a very worn tire, did he lose the lead again, this time to Dave Lewis, who had started in fifth position with the Junior 8 Special marked with the number 1 – actually a Miller – which had a great peculiarity: it was a front-wheel drive car, the first time a car with this configuration participated in Indianapolis. But DePaolo not only ceded the lead but also the wheel to the reserve, Norm Batten, because his hands had become blistered. Batten began to lose time and positions, but it was not until lap 128 that DePaolo could return to the car. By then, Lewis was a solid leader, and DePaolo was fifth at quite a distance.

He was second on lap 150 and began to cut the distance with the Junior 8 Special. However, he could not overtake it on the track, despite quickly closing the gap. On lap 173, Lewis, visibly exhausted, headed to the pits, but between a certain distraction and some faulty brakes, he overshot his box, so he had to make another lap and stop again. Thus, DePaolo took the lead, with a lap advantage, although he did not know it until the Duesenberg wall managed to make him understand.

After 4 hours 56 minutes and 39.47 seconds, Pete DePaolo crossed the finish line to achieve his first victory in the 500 Miles of Indianapolis, which would ultimately be the only one. Along the way, he set the speed record for the event to date, averaging 101.127 miles per hour, being the first to win in under 5 hours. Upon arriving at the pits, Fred Duesenberg, who already knew the taste of victory, greeted DePaolo with admiration: “Pete, it was a wonderful race you did,” to which his driver replied: “Thank you, Mr. Duesenberg, I had a wonderful car.” That car, the Duesenberg Special with 8 inline cylinders and 2.0 liters supercharged, was doubly special. No one was paying attention, but that was the car that achieved victory in the first race that counted for a world championship in the history of motor racing.

The European Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps

The second race valid for the championship was scheduled for June 28, as the third European Grand Prix, very appropriate being the landing in the Old Continent. It also meant the debut in a Grand Prix of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, which emerged in 1922 creating a triangular layout of 14,914 meters that connected the towns of Francorchamps, Malmedy, and Stavelot. By the way, the Raidillon curve did not exist, as upon reaching Eau Rouge the cars overcame the slope heading to the Ancienne Douane fork, to then flow into what today would be the Kemmel straight.

14 cars were registered, but both the Italians Diatto, the French Mathis and Guyot, and the British Sunbeam withdrew. Thus, the race was reduced to a duel between the Italians of Alfa Romeo and the French of Delage: seven cars in total. The Alfa Romeo P2 was the work of Vittorio Jano after being recruited for the Lombard firm by Enzo Ferrari, an 8-cylinder inline two-liter supercharged car with 155 horsepower driven by Antonio Ascari, Giuseppe Campari, and Gastone Brilli Peri. The Delage 2LCV, on the other hand, also had a two-liter engine, but in V12 configuration, with two superchargers giving it 205 horsepower, driven by Albert Divo, Robert Benoist, a nearly unknown Paul Torchy, and René Thomas, who was also the sports director of the brand, thus holding the dual role of manager and driver.

The practices favored Alfa Romeo as the great favorite, although the grid was decided by draw, with Ascari on pole followed by Thomas, Campari, Benoist, Brilli Peri, Divo, and Torchy. Again at 10 in the morning, but this time with cloudy skies and 80,000 spectators, the start was given. And Antonio Ascari took the lead from the start, closely followed by his teammate Campari, with Benoist in third place, but getting further away each lap.

But the French withdrawals began early: Benoist on the second lap, Torchy on the fourth, and Thomas on the eighth. Four cars remained in the race, with Ascari leading by almost a minute over Campari and almost three minutes over Divo, who was trying to defend French pride. Ascari's dominance did not overshadow a magnificent driving demonstration and extraordinary performance of the P2, to the despair of Delage. In any case, by the time lap 33 of the race arrived, both Brilli Peri and Divo had also retired. Only two cars remained in the race.

Then came lap 40 and the legendary fable of the pit stop of Ascari and Campari, in which they supposedly improvised a relaxed picnic, ate, refreshed their throats while the mechanics practically made the cars new, including cleaning. The reality is that neither the drivers ever mentioned this event nor did the chronicles of the time record it. Perhaps such overwhelming dominance gave birth to this legend.

