Formula One Races ushered a new era in sports with the foundation of the Federation Internationale de I'Automobile or the FIA, which is the international governing authority. Primarily it was concerned with the formulation of restrictions to ensure the safety of the drivers and spectators, and to guide motor sport in a direction, which would benefit the development of road cars.
The name “Formula One” did not appear until after the Second World War. The FIA, which restricted maximum weight, became the first formula. They created The FIA Formula One World Championship in1950. The first Formula 1 Race for FIA took place at the British Grand Prix, in Silverstone on the 13th of May, 1950.
The Grand Prix de I'Automobile Club de France held at Le Mans in 1906 was the first race to be given the title “Grand Prix”. From then on, all major events equivalent of today’s Grand Prix, were called “Grandes Epreuves” or Great Events. However, the FIA wished to reserve the popular usage of the “Grand Prix” title for events counting towards its Formula One World Championship. Therefore the usage of the term “Grand Prix” became prohibited for an event, which did not count towards this Championship.
During 1952 and 1953, Formula Two cars served the world championship. A full season of non-championship F1 Racing took place which included the Race of Champions, Oulton Park International Gold Cup and International Trophy, held in the UK. Majority of the participants were world championship contenders. In the course of time the popularity of these races declined and 1983 saw the last non-championship Formula One race. South Africa's domestic Formula One championship had a short life span from 1960 to 1975. The old fashioned DFV made the UK domestic Formula One series possible between 1978 and 1980.
