The first Grand Prix de Genève was held in Meyrin in 1931 and won by Marcel Lehoux, racing for Bugatti.

[2] Over the years small changes were made to the track layout until the track was significantly lengthened for the 1950 event by cutting out the hairpin on Avenue de France and replacing it by two long straits on both sides of Route de Lausanne, connected by a 180 degree hairpin.

Key pilots came here to compete: among them Giuseppe Farina, Raymond Sommer, Maurice Trintignant, Juan Manuel Fangio, Prince Bira (who had established residency, in Geneva).

Behind him Luigi Villoresi, in a Ferrari 275, could not avoid the oil, his car skidded, went over the security barrier and ploughed into the crowd.

After this tragedy, stemming like others from the use of street circuits ill-adapted to increasingly high-speed motor racing, the organisers cancelled the following year's event.