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It started out in 1935 with five races, the original participants being the Belgian , German , Italian , Spanish and Swiss Grands Prix . (The French Grand Prix , at that time the most important motor race of all, was left out to begin with because of French pique - it was the Germans who had suggested the Championship!) In 1936 , the Belgian and Spanish races were dropped, and the Monaco Grand Prix added. For 1937 , Belgium was added back. In 1938 , the Monaco race was cancelled, and the Belgian race turned into a Sports Car race, but the French Grand Prix was finally added. Finally, in 1939 the Italian race was dropped after it was run for Voiturette cars of 1.5 litre Engine Displacement , but the Belgian race returned.
The European Championship used a system where basically the places were counted on which a driver finished, at least for the top 3. More points were added for poorer finishes, and interestingly, 8 points were scored by not starting at a race, something which many pilots did with ease. At the end of the year the driver with the least points was the Champion. In 1938, the points awarded for each race were:
A driver could only score points in the car in which he started (an important consideration in those days, when drivers often swapped cars during a race). Note 1: There is something of a mystery here, as the published numbers in contemporary reports do not match the numbers calculated using the points scheme given above; e.g. the published reports for 1935 show Caracciola with 16 points. FURTHER READING
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