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 (this term had been used for the most prestigious races since the 1920s; in 1931 and 1935, some significant Grands Prix which did not count towards the European Championship were still 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.