1959 Formula One season

The 1959 Formula One season included the 10th FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on May 10, 1959, and ended on December 12 after nine races. Jack Brabham won the title in a sport still reeling from the tragic loss of several drivers, including reigning champion Mike Hawthorn.

Season summary
Vanwall's withdrawal, believed to have been a result of the high mortality rate of the 1958 season, left Ferrari as the only race-winning team in the Championship. However, the British dominance continued with Cooper's revolutionary rear-engined cars. Powered by the compact Coventry-Climax 2.5 litre engine, the Coopers driven by Jack Brabham, Stirling Moss and Bruce McLaren won five races and BRM finally won one in the hands of Jo Bonnier.

Aston Martin also appeared with a car which, in the face of Cooper's rear-engined revolution, was outdated and overweight. The German Grand Prix was held for the second time on the very high speed AVUS circuit, where Ferrari's Jean Behra was killed during an unrelated sports car race.

Ferrari's Tony Brooks took the fight to the Coopers and going into the final race he, Moss or Brabham could win the title. Moss retired from the race, the inaugural United States Grand Prix, giving Brabham the lead. Brabham ran out of fuel on the last lap but pushed his car across the line to finish fourth. With Brooks unable to do better than third Brabham became the first Australian World Champion while Cooper won the Constructors crown.

Teams and drivers
The following teams and drivers competed in the 1959 FIA World Championship.

1959 Drivers Championship final standings

 * Italics indicate fastest lap (1 point awarded – point shared equally between drivers sharing fastest lap)
 * Bold indicates pole position

1959 Constructors Championship final standings
Points were awarded on an 8-6-4-3-2 basis to the first five finishers at each race. However a manufacturer only received points for its highest placed car and only the best five results from the eight races were retained.


 * Bold results counted to championship totals.

Non-Championship race results
Other Formula One races also held in 1959, which did not count towards the World Championship.