# 1950 Swiss Grand Prix
The **1950 Swiss Grand Prix** was a [Formula One](https://www.edgepedia.org/formula-one) motor race held on 4 June 1950 at the Bremgarten circuit near Bern, Switzerland, run over 42 laps as the fourth round of the inaugural [Formula One World Championship](https://www.edgepedia.org/formula-one-world-championship)[1](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/1950/races/97/switzerland/race-result) • [2](https://gpstats.racing/en/grand-prix/swiss-grand-prix-1950). Giuseppe Farina won it in an [Alfa Romeo](https://www.edgepedia.org/alfa-romeo), with his teammate Luigi Fagioli second, and the result helped carry Farina toward the first world drivers' title[1](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/1950/races/97/switzerland/race-result).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date and venue | 4 June 1950, Bremgarten, Bern, Switzerland[1](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/1950/races/97/switzerland/race-result) |
| Championship round | Round 4 of the 1950 World Championship; 42 laps, 305.760 km[2](https://gpstats.racing/en/grand-prix/swiss-grand-prix-1950) • [3](https://lapchive.com/races/1950/4) |
| Winner | Giuseppe Farina, Alfa Romeo, 2:02:53.700[1](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/1950/races/97/switzerland/race-result) |
| Second place | Luigi Fagioli, Alfa Romeo, 0.400s behind[1](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/1950/races/97/switzerland/race-result) |
| Pole position | Juan Manuel Fangio, Alfa Romeo, 2:42.100[4](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/1950/races/97/switzerland/qualifying) |
| Fastest lap | Farina, 2:41.600[2](https://gpstats.racing/en/grand-prix/swiss-grand-prix-1950) |
| Circuit | Permanent road course, 4.524 miles[5](https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/database/races/1950-swiss-grand-prix/) |
## The race
Farina and Fagioli finished the full 42-lap distance separated by 0.400 seconds, an Alfa Romeo one-two recorded at 2:02:53.700 and 2:02:54.1 respectively[1](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/1950/races/97/switzerland/race-result) • [6](https://www.oldracingcars.com/f1/results/1950/switzerland/). Louis Rosier took third in a [Talbot-Lago](https://www.edgepedia.org/talbot-lago) a lap behind, and Prince Bira and Felice Bonetto completed the top five on the lead Maserati lap[1](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/1950/races/97/switzerland/race-result). Under the scoring of the day, Farina's 9 points combined the win with the fastest-lap bonus of 2:41.600[1](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/1950/races/97/switzerland/race-result) • [2](https://gpstats.racing/en/grand-prix/swiss-grand-prix-1950).
**Fangio's retirement.** [Juan Manuel Fangio](https://www.edgepedia.org/juan-manuel-fangio) started from pole position with a qualifying time of 2:42.100 but went out of the race after 33 laps[4](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/1950/races/97/switzerland/qualifying) • [1](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/1950/races/97/switzerland/race-result). The third Alfa Romeo driver thus scored nothing from a race his team otherwise dominated, and the grid-to-finish record shows him falling from first to twelfth among the classified runners[2](https://gpstats.racing/en/grand-prix/swiss-grand-prix-1950).
**Ferrari's failure to finish.** None of the [Scuderia Ferrari](https://www.edgepedia.org/scuderia-ferrari) entries lasted the distance: Raymond Sommer retired after 19 laps, Luigi Villoresi after 9, and [Alberto Ascari](https://www.edgepedia.org/alberto-ascari) after 4[1](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/1950/races/97/switzerland/race-result). The Motor Sport report notes that after practice the two 1.5-liter supercharged Ferraris, with very good practice times, were regarded as the main threat to the Alfa Romeos, alongside two unblown Talbot-Lagos and two 4CLT Maseratis[5](https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/database/races/1950-swiss-grand-prix/).
