The
1959 United States Grand Prix was a
Formula OneFormula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
race held on December 12, 1959 at Sebring International Raceway.
__FORCETOC__
Summary
RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n-born Alec Ulmann's dream of an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Grand Prix was realized in December, 1959 when 19 entries, including six American drivers, arrived in
FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
for the final World Championship event of the season. Originally scheduled as the year's opening round, the now season-concluding Sebring race saw the Championship down to
CooperThe Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...
versus
FerrariScuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....
.
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n
Jack BrabhamSir John Arthur "Jack" Brabham, AO, OBE is an Australian former racing driver who was Formula One champion in , and . He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name....
led for Cooper with 31 points to 25.5 for
Stirling MossSir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE FIE is a former racing driver from England...
, also in a Cooper, and 23 for Ferrari driver
Tony BrooksCharles Anthony Standish Brooks is a British former racing driver from England also known as the "racing dentist"...
.
The field featured works Coopers for Brabham and 22-year-old
Bruce McLarenBruce Leslie McLaren , born in Auckland, New Zealand, was a race-car designer, driver, engineer and inventor....
of
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
; blue
Rob WalkerRob Walker Racing Team was a privateer team in Formula One during the 1950s and 1960s. Founded by Johnnie Walker heir Rob Walker in 1953, the team became F1's most successful privateer in history, being the first and last entrant to win a Formula One Grand Prix, without ever building their own...
-entered Coopers for Moss and
FrenchmanThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Maurice TrintignantMaurice Bienvenu Jean Paul Trintignant was a motor racing driver and vintner from France. He competed in the Formula One World Championship for fourteen years, between 1950 and 1964, one of the longest careers in the early years of F1...
; four Ferraris—three in
ItalianItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
red for
EnglishmenEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Brooks and
Cliff AllisonHenry Clifford Allison was a racing driver who participated in Formula One during seasons to for the Lotus, Scuderia Centro Sud, Ferrari and UDT Laystall teams....
, and
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Wolfgang von Trips; one in American white and blue for
Phil HillPhilip Toll Hill, Jr., was a United States automobile racer and the only American-born driver to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship. Hill was described as a "thoughtful, gentle man" and once said, "I'm in the wrong business. I don't want to beat anybody, I don't want to be the big hero...
; front-engined
LotusesTeam Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...
for
Innes IrelandRobert McGregor Innes Ireland , was a British military officer, engineer, and motor racing driver. He was a larger-than-life character who, according to a rival team boss, "lived without sense, without an analyst and provoked astonishment and affection from everyone."Ireland was born on 12 June...
and
Alan StaceyAlan Stacey , was a British racing driver. He began his association with Lotus when he built one of the MkVI kits then being offered by the company. Having raced this car he went on to build an Eleven, eventually campaigning it at Le Mans under the Team Lotus umbrella...
; and, incomprehensibly for the European road-racing elite, the number 1 Kurtis-Offy Midget of
USACThe United States Auto Club is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, the USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapolis 500...
National Champion
Rodger WardRodger M. Ward was an American racecar driver who won the 1959 and 1962 Indianapolis 500. He also was the 1959 and 1962 USAC Championship Car champion.-Early history:...
, the only American-built and American-driven entry.
Ward's car had an underpowered engine (1.7 liters to 2.5 for the F1 cars), separate gear-change levers for the two-speed gearbox and two-speed rear end, and an outboard handbrake! Ward explained how his participation in the race came about by saying, "Ullman called me up and invited me to race in the Grand Prix. He offered me some money, and I was in the habit of accepting money, so I told him I'd bring the midget."
Qualifying ended with Moss, Brabham and Brooks on the front row, but, overnight, American
Harry SchellHarry O'Reilly Schell was an American Grand Prix motor racing driver.-Early life:...
was given third position, next to Moss and Brabham. The 3:05.2 lap that got Schell on the front row apparently had
come at the tail end of the session, and had gone unnoticed by almost everyone; his best time previously had been 3:11.2, good enough for 11th.
Moss led the race from the start and built a gap of ten seconds over Brabham, but after only five laps he retired with a broken gearbox. Already out of the running for the title was Brooks, who had been bumped off the front row by Schell's qualifying ruse. Brooks was rammed from behind by teammate von Trips in the first turn, and pitted to examine the damage. The stop cost him two minutes, and proved to be unnecessary. Though he rejoined to drive a sensational race and finish third, he never had a realistic shot at Brabham.
Brabham took the lead from Moss while his teammate McLaren followed in second for most of the race. Midway through, with half the field out due to mechanical problems, Brabham slowed to allow McLaren to close up to him, and Trintignant's Rob Walker Cooper began taking huge bites off their lead, as his pit crew kept him informed of his position.
