1960 Formula One season

The 1960 Formula One season was the 14th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 11th World Championship of Drivers, the third International Cup for F1 Manufacturers and five non-championship Formula One races. The World Championship was contested over ten races between 7 February and 20 November 1960.

Jack Brabham driving for Cooper won his second consecutive Drivers' Championship. Cooper secured their second consecutive Manufacturers' title.

It was the last year of the 2.5 litre formula, the FIA mandating 1.5 litre engines from on. Rear-engined cars (from Cooper, Lotus, Porsche and BRM) were distinctly more successful than the front-engined designs (from Ferrari, Scarab and Aston Martin). Ferrari did win their home race when the British teams boycotted the event, opposing the organisers' decision to use the banked circuit. It was the last victory for a front-engined car in a World Championship race.

It was also the last season to include the Indianapolis 500.

Three drivers died in racing accidents: American Harry Schell during practice for the 1960 BRDC International Trophy, and Britons Chris Bristow and Alan Stacey, both killed at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.

Teams and drivers The following teams and drivers competed in the 1960 FIA World Championship. All teams competed with tyres supplied by Dunlop.

Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Driver Rounds Camoradi International Behra-Porsche-Porsche RSK Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4 Masten Gregory 1 Fred Gamble 9 Scuderia Centro Sud Cooper-Maserati T51 Maserati 250S 2.5 L4 Roberto Bonomi 1 Carlos Menditeguy 1 Masten Gregory 2, 4, 6–8 Ian Burgess 2, 6–7, 10 Maurice Trintignant 2, 4, 6, 10 Mário de Araújo Cabral 8 Alfonso Thiele 9 Wolfgang von Trips 10 Giorgio Scarlatti Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 Giorgio Scarlatti 1 Nasif Estéfano Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 Nasif Estéfano 1 Antonio Creus Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 Antonio Creus 1 Gino Munaron Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 Gino Munaron 1 Cooper Car Company Cooper-Climax T51T53 Climax FPF 2.5 L4 Bruce McLaren 1–2, 4–8, 10 Jack Brabham 1–2, 4–8, 10 Chuck Daigh 7 Ron Flockhart 10 Team Lotus Lotus-Climax 1816 Climax FPF 2.5 L4 Innes Ireland 1–2, 4–8, 10 Alan Stacey 1–2, 4–5 Alberto Rodríguez Larreta 1 John Surtees 2, 7–8, 10 Jim Clark 4–8, 10 Ron Flockhart 6 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 246 Ferrari 155 2.4 V6 Cliff Allison 1–2 Phil Hill 1–2, 4–9 Wolfgang von Trips 1–2, 4–8 José Froilán González 1 Richie Ginther 4, 9 Willy Mairesse 5–6, 9 246 P Ferrari 171 2.4 V6 Richie Ginther 2 Ferrari 1.5 V6 Wolfgang von Trips 9 Ecurie Bleue Cooper-Climax T51 Climax FPF 2.2 L4 Harry Schell 1 R.R.C. Walker Racing Team Lotus-Climax 18 Climax FPF 2.5 L4 Stirling Moss 2, 4–5, 8, 10 Cooper-Climax T51 1 Maurice Trintignant 1 Lance Reventlow 7 Owen Racing Organisation BRM P25P48 BRM P25 2.5 L4 Jo Bonnier 1–2, 4–8, 10 Graham Hill 1–2, 4–8, 10 Dan Gurney 2, 4–8, 10 Ettore Chimeri Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 Ettore Chimeri 1 Fred Tuck CarsCooper-ClimaxT51Climax FPF 2.5 L4 Bruce Halford 2 Lucien Bianchi 6–7 High Efficiency Motors C.T. AtkinsCooper-ClimaxT51Climax FPF 2.5 L4 Roy Salvadori 2, 10 Jack Fairman 7 Yeoman Credit Racing Team Cooper-Climax T51 Climax FPF 2.5 L4 Chris Bristow 2, 4–5 Tony Brooks 2, 4–5, 7–8, 10 Henry Taylor 4, 6–8, 10 Olivier Gendebien 5–8, 10 Bruce Halford 6 Phil Hill 10 J.B. Naylor JBW-Maserati 59 Maserati 250S 2.5 L4 Brian Naylor 2, 7, 9–10 Scuderia Eugenio Castellotti Cooper-Castellotti T51 Castellotti 2.5 L4 Gino Munaron 6–7, 9 Giorgio Scarlatti 2, 9 Giulio Cabianca 9 Reventlow Automobiles Inc. Scarab F1 Scarab 2.5 L4 Chuck Daigh 2, 4–6, 10 Lance Reventlow 2, 4–5 Richie Ginther 6 David Brown Corporation Aston Martin DBR4DBR5 Aston Martin RB6 2.5 L6 Roy Salvadori 4, 7 Maurice Trintignant 7 Ecurie Maarsbergen Cooper-Climax T51 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Carel Godin de Beaufort 4 Taylor-Crawley Racing Team Lotus-Climax 18 Climax FPF 2.5 L4 Mike Taylor 5 Equipe Nationale Belge Cooper-Climax T45 Climax FPF 2.5 L4 Lucien Bianchi 5 Vandervell Products Vanwall VW 11 Vanwall 254 2.5 L4 Tony Brooks 6 Robert Bodle Ltd Lotus-Climax 16 Climax FPF 2.5 L4 David Piper 6–7 Gilby Engineering Cooper-Maserati T45 Maserati 250S 2.5 L4 Keith Greene 7 Arthur Owen Cooper-Climax T45 Climax FPF 2.2 L4 Arthur Owen 9 Wolfgang Seidel Cooper-Climax T45 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Wolfgang Seidel 9 Scuderia Colonia Cooper-Climax T43 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Piero Drogo 9 H.H. Gould Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 Horace Gould 9 Dr Ing F. Porsche KG Porsche System Engineering Porsche 718/2 Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4 Edgar Barth 9 Hans Herrmann 9 Equipe Prideaux/Dick Gibson Cooper-Climax T43 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Vic Wilson 9 Joe Lubin Maserati 250F Maserati 250S 2.5 L4 Bob Drake 10 Jim Hall Lotus-Climax 18 Climax FPF 2.5 L4 Jim Hall 10 Fred Armbruster Cooper-Ferrari T51 Ferrari 107 2.5 L4 Pete Lovely 10

