1959 FIA Formula One World Championship season | |
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Index: Races by country | Races by 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.
Jack Brabham became the first Australian World Champion.
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Aston Martin also appeared with a car which, in the face of Cooper's rear-engined revolution, was outdated and overweight.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.
Season review[]
Rnd | Race | Circuit | Date | Pole position | Fastest lap | Winning driver | Constructor | Tyre | Report |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Monaco Grand Prix | Monaco | May 10 | Stirling Moss | Jack Brabham | Jack Brabham | Cooper-Climax | D | Report |
2 | Indianapolis 500 | Indianapolis | May 30 | Johnny Thomson | Johnny Thomson | Rodger Ward | Watson-Offenhauser | F | Report |
3 | Dutch Grand Prix | Zandvoort | May 31 | Jo Bonnier | Stirling Moss | Jo Bonnier | BRM | D | Report |
4 | French Grand Prix | Reims | July 5 | Tony Brooks | Stirling Moss | Tony Brooks | Ferrari | D | Report |
5 | British Grand Prix | Aintree | July 18 | Jack Brabham | Stirling Moss Bruce McLaren |
Jack Brabham | Cooper-Climax | D | Report |
6 | German Grand Prix | AVUS | August 2 | Tony Brooks | Tony Brooks | Tony Brooks | Ferrari | D | Report |
7 | Portuguese Grand Prix | Monsanto Park | August 23 | Stirling Moss | Stirling Moss | Stirling Moss | Cooper-Climax | D | Report |
8 | Italian Grand Prix | Monza | September 13 | Stirling Moss | Phil Hill | Stirling Moss | Cooper-Climax | D | Report |
9 | United States Grand Prix | Sebring | December 12 | Stirling Moss | Maurice Trintignant | Bruce McLaren | Cooper-Climax | D | Report |
Teams and drivers[]
The following teams and drivers competed in the 1959 FIA World Championship.
Entrant | Constructor | Chassis | Engine | Tyre | Driver | Rounds |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Maria Teresa de Filippis | Behra-Porsche | RSK | Porsche 547/6 1.5 F4 | D | Maria Teresa de Filippis | 1 |
Dr Ing F. Porsche KG | Porsche | 718 RSK 718/2 |
Porsche 547/6 1.5 F4 | D | Wolfgang von Trips | 1, 6 |
Equipe Nationale Belge | Cooper | T51 | Climax FPF 1.5 L4 | D | Lucien Bianchi | 1 |
Alain de Changy | 1 | |||||
Jean Lucienbonnet | Cooper | T45 | Climax FPF 1.5 L4 | D | Jean Lucienbonnet | 1 |
Owen Racing Organisation |
BRM | P25 | BRM P25 2.5 L4 | D | Harry Schell | 1, 3–8 |
Jo Bonnier | 1, 3–8 | |||||
Ron Flockhart | 1, 4–5, 7–8 | |||||
Cooper Car Company | Cooper | T51 | Climax FPF 2.5 L4 | D | Bruce McLaren | 1, 4–9 |
Jack Brabham | 1, 3–9 | |||||
Masten Gregory | 1, 3–7 | |||||
Giorgio Scarlatti | 8 | |||||
R.R.C. Walker Racing Team |
Cooper | T51 | Climax FPF 2.5 L4 | D | Stirling Moss | 1, 3, 6–9 |
Maurice Trintignant | 1, 3–9 | |||||
British Racing Partnership | Cooper BRM |
T51 P25 |
Climax FPF 1.5 L4 BRM P25 2.5 L4 Borgward 1500 RS 1.5 L4 |
D | Ivor Bueb | 1, 5 |
Stirling Moss | 4–5 | |||||
Chris Bristow | 5 | |||||
Hans Herrmann | 6 | |||||
High Efficiency Motors | Cooper | T45 | Maserati 250S 2.5 L4 Climax FPF 2.5 L4 |
D | Roy Salvadori | 1, 4, 9 |
Jack Fairman | 5, 8 | |||||
Team Lotus | Lotus | 16 | Climax FPF 2.5 L4 | D | Graham Hill | 1, 3–8 |
Pete Lovely | 1 | |||||
Innes Ireland | 3–4, 6–9 | |||||
Alan Stacey | 5, 9 | |||||
John Fisher | Lotus | 16 | Climax FPF 1.5 L4 | D | Bruce Halford | 1 |
Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | 246 156 |
Ferrari 155 2.4 V6 Ferrari D156 1.5 V6 |
D | Jean Behra | 1, 3–4 |
Phil Hill | 1, 3–4, 6–9 | |||||
Tony Brooks | 1, 3–4, 6–9 | |||||
Cliff Allison | 1, 3, 6, 8–9 | |||||
Olivier Gendebien | 4, 8 | |||||
Dan Gurney | 4, 6–8 | |||||
Wolfgang von Trips | 9 | |||||
Scuderia Ugolini | Maserati | 250F | Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 | D | Giorgio Scarlatti | 1, 4 |
Carel Godin de Beaufort | 4 | |||||
Monte Carlo Auto Sport | Maserati | 250F | Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 | D | André Testut | 1 |
David Brown Corporation | Aston Martin | DBR4 | Aston Martin RB6 2.5 L6 | A | Roy Salvadori | 3, 5, 7–8 |
Carroll Shelby | 3, 5, 7–8 | |||||
Ecurie Maarsbergen | Porsche | 718 RSK | Porsche 547/6 1.5 F4 | D | Carel Godin de Beaufort | 3 |
Scuderia Centro Sud | Cooper Maserati |
T51 250F |
Maserati 250S 2.5 L4 Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 |