The only reality is that they returned to the track, were conservative, and with the clover in their cars - it was not a Quadrifoglio that day - and the gaze of Nicola Romeo and Vittorio Jano, they achieved victory, celebrating, moreover, that four days earlier the Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili had celebrated its fifteenth anniversary. It was the second victory in a Grand Prix for Ascari, after winning in Italy in 1924. Alfa Romeo thus positioned itself in the championship, tied on points with Duesenberg at the top.

The Grand Prix of the Automobile Club of France

From the charming Spa-Francorchamps with its spas and forests, the world championship headed to the outskirts of Paris, which was suspended in the beauty of Art Deco - the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts and Modern Industries -, the dances, and carefree living. It was at the Linas-Montlhéry autodrome, located about 25 kilometers south of the French capital, built in 1924 by the impetus of industrialist Alexandre Lamblin, modeled after Brooklands, Indianapolis, and Monza. That is, with an oval layout to which precisely in 1925 a road version was added for a total layout of 12,500 meters. It would be the first time it hosted the G.P. of the ACF, scheduled for July 26.

Only three countries would be present, with Alfa Romeo having the same lineup as in Spa; Delage with Robert Benoist, Albert Divo, and Louis Wagner after René Thomas was fired; Bugatti with its T35 without supercharger, with Jules Goux, Giulio Foresti, Meo Costantini, and the Spaniards Pierre and Ferdinand De Vizcaya; and finally Sunbeam with its 2-liter 6-cylinder inline supercharged model for Giulio Masetti, Henry Segrave, and Caberto Conelli as drivers. In total, 17 registered, of which 14 would definitely start.

From the practices, the drivers warned of the dangers of the circuit, with some jumps and very high speed. Antonio Ascari particularly complained that it presented “dangers that are not useful for either men or machines". Still, the Alfa Romeos continued to show their superiority. The grid, however, was again by draw, with Henry Segrave on pole, Campari second, and Pierre de Vizcaya third, closing the first row, with Divo, Masetti, Ascari, Goux, Benoist, Conelli, Brilli Peri, Costantini, Wagner, Ferdinand de Vizcaya, and Foresti behind them.

This time at 8 in the morning, with 50,000 spectators - including the President of the Republic, Gaston Doumergue - the start was given. Again Antonio Ascari took the initial lead, followed by Segrave and Campari, who became second on the next lap. The P2s continued to be the reference car despite the small improvements of the Delages, which again proved to be unreliable, with Divo's retirement on the seventh lap. Ascari was pulling away and stopped in the pits without losing the lead, such was his superiority.

But all that ended on lap 23. On the straight of Saint-Eutrope, at full throttle, in a slight right curve the car skidded slightly, with the misfortune of hitting a fence. The P2 buried its nose and then was catapulted high, throwing Ascari out of the cockpit and landing on its wheels to slide to the side. Although alive, he lost consciousness and during the transfer to Paris he would end up passing away. He was 36 years old. The ambulance returned to the circuit with the driver's body and Alfa Romeo withdrew en masse from the race.

The race continued, and after almost 9 hours at the wheel, at 16:54 hours, Robert Benoist crossed the finish line as the shared winner with Divo, achieving victory for Delage, a triumph for a French brand in the Grand Prix of France that had not occurred since 1913, when on that July 12 Georges Boillot and Peugeot won at the Amiens circuit. The other Delage shared by Wagner and Torchy finished second, while Masetti was third. The French happiness was completed by the fact that all five registered Bugatti T35s finished the race without any reliability incidents.

The sadness was in the town of Linas, the headquarters of Alfa Romeo for this race. Ascari's coffin was taken to Portello, veiled, and on July 30 with 2000 people present, buried in the Cimiterio Monumentale of Milan, which was the next destination of the world constructors' championship, now with Alfa Romeo and Delage tied at the top with Duesenberg one point behind.

The Italian Grand Prix

The management of Alfa Romeo did not know whether to participate in the V Italian Grand Prix scheduled for September 6 in Monza. But between the regulatory obligation to run the Italian event twice, plus the pressures from the Automobile Club of Italy, they had no choice but to participate. They looked for a substitute for Ascari, and curiously found it in Pete DePaolo, the winner of the Indy 500, who directly offered to drive for the ‘Il Biscione’ brand. However, after trying many drivers, including Tazio Nuvolari who ended up in the hospital due to an accident.