As the last lap began, Trintignant was only four seconds behind the two leaders. On the long airport straight, two turns from the finish, Brabham's car began to sputter, and it rolled to a halt 400 yards from the line on the uphill front straight, out of gas. He had refused to follow Team Manager Cooper's exhortations to start the race on full tanks, hoping instead to find more speed from a lighter car. McLaren, surprised to see Brabham slowing, lifted his foot and slowed as well. Brabham waved him on frantically, and McLaren resumed speed just soon enough to hold his lead through the last turn and cross the line less than a second ahead of Trintignant, who had set the race's fastest lap only three laps from the end.
Brabham was also passed by Brooks for third place, but the final three cars still running were several laps behind. The rules required that he finish without assistance, so he got out and pushed his car up the hill to finish fourth and earn his first World Driver's Championship, the first for an Australian driver. Cooper also claimed its first Constructor's Championship, the first for a rear-engined car. Brooks' third place gave Ferrari second place in the Constructor's Championship; Innes Ireland was fifth, three laps down in his Lotus, and Wolfgang von Trips ended up sixth after his Ferrari's engine gave way with four laps to go. With his victory, McLaren became the youngest ever Grand Prix winner at age 22 years, 104 days. In addition to his prize money, he also won several acres of land adjoining Sebring Lake!
Despite the exciting finish of the race and the Championship, however, the United States Grand Prix at Sebring was a financial disaster. The crowd was half the size of that year's
12 Hours of SebringThe 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, a former Army Air Force base in Sebring, Florida...
sports car race, and after distributing the $15,000 purse, including a huge $6,000 winner's share, Alec Ulmann just about broke even. The next year, he would try again, on the opposite coast, in
Riverside, CaliforniaRiverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
.
Classification
| Pos |
No |
Driver |
Constructor |
Laps |
Time/Retired |
Grid |
Points |
| 1 |
9 |
 Bruce McLarenBruce Leslie McLaren , born in Auckland, New Zealand, was a race-car designer, driver, engineer and inventor....
|
CooperThe Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...
-ClimaxCoventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H...
|
42 |
2:12:35.7 |
10 |
8 |
| 2 |
6 |
 Maurice TrintignantMaurice Bienvenu Jean Paul Trintignant was a motor racing driver and vintner from France. He competed in the Formula One World Championship for fourteen years, between 1950 and 1964, one of the longest careers in the early years of F1...
|
CooperThe Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...
-ClimaxCoventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H...
|
42 |
+ 0.6 |
5 |
7 |
| 3 |
2 |
Tony BrooksCharles Anthony Standish Brooks is a British former racing driver from England also known as the "racing dentist"...
|
Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....
|
42 |
+ 3:00.9 |
4 |
4 |
| 4 |
8 |
 Jack BrabhamSir John Arthur "Jack" Brabham, AO, OBE is an Australian former racing driver who was Formula One champion in , and . He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name....
|
CooperThe Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...
-ClimaxCoventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H...
|
42 |
+ 4:57.3 |
2 |
3 |
| 5 |
10 |
Innes Ireland Robert McGregor Innes Ireland , was a British military officer, engineer, and motor racing driver. He was a larger-than-life character who, according to a rival team boss, "lived without sense, without an analyst and provoked astonishment and affection from everyone."Ireland was born on 12 June...
|
Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...
-ClimaxCoventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H...
|
39 |
+ 3 Laps |
9 |
2 |
| 6 |
4 |
 Wolfgang von Trips |
Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....
|
38 |
Engine |
6 |
|
| 7 |
17 |
 Harry BlanchardHarry Blanchard was an American racecar driver.His only Grand Prix appearance came at the wheel of a Porsche RSK Formula 2 car in the first US Grand Prix at Sebring in 1959. He finished seventh and last, four laps behind the winner Bruce McLaren...
|
Porsche |
38 |
+ 4 Laps |
16 |
|
| Ret |
3 |
Cliff Allison Henry Clifford Allison was a racing driver who participated in Formula One during seasons to for the Lotus, Scuderia Centro Sud, Ferrari and UDT Laystall teams....
|
Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....
|
23 |
Transmission |
11 |
|
| Ret |
12 |
Roy Salvadori Roy Francesco Salvadori is a former motor racing driver and manager from England. He participated in 50 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 12 July 1952, and achieved two podiums, scoring a total of 19 Championship points.During a varied career he also won the 24 Hours of Le...
|
CooperThe Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...
-MaseratiMaserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...
|
23 |
Transmission |
11 |
|
| Ret |
1 |
Rodger WardRodger M. Ward was an American racecar driver who won the 1959 and 1962 Indianapolis 500. He also was the 1959 and 1962 USAC Championship Car champion.-Early history:...
|
Kurtis Kraft Kurtis Kraft was a designer and builder of race cars. The company was founded by Frank Kurtis.Kurtis Kraft designed and built midget cars, quartermidgets, sports cars, sprint cars and USAC Championship Cars....
