Nino Farina was the first World Champion in which sport?

Dottore Giuseppe Antonio “Nino” Farina (30 October 1906 – 30 June 1966), was an Italian racing driver and was the first official Formula One World Champion, gaining the title in 1950. He was also the Italian Champion in 1937, 1938 and 1939. During his thirty-year racing career he suffered a series of accidents.

Born in Turin, Farina was the son of Giovanni Carlo Farina (1884–1957) who founded the Stabilimenti Farina coachbuilder. Giuseppe began driving a two-cylinder Temperino, at the age of just nine. He became a Doctor of Political Science (although some source say engineering), he also excelled at skiing, football and athletic. He cut short a career as a cavalry officer with the Italian army to fulfil a different ambition in motor racing.

Studying at the university Farina purchased his first car, a second-hand Alfa Romeo, and ran it in the 1925 Aosta-Gran San Bernardo Hillclimb. While trying to beat his father, he crashed, breaking his shoulder and receiving facial cuts, establishing a trend that continued throughout his crash-prone career. His father finished fourth.