D | Ian Burgess | 4–6, 8 |
Colin Davis | 4, 8 | |||||
Asdrúbal Fontes Bayardo | 4 | |||||
Fritz d'Orey | 4–5 | |||||
Hans Herrmann | 5 | |||||
POR Mario Araujo de Cabral | 7 | |||||
Vandervell Products | Vanwall | VW 59 | Vanwall 254 2.5 L4 | D | Tony Brooks | 5 |
J.B. Naylor | JBW | 59 | Maserati 250S 2.5 L4 | D | Brian Naylor | 5 |
Ace Garage – Rotherham | Cooper | T51 | Climax FPF 1.5 L4 | D | Trevor Taylor | 5 |
Alan Brown Equipe | Cooper | T45 | Climax FPF 1.5 L4 | D | Mike Taylor | 5 |
Peter Ashdown | 5 | |||||
Gilby Engineering | Cooper | T45 | Climax FPF 1.5 L4 | D | Keith Greene | 5 |
United Racing Stable | Cooper | T51 | Climax FPF 1.5 L4 | D | Bill Moss | 5 |
R.H.H. Parnell | Cooper | T51 T45 |
Climax FPF 1.5 L4 | D | Henry Taylor | 5 |
Tim Parnell | 5 | |||||
David Fry | Fry | F2 | Climax FPF 1.5 L4 | D | Mike Parkes | 5 |
Dennis Taylor | Lotus | 12 | Climax FPF 1.5 L4 | D | Dennis Taylor | 5 |
Dorchester Service Station | Lotus | 16 | Climax FPF 1.5 L4 | D | David Piper | 5 |
Jean Behra | Behra-Porsche | RSK | Porsche 547/6 1.5 F4 | D | Jean Behra | 6 |
Ottorino Volonterio | Maserati | 250F | Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 | D | Giulio Cabianca | 8 |
Leader Cards Inc. | Kurtis Kraft | Midget | Offenhauser 1.7 L4 | ? | Rodger Ward | 9 |
OSCA Automobili | Cooper | T43 | OSCA 2.0 L4 | D | Alejandro de Tomaso | 9 |
Camoradi USA | Tec-Mec | F415 | Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 | D | Fritz d'Orey | 9 |
Taylor-Crawley Racing Team | Cooper | T51 | Climax FPF 2.5 L4 | D | George Constantine | 9 |
Blanchard Automobile Co. | Porsche | 718 RSK | Porsche 547/6 1.5 F4 | ? | Harry Blanchard | 9 |
Connaught Cars-Paul Emery | Connaught | C | Alta GP 2.5 L4 | D | Bob Said | 9 |
Ecurie Bleue | Cooper | T51 | Climax FPF 2.5 L4 | D | Harry Schell | 9 |
Phil Cade | Maserati | 250F | Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 | D | Phil Cade | 9 |
1959 Drivers Championship final standings[]
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- 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.
Pos. | Manufacturer | MON | NED | FRA | GBR | GER | POR | ITA | USA | Pts.[1] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cooper-Climax | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 40 (53) |
2 | Ferrari | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 32 (38) | |
3 | BRM | Ret | 1 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 18 | |
4 | Lotus-Climax | Ret | 4 | Ret | 8 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 5 | 5 |
— | Cooper-Maserati | 6 | Ret | Ret | 6 | 10 | 11 | Ret | 0 | |
— | Aston Martin | Ret | 6 | 6 | 10 | 0 | ||||
— | Porsche | Ret | 10 | DNS | 7 | 0 | ||||
— | Maserati | DNQ | 8 | Ret | WD | WD | 15 | DNS | 0 | |
— | Cooper-Borgward | 10 | 0 | |||||||
— | JBW-Maserati | Ret | 0 | |||||||
— | Vanwall | Ret | 0 | |||||||
— | Kurtis Kraft-Offy | Ret | 0 | |||||||
— | Cooper-OSCA | Ret | 0 | |||||||
— | Tec-Mec-Maserati | Ret | 0 | |||||||
— | Connaught-Alta | WD | Ret | 0 | ||||||
— | Fry-Climax | DNQ | 0 | |||||||
Pos. | Manufacturer | MON | NED | FRA | GBR | GER | POR | ITA | USA | Pts. |
- 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.
Race Name | Circuit | Date | Winning driver | Constructor | Report |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
VII Glover Trophy | Goodwood | March 30 | Stirling Moss | Cooper-Climax | Report |
XIV BARC Aintree 200 | Aintree | April 18 | Jean Behra | Ferrari | Report |
XI BRDC International Trophy | Silverstone | May 2 | Jack Brabham | Cooper-Climax | Report |
VI International Gold Cup | Oulton Park | September 26 | Stirling Moss | Cooper-Climax | Report |
IV Silver City Trophy | Snetterton | October 10 | Ron Flockhart | BRM | Report |
Notes[]
Formula One World Championship seasons | ||
1950 • 1951 • 1952 • 1953 • 1954 • 1955 • 1956 • 1957 • 1958 • 1959 • 1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 • 1970 • 1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 • 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 • 2018 • 2019 • 2020 • 2021 • 2022 • 2023 |
This page uses some content from Wikipedia. The original article was at 1959 Formula One season. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Autopedia, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License. |