-OffenhauserOffenhauser was an American racing engine manufacturer that operated from 1933 to 1983.The Offenhauser engine, familiarly known as the "Offy", was developed by Fred Offenhauser and his employer Harry Arminius Miller, after maintaining and repairing a 1913 Peugeot Grand Prix car of the type which...
|
20 |
Clutch |
19 |
|
| Ret |
14 |
 Alessandro de Tomaso |
CooperThe Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...
-Osca |
13 |
Brakes |
14 |
|
| Ret |
5 |
Phil HillPhilip Toll Hill, Jr., was a United States automobile racer and the only American-born driver to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship. Hill was described as a "thoughtful, gentle man" and once said, "I'm in the wrong business. I don't want to beat anybody, I don't want to be the big hero...
|
Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....
|
8 |
Clutch |
8 |
|
| Ret |
15 |
 Fritz d'OreyFrederico J C Themudo "Fritz" d'Orey was a racing driver from Brazil. He participated in three Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on July 5, 1959. He scored no championship points....
|
Tec-Mec Tec-Mec was a Formula One constructor from Italy. Founded by former Maserati designer Valerio Colotti in 1958, they participated in a single Grand Prix, scoring no World Championship points....
-MaseratiMaserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...
|
6 |
Oil Leak |
17 |
|
| Ret |
7 |
Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE FIE is a former racing driver from England...
|
CooperThe Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...
-ClimaxCoventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H...
|
5 |
Transmission |
1 |
|
| Ret |
19 |
Harry Schell Harry O'Reilly Schell was an American Grand Prix motor racing driver.-Early life:...
|
CooperThe Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...
-ClimaxCoventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H...
|
5 |
Clutch |
3 |
|
| Ret |
16 |
George Constantine George Constantine was a racing driver from the United States. He participated in one Formula One Grand Prix, debuting on December 12, 1959. He scored 0 championship points....
|
CooperThe Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...
-BorgwardBorgward was a German automobile manufacturer founded by Carl F. W. Borgward . The company was based in Bremen...
|
5 |
Overheating |
15 |
|
| Ret |
11 |
Alan Stacey Alan Stacey , was a British racing driver. He began his association with Lotus when he built one of the MkVI kits then being offered by the company. Having raced this car he went on to build an Eleven, eventually campaigning it at Le Mans under the Team Lotus umbrella...
|
Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...
-ClimaxCoventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H...
|
2 |
Clutch |
12 |
|
| Ret |
18 |
Bob Said Boris "Bob" Said was a racing driver from the United States. Boris was the first American to win a road race in Europe after World War II - the 1953 Rouen Grand Prix. He participated in the first Formula One United States Grand Prix at Sebring on December 12, 1959...
|
Connaught-Alta |
0 |
Accident |
13 |
|
| DNS |
22 |
Phil Cade Philip Cade was an amateur race car driver from the United States...
|
MaseratiMaserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...
|
|
|
18 |
|
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings
| Pos |
Driver |
Points |
| 1 |
Jack BrabhamSir John Arthur "Jack" Brabham, AO, OBE is an Australian former racing driver who was Formula One champion in , and . He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name....
|
31 (34) |
| 2 |
Tony BrooksCharles Anthony Standish Brooks is a British former racing driver from England also known as the "racing dentist"...
|
27 |
| 3 |
Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE FIE is a former racing driver from England...
|
25.5 |
| 4 |
 Phil HillPhilip Toll Hill, Jr., was a United States automobile racer and the only American-born driver to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship. Hill was described as a "thoughtful, gentle man" and once said, "I'm in the wrong business. I don't want to beat anybody, I don't want to be the big hero...
|
20 |
| 5 |
Maurice Trintignant Maurice Bienvenu Jean Paul Trintignant was a motor racing driver and vintner from France. He competed in the Formula One World Championship for fourteen years, between 1950 and 1964, one of the longest careers in the early years of F1...
|
19 |
Constructors' Championship standings
| Pos |
Constructor |
Points |
| 1 |
CooperThe Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...
-ClimaxCoventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H...
|
40 (53) |
| 2 |
 FerrariScuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....
|
32 (40) |
| 3 |
BRM British Racing Motors was a British Formula One motor racing team. Founded in 1945, it raced from 1950 to 1977, competing in 197 Grands Prix and winning 17. In 1962, BRM won the Constructors' Title. At the same time, its driver, Graham Hill became World Champion...
|
18 |
| 4 |
Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...
-ClimaxCoventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H...
|
5 |
- 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.