Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition, has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as early as 1894. It quickly evolved from simple road races from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car and driver. Innovation and the drive of competition soon saw speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), but because early races took place on open roads, accidents occurred frequently, resulting in deaths both of drivers and of spectators. A common abbreviation used for Grand Prix racing is "GP" or "GP racing".
The European Drivers' Championship was an annual competition in auto racing that existed prior to the establishment of the Formula One world championship in 1950. It was established in 1931 and ran until the end of 1939 with a hiatus from 1933–34, and awarded points to drivers based on the results of selected Grand Prix races, the so-called Grandes Épreuves. The championship was discontinued because of the outbreak of World War II in 1939, and no champion was officially declared for the last season.
The 1937 Grand Prix season was the fifth AIACR European Championship season. The championship was won by Rudolf Caracciola, driving for the Mercedes-Benz team. Caracciola won three of the five events that counted towards the championship.
The Pau Grand Prix is a motor race held in Pau, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department of southwestern France. The French Grand Prix was held at Pau in 1930, leading to the annual Pau Grand Prix being inaugurated in 1933. It was not run during World War II and in 2020–2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Maserati 4CL and its derived sister model the Maserati 4CLT are single-seat open-wheel Grand Prix racing cars that were designed and built by Maserati. The 4CL was introduced at the beginning of the 1939 season, as a rival to the Alfa Romeo 158 and various ERA models in the voiturette class of international Grand Prix motor racing. Although racing ceased during World War II, the 4CL was one of the front running models at the resumption of racing in the late 1940s. Experiments with two-stage supercharging and tubular chassis construction eventually led to the introduction of the revised 4CLT model in 1948. The 4CLT was steadily upgraded and updated over the following two years, resulting in the ultimate 4CLT/50 model, introduced for the inaugural year of the Formula One World Championship in 1950. In the immediate post-war period, and the first two years of the Formula One category, the 4CLT was the car of choice for many privateer entrants, leading to numerous examples being involved in most races during this period.
The World Manufacturers' Championship, also known as Automobile World Championship, was a competition organised by the AIACR between 1925 and 1930.
The 1938 Grand Prix season was the sixth AIACR European Championship season. The championship was won by Rudolf Caracciola, driving for the Mercedes-Benz team. Caracciola won one of the four events that counted towards the championship.
The 1939 Grand Prix season was the seventh AIACR European Championship season. The championship winner was never officially announced by the AIACR due to the outbreak of World War II less than two weeks after the final event in Switzerland. The Italian GP initially had been a fifth event, but it became clear well before the war that it would be cancelled due to construction work. At that time, it was also undecided which scoring system would be used, the old minimum points system that basically counted positions, or the French maximum points system similar to the modern one. Although Hermann Paul Müller would have won the championship on points according to the old system, the president of Nazi Germany's highest motorsports organisation declared Hermann Lang the champion. Lang was clearly the dominating driver in that season, which was acknowledged by the international press. In the first two of the four championship events, both Lang and Müller won once while the other failed to complete 75% of the distance. The German round saw Lang retiring early, and Müller finishing 2nd behind Caracciola. This left Müller in the lead in both scoring systems, as published in magazines, with the Swiss round deciding the outcome. Müller finished 4th behind three Mercedes, which gave him the lead in the old point system, while in front, Lang had beaten Caracciola for the lead in the maximum points system.
Grands Prix between 1940 and 1945 occurred during World War II and so were limited to a very small number of events. There was no organised championship in these years. The majority of Grand Prix races during this period were run in America. The first post-war races were run in Paris on 9 September 1945, one week after the end of the war.
The 1946 Grand Prix season was the first post-war year for Grand Prix motor racing. It was notable for including the first ever race run to Formula One criteria, the 1946 Turin Grand Prix. There was no organised championship in 1946, although Raymond Sommer proved to be the most successful driver, winning five Grands Prix. Maserati's cars proved difficult to beat, winning 9 of the season's 20 Grand Prix races.
The 1925 Grand Prix season was a watershed year in motor racing. It was the first year for the new AIACR World Manufacturers' Championship season. The championship was won by Alfa Romeo, with its P2 model.
The 1925 Belgian Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on the 28th of June 1925. This was the first ever grand prix held at Spa, and the first ever Belgian Grand Prix.
The 1948 Grand Prix season was the third post-war year for Grand Prix racing. It was the second season of the FIA's Formula One motor racing, though some of that season's Grand Prix still used other formulas. There was no organised championship in 1948, although several of the more prestigious races were recognised as Grandes Épreuves by the FIA. Luigi Villoresi proved to be the most successful driver, for the second consecutive year, winning six Grands Prix. Maserati's cars proved difficult to beat, winning 13 of the season's 23 Grands Prix.
The 1949 Grand Prix season was the fourth post-war year for Grand Prix racing and the final year before the beginning of the Formula One World Championship. It was the third season of FIA Formula One motor racing, though some of that season's Grands Prix still used other formulas. Races which were run to Formula One criteria restricted engines to 1.5 litres supercharged or 4.5 litres naturally aspirated. There was no organised championship in 1949, although several of the more prestigious races were recognised as Grandes Épreuves by the FIA. Alberto Ascari and Juan Manuel Fangio proved to be the most successful drivers, each winning five Grands Prix. Maserati's cars were the most successful brand, winning 10 of the season's 27 Grand Prix races.
The 1910 Grand Prix season was the fifth Grand Prix racing season. Because of the ongoing international economic recession, there were no Grandes Épreuves held. The American Grand Prize was held in Savannah.
The Buenos Aires Grand Prix is a motor race held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
This is a list of motorsport races held before 1906, which is regarded as the first Grand Prix racing season.
The 1909 Grand Prix season was the fourth Grand Prix racing season. There were no Grandes Épreuves that year, as the economic recession of the previous year continued on. Renault had withdrawn from motor-racing and a number of French manufacturers, falling behind the success of their German and Italian rivals, followed suit. The French Grand Prix was cancelled, leaving the Targa Florio in Italy and Vanderbilt Cup in the United States as the only major races this season. With so little competition and financial incentive, technological advances ground to a halt. Emphasis shifted from racing to setting speed and endurance records. Benz & Cie built a new 12.4-litre racing-engine, and its 200 bhp derivative was put into the Blitzen Benz. This 21.5-litre monster held the Land speed record from 1909 to 1922, with various drivers starting with Victor Hémery in November, 1909 at Brooklands.
The second Grand Prix of the Royal Automobile Club, commonly referred to as the 1927 British Grand Prix, was a Grand Prix motor race held at the Brooklands circuit on 1 October 1927. It was the fifth and final race of the 1927 AIACR World Manufacturers' Championship season. The race was won by French driver Robert Benoist. It was his fourth victory from the season's five races, a performance that put the seal on his Delage team's already-unassailable lead in the Championship.
The Junior Car Club 200 Mile race was a voiturette and later Grand Prix motor race, first held in 1921. It was held on various layouts of Brooklands, and twice at Donington Park.
Swiss Grand Prix 
Jean-Pierre Wimille 
Belgian Grand Prix 
Italian Grand Prix 
Louis Chiron 