An intense duel was expected between the Italians and Delage, which was joined by Duesenberg, eager to fight for the world title. Unfortunately, the American car had to undergo several modifications to comply with European regulations, which was one of the reasons for DePaolo to offer himself to Alfa Romeo. Worse still, Delage ultimately declared its impossibility to participate in Italy. The reason was that there was not enough time to have the cars ready for the Grand Prix of San Sebastián on September 19, more commercially important for them.

Thus, the decision of the championship was between Alfa Romeo with Campari, Brilli Peri, and DePaolo against the Duesenberg 122s of Tommy Milton and Peter Kreis with the cockpit modified to comply with the two-seater, although in reality it could not comply because the driving position was central. They were joined by participants from the Gran Premio delle Voiturette to fill the grid, with Bugatti, Guyot, Chiribiri, Diatto, or Eldridge.

The race would be run on the full 10-kilometer layout, using the oval and the road circuit, with some safety improvements. And 150,000 people attended Monza that sunny Sunday to see the start, which was given by Prince Umberto of Savoy at 10 in the morning. The grid was formed by the numerical order of the participants, so in pole position was Materassi, followed by Guyot, Campari, Milton, DePaolo, Kreis, Brilli Peri, Santoleri, Eldridge, Costantini, Platè, Pierre de Vizcaya, Goux, Ferdinand de Vizcaya, and Foresti.

Campari took the lead followed by Peter Kreis, Brilli Peri, and DePaolo. For his part, Tommy Milton stalled his engine on the grid and took time to start, although by the time he passed the finish line he was already fifth. Kreis overtook Campari in Lesmo and took the lead, marking the fastest lap of the race and opening a slight gap, but without escaping. However, on the fourth lap, he made a mistake and went off track in Lesmo, retiring. Now there were three Alfa Romeos in the lead, to the delight of the stands.

Milton pressured DePaolo and overtook him, but he was more than a minute behind Campari, who was closely followed by Brilli Peri. After the stops of the Alfa Romeos - DePaolo leaving the wheel to Attilio Marinoni, Campari to Giovanni Minozzi -, Milton took the lead of the race. At that moment, the championship would have to be resolved in Monza in a race to be held 48 hours later.

But it was an illusion: when stopping in the pits on lap 35, and losing more than four minutes, Minozzi was leading, although soon ceded the car to Carlo Sozzi. Thus, halfway through the race, the leader was an unperturbed Gastone Brilli Peri over Marinoni and Milton, but with a good distance over both. The championship was decided when on lap 41, Milton stopped in the pits due to a broken oil line and took 22 minutes to return to the track.

The possible Alfa Romeo triple also did not occur because DePaolo and Marinoni's car had problems, but nothing affected Brilli Peri, who, after eighty laps and 5 hours and 14 minutes, won in Monza ahead of Campari, Minozzi, and Sozzi. The Italian flag on his shoulders to receive the honors as the winner, with Monza at his feet and Nicola Romeo satisfied. Even more so, Vittorio Jano, who saw his creation crowned world champion. In commemoration of this, the emblem of Alfa Romeo received a laurel crown around it, a symbol that was unfortunately removed in 1982.

Thus, the first world motor racing championship in history came to a close. A constructors' championship, not a drivers' one, that would last until 1930, although in the last three years the title was not awarded. It was replaced by the European Drivers' Championship in 1931, and after not being held in 1933 and 1934, it resumed from 1935 to 1939. Both championships require an urgent and dignified re-evaluation to consider their winners within the history of this sport.

Because 25 years after the first World Championship, another was created, this time for Drivers. Which was followed in 1958 by the International Constructors' Cup, both under the regulations of Formula 1. Because there was also the World Sports Championship since 1953, which was later called the World Brands Championship and from which the current WEC has its roots. But let’s not digress. To summarize, the Formula 1 World Championships for Drivers and Constructors do not arise, with that designation, until January 1, 1981.

Interestingly, Alfa Romeo won the 1925 Constructors' championship, the 1950 drivers' championship with Giuseppe ‘Nino’ Farina, and the Brands championship in 1975. Meanwhile, the International Automobile Federation should take care of its roots and, instead of being carried away solely by the obtuse, simplistic but commercially lucrative vision of F1, remember that it has been a century since there were world champions in motor racing.

* This news is an AI translation of the original content. Motenic.com is part of Motor.es.