## Teams and drivers
The Alfa Romeo team ran its three senior drivers, Fangio, Farina, and Fagioli, who on the first practice day shared a single car in sequence before Fagioli's car developed a serious engine noise and was rushed away to be rebuilt[5](https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/database/races/1950-swiss-grand-prix/). The report records maximum-reading tachometer figures of 7,700 rpm for Fagioli and 8,000 rpm for Fangio in the second car[5](https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/database/races/1950-swiss-grand-prix/).
**A substitute at Scuderia Achille Varzi.** José Froilán González had not recovered from injuries sustained at Monaco, so the Italian motorcyclist Nello Pagani drove the team's Maserati and finished seventh, three laps down[5](https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/database/races/1950-swiss-grand-prix/) • [1](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/1950/races/97/switzerland/race-result). Felice Bonetto ran a lone Scuderia Milan Maserati with a highly boosted Speluzzi engine and finished fifth[5](https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/database/races/1950-swiss-grand-prix/).
The Talbot-Lago contingent included Rosier, Yves Giraud-Cabantous, Philippe Étancelin, Johnny Claes, Eugene Martin in an official Talbot, and Harry Schell, who borrowed Rosier's personal car[5](https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/database/races/1950-swiss-grand-prix/) • [1](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/1950/races/97/switzerland/race-result). Schell started last of the 18 runners and finished eighth, a gain of 10 places, the biggest improvement of any driver in the field[2](https://gpstats.racing/en/grand-prix/swiss-grand-prix-1950).
## The Bremgarten circuit
Bremgarten was a permanent road course at Bern, 4.524 miles long, and the race was run as the Grosser Preis der Schweiz[5](https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/database/races/1950-swiss-grand-prix/) • [6](https://www.oldracingcars.com/f1/results/1950/switzerland/). The [Swiss Grand Prix](https://www.edgepedia.org/swiss-grand-prix) counted toward the Formula One World Championship in the championship's early years, and Bremgarten remained on the calendar through the first half of the 1950s[7](https://gpracingstats.com/grands-prix/switzerland/).
**The end of Swiss racing.** After the major accident of 1955, the Swiss government decided there would be no more racing in Switzerland, and it held to that position, ending Bremgarten's run as a championship venue[8](https://porschecarshistory.com/wp-content/old/biblio5/14/A%20Story%20of%20Formula%201%20-%201954-1960.pdf).
## Significance in the 1950 season
The race was the fourth of the seven-round inaugural championship, and its outcome shaped the title fight: Farina's win with fastest lap, against Fangio's retirement, moved the Alfa Romeo drivers' contest decisively in Farina's favor[2](https://gpstats.racing/en/grand-prix/swiss-grand-prix-1950) • [1](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/1950/races/97/switzerland/race-result). The 1950 season's scoring awarded 8 points for a win plus 1 for fastest lap, which is why the winner's entry in the results table reads 9 points[1](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/1950/races/97/switzerland/race-result).
## References
1. [1950 Swiss Grand Prix – Race Result, Formula1.com](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/1950/races/97/switzerland/race-result)
2. [Swiss Grand Prix 1950 – Results, GP Stats Racing](https://gpstats.racing/en/grand-prix/swiss-grand-prix-1950)
3. [1950 Swiss Grand Prix – results, Lapchive](https://lapchive.com/races/1950/4)
4. [1950 Swiss Grand Prix – Qualifying, Formula1.com](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/1950/races/97/switzerland/qualifying)
5. [1950 Swiss Grand Prix, Motor Sport Magazine database](https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/database/races/1950-swiss-grand-prix/)
6. [Bremgarten, 4 Jun 1950, OldRacingCars.com](https://www.oldracingcars.com/f1/results/1950/switzerland/)
7. [Swiss Grand Prix, GP Racing Stats](https://gpracingstats.com/grands-prix/switzerland/)
8. [A Story of Formula 1 – 1954–1960, The Circuits](https://porschecarshistory.com/wp-content/old/biblio5/14/A%20Story%20of%20Formula%201%20-%201954-1960.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Cycling and motor sport › Formula One and Grand Prix motor racing › Formula One Grands Prix by nation and event › Swiss Grand Prix*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license