Formula One (the formula in the name refers to a set of rules to
which all participants and cars must comply and was originally
and briefly known as Formula A) can trace its roots back to the
earliest days of motor racing, and emerged from the buoyant
European racing scene of the inter-war years. Plans for a
Formula One drivers' championship were discussed in the late
1930s but were shelved with the onset of World War Two. In 1946
the idea was rekindled and in that season the first races were
held and the following year the decision was made to launch a
drivers' championship. It took until 1950 for the details to be
hammered out and in May 1950 the first world championship race
was held at Silverstone - the first F1 race had taken place a
month earlier in Pau. Only seven of the twenty or so Formula One
races that season counted towards the title but the championship
was up and running. Even as more races were included in the
championship, there were plenty of non-championship Formula One
races. Non-championsh