The 1959 Formula One season was the 13th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 10th World Championship of Drivers, the second International Cup for F1 Manufacturers and five non-championship Formula One races. The World Championship was contested over nine races between 10 May and 12 December 1959.
At the beginning of the year, there were no world champions on the grid. Five-time champion Juan Manuel Fangio had retired after the previous season.
The 1958 champion Mike Hawthorn was unable to defend his title, having retired from the sport, but also having been killed in a road accident.
Going into the final race, there were three drivers that could clinch their first championship. Jack Brabham driving for Cooper ran out of fuel but pushed his car over the line to win his first Drivers' Championship. He was the first Australian champion. Cooper also won their first Manufacturers' title.
Two F1 drivers lost their lives in racing accidents. Firstly, Jean Behra raced in the sports car race that preceded the 1959 German Grand Prix at AVUS. Rain had been falling and the track was slippery. After two teammates had already crashed, Behra's Porsche 718 RSK went over the top of the 43 degree banked turn and he incurred a skull fracture when he struck a flagpole with his head.Jean Behra Killed In Race Crack-Up, New York Times, August 2, 1959, Page S1. And Ivor Bueb crashed his BRP Formula Two car at the Charade Circuit. He was thrown from the car and died six days later in hospital.
Teams and drivers The following teams and drivers competed in the 1959 FIA World Championship.
Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Tyre Driver Rounds Dr Ing F. Porsche KG Behra-Porsche-Porsche RSK Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4 Maria Teresa de Filippis 1 Porsche 718 RSK718/2 Wolfgang von Trips 1, 6 Equipe Nationale Belge Cooper-Climax T51 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Lucien Bianchi 1 Alain de Changy 1 Jean Lucienbonnet Cooper-Climax T45 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Jean Lucienbonnet 1 Owen Racing Organisation BRM P25 BRM P25 2.5 L4 Harry Schell 1, 3–8 Jo Bonnier 1, 3–8 Ron Flockhart 1, 4–5, 7–8 Cooper Car Company Cooper-Climax T51 Climax FPF 2.5 L4 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-Climax T51 Climax FPF 2.5 L4 Stirling Moss 1, 3, 6–9 Maurice Trintignant 1, 3–9 British Racing Partnership BRM P25 BRM P25 2.5 L4 Stirling Moss 4–5 Hans Herrmann 6 Cooper-Climax T51 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Ivor Bueb 1 Cooper-Borgward Borgward 1500 RS 1.5 L4 5 Chris Bristow 5 High Efficiency Motors Cooper-Maserati T45 Maserati 250S 2.5 L4 Roy Salvadori 1, 4, 9 Jack Fairman 8 Cooper-Climax T45 Climax FPF 2.5 L4 5 Team Lotus Lotus-Climax 16 Climax FPF 2.5 L4 Graham Hill 1, 3–8 Pete Lovely 1 Innes Ireland 3–4, 6–9 Alan Stacey 5, 9 John Fisher Lotus-Climax 16 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Bruce Halford 1 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 246156 Ferrari 155 2.4 V6Ferrari D156 1.5 V6 Jean Behra 1, 3–4 Phil Hill 1, 3–4, 6–9 Tony Brooks 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 Giorgio Scarlatti 1, 4 Carel Godin de Beaufort 4 Monte Carlo Auto Sport Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 André Testut 1 David Brown Corporation Aston Martin DBR4 Aston Martin RB6 2.5 L6 Roy Salvadori 3, 5, 7–8 Carroll Shelby 3, 5, 7–8 Ecurie Maarsbergen Porsche 718 RSK Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4 Carel Godin de Beaufort 3 Scuderia Centro Sud Cooper-Maserati T51 Maserati 250S 2.5 L4 Ian Burgess 4–6, 8 Colin Davis 4, 8 Hans Herrmann 5 Mario Araujo de Cabral 7 Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 Asdrúbal Fontes Bayardo 4 Fritz d'Orey 4–5 Vandervell Products Vanwall VW 59 Vanwall 254 2.5 L4 Tony Brooks 5 J.B. Naylor JBW-Maserati 59 Maserati 250S 2.5 L4 Brian Naylor 5 Ace Garage – Rotherham Cooper-Climax T51 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Trevor Taylor 5 Alan Brown Equipe Cooper-Climax T45 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Mike Taylor 5 Peter Ashdown 5 Gilby Engineering Cooper-Climax T43 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Keith Greene 5 United Racing Stable Cooper-Climax T51 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Bill Moss 5 R.H.H. Parnell Cooper-Climax T51T45 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Henry Taylor 5 Tim Parnell 5 David Fry Fry-Climax F2 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Mike Parkes 5 Dennis Taylor Lotus-Climax 12 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Dennis Taylor 5 Dorchester Service Station Lotus-Climax 16 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 David Piper 5 Jean Behra Behra-Porsche-Porsche RSK Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4 Jean Behra 6 Ottorino Volonterio Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 Giulio Cabianca 8 Leader Cards Inc. Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser Midget Offenhauser 1.7 L4 Rodger Ward 9 OSCA Automobili Cooper-OSCA T43 OSCA 2.0 L4 Alejandro de Tomaso 9 Camoradi USA Tec-Mec-Maserati F415 Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 Fritz d'Orey 9 Taylor-Crawley Racing Team Cooper-Climax T45 Climax FPF 2.5 L4 George Constantine 9 Blanchard Automobile Co. Porsche 718 RSK Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4 Harry Blanchard 9 Connaught Cars-Paul Emery Connaught-Alta C Alta GP 2.5 L4 Bob Said 9 Ecurie Bleue Cooper-Climax T51 Climax FPF 2.5 L4 Harry Schell 9 Phil Cade Maserati 250F Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 Phil Cade 9
Note: The above list does not reflect competitors in the 1959 Indianapolis 500.
