1950 Belgian GP: Fangio Won, Sommer Starred

Episode 5 of our Formula One history series: one championship Grand Prix a day, from the very first. Subscribe for round six, the French GP at Reims. 18 June 1950, the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps (14.12 km of public roads), round five of the first World Championship. Raymond Sommer, a privateer in a heavier, less powerful Talbot-Lago, planned to keep going while the supercharged Alfa Romeos stopped for fuel (as Geoffrey Crossley told Motor Sport in 1999). When Farina, Fagioli and Fangio pitted on laps 11-13, Sommer led laps 13-17; his engine failed and he was out after 20 laps. Fangio won by 14 s from Fagioli; Rosier's Talbot took third ahead of Farina (gearbox trouble, fastest lap). Standings: Farina 22, Fagioli 18, Fangio 17. Ascari's Ferrari ran the first unsupercharged Lampredi V12 (3.3 L); its 4.5 L successor beat Alfa Romeo in 1951. Sommer was killed at Cadours on 10 September 1950. Quotes: Motor Sport, January 1999, "The Forgotten Races: 1950 Belgian Grand Prix" (Andrew Frankel), incl. Geoffrey Crossley and The Autocar / The Motor (1950) as quoted there. Weights and power on screen are Motor Sport's estimates. Chapters 0:00 A Talbot leads the Alfas 0:34 Spa: public roads, 14 km 1:18 The title fight and the field 1:52 Raymond Sommer 2:36 The plan on the menu 3:17 Lap 13: Sommer leads 4:01 Anxiety in the Alfa pit 4:33 Fangio wins, Rosier beats Farina 5:08 Why it mattered Footage and images (no Formula One race film). Animated graphics (circuit, plan, weight/power, laps 10-13, lap leaders): our own, illustrative; circuit traced from Spa-Francorchamps 1947 layout by Valentin JJ., CC BY-SA 4.0. Period racing film: Polygoon Hollands Nieuws newsreels (1946, 1949), public domain, Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision / Open Images via Wikimedia Commons, shown as Dutch racing (not Spa). Photos, Wikimedia Commons (some on a blurred 16:9 background, some cropped): Public domain: Agence Meurisse (Sommer, Montlhery 1933); Agence Rol (Spa 1925); Sommer press photos 1932-1948 (Le Petit Parisien, Le Matin, L'Automobile sur la Cote d'Azur, L'Auto-velo, Paris-Soir, unknown); El Grafico covers (Farina, Fangio, Ascari, Villoresi); Ferrari 275/375 and Lampredi V12 (unknown); Fagioli 1951; Monza 1950 (Alfa Romeo Documentation Centre, unknown). CC0: Harry Pot / Anefo, Nationaal Archief (Fangio, Zandvoort 1955). CC BY-SA 4.0: Thomas Hummel (Stavelot museum). CC BY-SA 3.0: LINOTTE Auguste (Spa view); Herranderssvensson (Talbot-Lago T26C); J.D. Noske / Anefo (Rosier 1950, 3.0 NL). CC BY-SA 2.5: Matthead (Eau Rouge 1997). CC BY-SA 2.0: thievingjoker, azrhey (Alfa Romeo 158); Jo Power, Akela NDE (Talbot-Lago T26C, 2.0 / 2.0 FR). CC BY 4.0: Neil, David Merrett (Alfa Romeo 158). CC BY 2.0: David Merrett (Talbot-Lago). Unofficial. This channel is not associated in any way with the Formula 1 companies. F1 and FORMULA ONE are trademarks of Formula One Licensing B.V. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950_Be... https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/ar... https://www.formulaonehistory.com/195... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrari... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950_24... https://www.f1-fansite.com/f1-result/...