As we have a couple of auto racing fans here, I think we should do a collaborative TL on especially this subject. We have sort of a similar project already going, with the "Alternate Formula One World Champions" thread. But I think we can take this a step further:
May 13th, 1950: The beginning of the very first FIA Formula One World Championship season, which takes place in Silverstone, Great Britain, starts a new era in auto racing. The winner of the first race is Guiseppe Farina, in his factory-backed Alfa Romeo. He, along with team mate Juan-Manuel Fangio, would go on to dominate this first Formula One season.
May 30th, 1950: Although the 34th Indianapolis 500 is part of the new Formula One World Championship, not one F1 driver partakes in this race, which is won by Johnny Parsons in his Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser. Still, some European teams think about entering Indy in the next couple of years, and some American teams think about entering some European races.
September 3rd, 1950: Giuseppe "Nino" Farina wins the inaugural World Drivers Championship, after a dramatic Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
May 30th, 1951: Not only does the 35th Indianapolis 500 take place, it is also the inaugural race of the 2nd Formula One season. Normally the first race would have taken place at the Swiss venue in Bremgarten, but after the Swiss round was postponed at the insistence of Alfa Romeo, Indy marks the first round of the 1951 season.
While Alfa had to modify their 159s to fit the AAA regulation, the '51 edition marks the beginning of the "Italian invasion". Giuseppe Farina and Juan-Manuel Fangio enter the race, and put up a decent performance. While they only made 4th and 6th places respectively, their performance impressed quite a lot people in the paddock. So much that some American teams are considering entering some European races in the future.
With so much publicity around the Italians, the eventual race winner, Lee Wallard, was almost forgotten.