Team and driver changes
Vanwall owner Tony Vandervell's health declined, which meant was their last full season. The team would enter a handful of races in the following years, of which just one in 1959. Ex-driver Stirling Moss moved to Rob Walker Racing Team, racing a private Cooper. Scuderia Ferrari started the season with a fresh line-up: 1958 champion Mike Hawthorn had retired from racing, Wolfgang von Trips moved to the new Porsche works team, and Olivier Gendebien went to focus on sports car and endurance racing. Joining the team were Jean Behra from BRM, Tony Brooks from Vanwall, and Cliff Allison from Lotus. After trying out their mid-engine 1500cc Porsche 550A and Porsche 718 sports cars with closed bodywork in a couple of proper Formula Two races and in the 1957 German Grand Prix that combined F1 and F2, the Porsche works team entered their cars in a proper F1 race despite having no 2500cc engine, just he 1500cc Porsche 547 engine "Fuhrmann" four cylinder. This year, it would only be the Monaco Grand Prix, and in 1960, just the Italian Grand Prix. After that, however, with 1500cc F2 becoming the F1 capacity limit in 1961, they would go for two full-time seasons. Lotus replaced Cliff Allison with Pete Lovely. Cooper signed Masten Gregory to replace Roy Salvadori, who found a part-time seat at the new Aston Martin works team. He was joined by Carroll Shelby, who had made his debut in 1958 as Gregory's teammate at several private Maserati teams.
Mid-season changes
After two disappointing results, most notable his failure to qualify for the Monaco Grand Prix, Lotus driver Pete Lovely was sacked and replaced by successful sports car driver Innes Ireland. (After one more attempt in , Lovely would wait until to make his return with money from his Volkswagen dealership.) Ireland was replaced by Alan Stacey in the British Grand Prix due to illness. After two races, Stirling Moss moved from Rob Walker Racing Team to BRP. After another two races, he moved back. Jean Behra was sacked by Scuderia Ferrari after the French Grand Prix as a result of punching team manager Romolo Tavoni and another patron at a restaurant when a discussion got heated. Behra would race for the works Porsche, in which he had also taken up a managing role. However, he crashed his Porsche 718 RSK in the sports car race that supported the German Grand Prix at Berlin AVUS. His car went over the top of the banked corner and Behra incurred a skull fracture when he struck a flagpole with his head. Porsche withdrew the team for the remainder of the season. During the German Grand Prix, BRP driver Hans Herrmann lost his brakes and had a spectacular crash. He was thrown out and slid along the track while his car somersaulted multiple times. BRP withdrew the team for the remainder of the season. Hermann's teammate Ivor Bueb died when he crashed during a Formula Two race at the Charade Circuit. Cooper driver Masten Gregory missed the last two races because of an accident in another championship. He jumped out of his Jaguar before the impact, but sustained a broken leg and shoulder in his fall. Maserati driver Giorgio Scarlatti substituted for him in the Italian Grand Prix.
Calendar Round Grand Prix Circuit Date 1 Monaco Grand Prix Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo 10 May 2 Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway 30 May 3 Dutch Grand Prix Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort 31 May 4 French Grand Prix Reims-Gueux, Gueux 5 July 5 British Grand Prix Aintree Motor Racing Circuit, Merseyside 18 July 6 German Grand Prix AVUS, Berlin 2 August 7 Portuguese Grand Prix Monsanto Park Circuit, Lisbon 23 August 8 Italian Grand Prix Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza 13 September 9 United States Grand Prix Sebring International Raceway, Highlands County, Florida 12 December
Calendar changes The United States Grand Prix was organised for the first time: Sebring International Raceway hosted the season finale on 12 December. The British Grand Prix was moved from Silverstone to Aintree, in keeping with the event-sharing arrangement between the two circuits. The German Grand Prix was moved from the Nürburgring to AVUS. The Portuguese Grand Prix was moved from Circuito da Boavista to Monsanto Park Circuit. The Argentine Grand Prix was originally scheduled for 25 January but was cancelled after local heroes Juan Manuel Fangio and Jose Froilan Gonzalez had retired and local interest faded. The Belgian Grand Prix was originally scheduled for 14 June, but it was cancelled due to a dispute over start money. The Moroccan Grand Prix was originally scheduled for 1 October but it was cancelled because of monetary reasons.
Championship report Rounds 1 to 4 With the Argentine Grand Prix gone, the season began at the latest point in the year since , with the Monaco Grand Prix on 10 May 1959. Jean Behra for Ferrari, Jack Brabham for Cooper and Stirling Moss, driving a Cooper for Rob Walker, were fighting for pole position. It was Moss who set the fastest time in the end, with Behra and Brabham within half a second in second and third. On race day, Behra had the best start and went round the outside of Moss through the first hairpin. The lone works Porsche, driven by Wolfgang von Trips, spun on some oil on the second lap and was collected by three other drivers. The leading trio were nose-to-tail until, on lap 22, Behra's Ferrari developed an oil leak and retired. At half distance, only eight cars were left running, with Moss at a sizeable lead over Brabham and Tony Brooks, third in the championship last year. On lap 81, however, Moss sensed a vibration and visited the pits. Nothing was visibly wrong, so he rejoined in the lead, but later that lap, his transmission failed and his race was over. This left Brabham (Cooper) to claim his first career podium and win, 20 seconds ahead of Brooks (Ferrari) and two laps ahead of veteran racer and last year's Monaco winner Maurice Trintignant (Cooper).
The Indianapolis 500 saw Rodger Ward take his first of two career victories. There was no overlap between the Indy 500 and F1 drivers. It would be the penultimate year in which the race counted towards the F1 championship.