Note: The above table does not include drivers who only contested the World Championship race at Indianapolis and does not include teams that only contested that race.

Team and driver changes

Ferrari's Dan Gurney moved to BRM and Tony Brooks moved to BRP (racing under Yeoman Credit Racing). Wolfgang von Trips was hired as their full-time driver for 1960. At BRP, Brooks would be partnered by Harry Schell from the second round on, were it not for the American's fatal accident during the 1960 BRDC International Trophy. Graham Hill moved from Lotus to BRM, so Colin Chapman hired John Surtees. The Brit was a very successful motorcycle racing driver, just switching to racing cars for the first time, but he would become a Formula One champion within five years. Carroll Shelby had driven for Aston Martin in Formula One and had won the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans with largely the same team, but retired from driving in 1960. He opened a high-performance driving school and, later, the Shelby American company to create the famous AC Cobra sports car. Lance Reventlow brought a new constructor to the grid: Scarab. Chuck Daigh and Reventlow himself were the drivers. The front-engined cars turned out to be unreliable and off the pace compared to their rear-engined rivals, and 1960 would be their only season.

Mid-season changes

Ferrari driver Cliff Allison suffered a major crash while practising for the Monaco Grand Prix, and it took him almost the rest of the year to recover from his injuries. He had slammed into a straw barrier and sustained a broken left arm, rib fractures, facial cuts, and a concussion.British Driver Is Injured in Monte Carlo Crash, The New York Times, 28 May 1960, Page 16. Later in the year, Belgian Willy Mairesse made his debut with the team. Alongside Innes Ireland and Alan Stacey, John Surtees made his debut with Lotus, but because of his commitments in the Isle of Man TT, their Formula Junior driver Jim Clark was promoted to the third F1 seat. When Surtees returned, both Clark and he became permanent drivers, since Stacey had suffered a tragic fatal accident earlier, in the Belgian Grand Prix. Chris Bristow was also killed in the Belgian Grand Prix. His seat at BRP was taken up by Henry Taylor and Olivier Gendebien. Together, they had already shared the second and third cars in the team. Taylor would later injure his arm in a heavy crash during practice for the Portuguese Grand Prix. Mike Taylor crashed during practice for the Belgian Grand Prix. The steering column weld failed and the car went off track. He was thrown out of the car and actually cut down a tree with his body. He broke several bones and was paralysed but was able to regain the ability to walk through therapy. He later successfully sued Lotus for supplying the faulty chassis. Finally, Stirling Moss was injured as well during practice for the Belgian Grand Prix. He missed three races during his recovery.

