1959 Italian Grand Prix

The 1959 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on 13 September 1959. It was race 8 of 9 in the 1959 World Championship of Drivers and race 7 of 8 in the 1959 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. It was the 29th Italian Grand Prix and the 24th to be held at Monza. The race was held over 72 laps of the five-kilometre circuit for a total race distance of 414 kilometres.

1959 Italian Grand Prix
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Race details
Date 13 September 1959
Official name XXX Gran Premio d'Italia
Location Autodromo Nazionale di Monza
Monza, Italy
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 5.750 km (3.573 miles)
Distance 72 laps, 414.000 km (257.256 miles)
Weather Dry and sunny
Pole position
Driver Cooper-Climax
Time 1:39.7
Fastest lap
Driver United States Phil Hill Ferrari
Time 1:40.4
Podium
First Cooper-Climax
Second Ferrari
Third Cooper-Climax
Lap leaders

The race was won by British driver Stirling Moss driving a Cooper T51 for the privateer Rob Walker Racing Team. Moss won by 46 seconds over American driver Phil Hill driving a Ferrari Dino 246 for Scuderia Ferrari. Championship points leader Australian Jack Brabham finished third in works entered Cooper T51, expanding his points lead, but not sufficiently to prevent a championship showdown with Moss and Ferrari driver Tony Brooks at the United States Grand Prix.

Race report edit

This race was won on the weight of the cars, with Stirling Moss and team manager Rob Walker gambling on running the whole race without a tyre change in the little lightweight Cooper – although they substituted knock-on wheels for bolt-ons in case a pit stop was necessary.[citation needed] Stirling drove a careful race, relying on the Ferrari crew needing to pit.[citation needed] Tony Brooks made a good start but a piston failure eliminated him on the first lap. Graham Hill and then Dan Gurney led, but lost their advantages through clumsy pit-stop action.[citation needed] Moss continued to win at an average speed of 124 mph, a track record.[citation needed] Phil Hill was second for Ferrari on their home track, ahead of a Ferrari 4–5–6 in the order Gurney, Cliff Allison and Olivier Gendebien.

Moss's win closed the championship gap to only 5.5 points behind Jack Brabham with Brooks eight points behind Brabham. The combined efforts of Brabham, Moss, Maurice Trintignant, Bruce McLaren and Masten Gregory secured the Constructors' Championship for the Cooper Car Company.

Classification edit

Qualifying edit

Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap
1 14   Stirling Moss Cooper-Climax 1:39.7
2 30   Tony Brooks Ferrari 1:39.8 +0.1
3 12   Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax 1:40.2 +0.5
4 36   Dan Gurney Ferrari 1:40.8 +1.1
5 32   Phil Hill Ferrari 1:41.2 +1.5
6 38   Olivier Gendebien Ferrari 1:41.4 +1.7
7 2   Harry Schell BRM 1:41.6 +1.9
8 34   Cliff Allison Ferrari 1:41.8 +2.1
9 8   Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 1:42.0 +2.3
10 18   Graham Hill Lotus-Climax 1:42.9 +3.2
11 6   Jo Bonnier BRM 1:43.1 +3.4
12 10   Giorgio Scarlatti Cooper-Climax 1:43.3 +3.6
13 16   Maurice Trintignant Cooper-Climax 1:43.4 +3.7
14 20   Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax 1:43.5 +3.8
15 4   Ron Flockhart BRM 1:43.6 +3.9
16 42   Ian Burgess Cooper-Maserati 1:44.6 +4.9
17 24   Roy Salvadori Aston Martin 1:44.7 +5.0
18 40   Colin Davis Cooper-Maserati 1:44.9 +5.2
19 26   Carroll Shelby Aston Martin 1:46.4 +6.7
20 22   Jack Fairman Cooper-Maserati 1:49.4 +9.7
21 28   Giulio Cabianca Maserati 1:51.5 +11.8
Source:[1]

Race edit

Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 14   Stirling Moss Cooper-Climax 72 2:04:05.4 1 8
2 32   Phil Hill Ferrari 72 + 46.7 5 71
3 12   Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax 72 + 1:12.5 3 4
4 36   Dan Gurney Ferrari 72 + 1:19.6 4 3
5 34   Cliff Allison Ferrari 71 + 1 Lap 8 2
6 38   Olivier Gendebien Ferrari 71 + 1 Lap 6  
7 2   Harry Schell BRM 70 + 2 Laps 7  
8 6   Jo Bonnier BRM 70 + 2 Laps 11  
9 16   Maurice Trintignant Cooper-Climax 70 + 2 Laps 13  
10 26   Carroll Shelby Aston Martin 70 + 2 Laps 19  
11 40   Colin Davis Cooper-Maserati 68 + 4 Laps 18  
12 10   Giorgio Scarlatti Cooper-Climax 68 + 4 Laps 12  
13 4   Ron Flockhart BRM 67 + 5 Laps 15  
14 42   Ian Burgess Cooper-Maserati 67 + 5 Laps 16  
15 28   Giulio Cabianca Maserati 64 + 8 Laps 21  
Ret 24   Roy Salvadori Aston Martin 44 Engine 17  
Ret 8   Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 22 Engine 9  
Ret 22   Jack Fairman Cooper-Maserati 18 Engine 20  
Ret 20   Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax 14 Brakes 14  
Ret 18   Graham Hill Lotus-Climax 1 Clutch 10  
Ret 30   Tony Brooks Ferrari 0 Clutch 2  
Source:[2]
Notes
  • ^1 – Includes 1 point for fastest lap

Championship standings after the race edit

  • Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. Only the best 5 results counted towards each championship. Numbers without parentheses are championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

References edit

  1. ^ "1959 Italian GP". ChicaneF1.com. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  2. ^ "1959 Italian Grand Prix". Formula1.com. Archived from the original on 17 February 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Italy 1959 – Championship". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 1 March 2019.


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