The title, the first in history, was awarded to Giuseppe Farina (known as Nino). In the standings, in the first three places, there was the ALFA ROMEO 158 Alfetta, with the most successful and talented drivers: Nino Farina, from Turin, son of the owner of Stabilimenti Farina and grandson of the famous Pinin; Manuel Fangio, the Italian-Argentinean Champion, and Luigi Fagioli. The winner Farina will be "historically remembered as the driver who first took the world title when the Formula 1 World Championship was established in 1950". So wrote Enzo Ferrari, whose racing car made its debut only at the 1950 F1 Monaco Grand Prix.

The Alfa Romeo 158, an in-line 8-cylinder racing single-seater, 1479 cc, was born in 1937 at the Scuderia Ferrari in Modena, but was designed by Alfa Romeo technicians, Gioachino Colombo in the lead. It dominated the most prestigious races from 1938 to 1950, excluding the war years, driven by the most daring drivers of the time, Villoresi, Biondetti, Varzi, Sanesi, Ascari (Alberto), Taruffi, as well as the three famous ones of the first edition of the Championship.