Calendar Round Grand Prix Circuit Date 1 Argentine Grand Prix Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires 7 February 2 Monaco Grand Prix Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo 29 May 3 Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway 30 May 4 Dutch Grand Prix Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort 6 June 5 Belgian Grand Prix Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot 19 June 6 French Grand Prix Reims-Gueux, Gueux 3 July 7 British Grand Prix Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone 16 July 8 Portuguese Grand Prix Circuito da Boavista, Porto 14 August 9 Italian Grand Prix Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza 4 September 10 United States Grand Prix Riverside International Raceway, California 20 November

Calendar changes The Argentine Grand Prix returned to the calendar. The 1959 race was cancelled after local heroes Juan Manuel Fangio and José Froilán González had retired and local interest faded. The Belgian Grand Prix returned to the calendar, after the 1959 race had been cancelled because of a dispute over start money. The British Grand Prix was moved from Aintree to Silverstone, in keeping with the event-sharing arrangement between the two circuits. Likewise, the Portuguese Grand Prix was moved from Circuito de Monsanto to Circuito da Boavista. The United States Grand Prix was moved from Sebring to Riverside due to the promoters at Sebring barely breaking even in profits. The German Grand Prix was supposed to be held on the AVUS circuit in Berlin but was run as a Formula Two race at the Nürburgring, instead, due to safety concerns at AVUS.David Hayhoe, Formula 1: The Knowledge – 2nd Edition, 2021, page 35. The Moroccan Grand Prix was originally scheduled for 1 October but it was cancelled due to monetary reasons.

Regulation changes The points-scoring system was changed, with the point for the fastest lap being dropped and a point given for sixth place. The best six scores counted towards the championship, increased from five from the previous season.

Championship report Race 1: Argentina The teams came down to Argentina from Europe in February to start the 1960 season, having competed at the last round of the 1959 championship in Sebring, Florida, in the United States only two months previously. Stirling Moss was on pole position in Buenos Aires in his Rob Walker Cooper-Climax with Team Lotus driver Innes Ireland alongside, although he had been 1.6 seconds slower in qualifying. Completing the four-person front row were the BRMs of Hill and Jo Bonnier. The Lotus team had come out with an all-new mid-engined car, the 18, and were expected to be competitive.

At the start, Ireland made a fantastic start and had a good lead at the end of the first lap over Bonnier, Graham Hill, and Phil Hill (no relation to Graham), who had started from the second row in his Ferrari Dino 246. Moss made a poor start and was eighth at the end of the first lap. On the second lap, Ireland spun, and as he was doing this, Moss was driving a blinding lap, passing the Cooper of Carlos Menditeguy, Froilan Gonzalez's Ferrari, Jack Brabham's Cooper, Phil Hill's Ferrari, and Ireland's Lotus to run third behind Graham Hill and Bonnier. Moss passed Hill on lap ten and took the lead from Bonnier five laps later. The recovering Ireland also made dramatic progress, passing Brabham and Graham Hill to run third on lap 18. Bonnier attacked Moss for the lead and retook it on lap 21, but 15 laps later, Stirling was back ahead. On lap 42. he went out with a broken suspension. Bonnier was left nearly a lap ahead of everyone. Ireland was promoted to second, but both Graham Hill and Brabham retired, so Bruce McLaren was third. With 12 laps to go, Bonnier suffered engine trouble, and Ireland went into the lead only to have his gear-linkage jam, so he too slipped back, leaving McLaren to win. Cliff Allison was second for Ferrari, while Moss took over Maurice Trintignant's car to take third.

Race 2: Monaco