1959 British Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Jack Brabham controlled the 1959 British Grand Prix from the front, taking another important victory at Aintree. Behind him, Stirling Moss and Bruce McLaren supplied the late drama, their close fight for second ending with the BRM just ahead of the young Cooper driver.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Jack Brabham	Cooper
Pole time	1:58.000
Fastest lap	Stirling Moss / Bruce McLaren	BRM / Cooper
Fastest-lap time	1:57.000 on lap 69
First	Jack Brabham	Cooper
Second	Stirling Moss	BRM
Third	Bruce McLaren	Cooper

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
16 July 1959	Thursday practice	14:15–17:00
17 July 1959	Friday qualifying	14:15–17:00
18 July 1959	Race	Start time unconfirmed

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Jack Brabham arrived at round 5 leading the 1959 F1 World Championship on 19 points, with Tony Brooks on 14.

Race entries

Industrial disputes kept Ferrari away, so Tony Brooks returned to a Vanwall for this meeting. Aston Martin entered Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby, and a mixed field of Formula One and Formula Two cars contested the available places. At Lotus, Innes Ireland and Alan Stacey shared practice duties in the second car before Stacey was selected to race.

Thursday practice

Heavy rain turned the opening afternoon into a difficult shakedown. These times did not determine the grid, and the slippery conditions limited what teams could learn about their dry-weather settings. Moss was quickest in the BRP BRM, while Brooks tried the revised Vanwalls. Engine shortages also affected the entry: Lotus could not field its intended third car, and Jack Fairman moved to an alternative Cooper.

Friday qualifying

Friday began wet before sunshine rapidly dried the track and transformed the session. Brabham and Salvadori both reached 1:58.0, putting Cooper and Aston Martin at the front. Brooks struggled to find speed in either Vanwall, while Lotus evaluated Ireland against Stacey. The battle for the remaining grid places intensified before returning rain ended further improvements. Brabham secured pole, with Salvadori alongside and Harry Schell completing the front row.

Qualifying Classification

Only Friday’s times established the grid. Guaranteed entries and additional qualifying places were treated separately, and Formula Two cars were not eligible for World Championship points. Stacey replaced Ireland in the second Lotus for the race.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	12	Jack Brabham	Cooper	1:58.000
2	2	Roy Salvadori	Aston Martin	1:58.0
3	8	Harry Schell	BRM	1:59.2
4	18	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper	1:59.2
5	14	Masten Gregory	Cooper	1:59.4
6	4	Carroll Shelby	Aston Martin	1:59.6
7	6	Stirling Moss	BRM	1:59.6
8	16	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	1:59.6
9	28	Graham Hill	Lotus	2:00.0
10	10	Jo Bonnier	BRM	2:00.0
11	42	Ron Flockhart	BRM	2:00.2
12	30	Alan Stacey	Lotus	2:02.8
13	22	Ian Burgess	Cooper	2:03.0
14	36	Brian Naylor	JBW	2:03.0
15	38	Jack Fairman	Cooper	2:04.2
16	48	Chris Bristow	Cooper	2:04.4
17	20	Tony Brooks	Vanwall	2:04.6
18	46	Ivor Bueb	Cooper	2:04.8
19	24	Hans Herrmann	Cooper	2:05.6
20	40	Fritz d'Orey	Maserati	2:05.6
21	58	Henry Taylor	Cooper	2:05.6
22	64	David Piper	Lotus	2:06.0
23	52	Peter Ashdown	Cooper	2:06.2
24	50	Mike Taylor	Cooper	2:07.0
DNQ	56	Bill Moss	Cooper	2:07.2
DNQ	60	Mike Parkes	Fry	2:07.6
DNQ	44	Trevor Taylor	Cooper	2:08.2
DNQ	54	Keith Greene	Cooper	2:09.8
DNQ	62	Dennis Taylor	Lotus	No time
DNQ	66	Tim Parnell	Cooper	No time

What happened in the 1959 British Grand Prix?

Brabham led away and quickly opened a gap as the cars behind fought over second. Aston Martin‘s promising starting positions were undermined by early stops to investigate fuel splashing into the cockpits, while Brooks retired with a persistent misfire. McLaren worked through the contest behind the leader and emerged as a strong podium contender.

Moss chased Brabham hard enough to improve the lap record, but the effort demanded a rear-tyre stop. A later fuel stop briefly dropped him behind McLaren. Once back ahead, Moss found the Cooper unwilling to let him escape, and their duel continued through the closing laps.

Brabham took the flag comfortably clear, while Moss beat McLaren by just two-tenths of a second. Schell and Maurice Trintignant completed the points finishers. Moss and McLaren shared the fastest-lap point, adding a half-point apiece to a race that strengthened Brabham‘s championship position.

After the race, Jack Brabham headed the drivers’ standings with 27 points, followed by Tony Brooks on 14.

1959 British Grand Prix race results

The 1959 British Grand Prix was held on 18 July 1959.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	12	Jack Brabham	Cooper	75	2:30:11.6	8
2	6	Stirling Moss	BRM	75	+ 22.2	6.5
3	16	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	75	+ 22.4	4.5
4	8	Harry Schell	BRM	74	+ 1 Lap	3
5	18	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper	74	+ 1 Lap	2
6	2	Roy Salvadori	Aston Martin	74	+ 1 Lap	0
7	14	Masten Gregory	Cooper	73	+ 2 Laps	0
8	30	Alan Stacey	Lotus	71	+ 4 Laps	0
9	28	Graham Hill	Lotus	70	+ 5 Laps	0
10	48	Chris Bristow	Cooper	70	+ 5 Laps	0
11	58	Henry Taylor	Cooper	69	+ 6 Laps	0
12	52	Peter Ashdown	Cooper	69	+ 6 Laps	0
13	46	Ivor Bueb	Cooper	69	+ 6 Laps	0
Ret	4	Carroll Shelby	Aston Martin	69	Ignition	0
Ret	40	Fritz d'Orey	Maserati	57	Accident	0
Ret	42	Ron Flockhart	BRM	53	Spun Off	0
Ret	38	Jack Fairman	Cooper	39	Gearbox	0
Ret	10	Jo Bonnier	BRM	37	Brakes	0
Ret	22	Ian Burgess	Cooper	31	Transmission	0
Ret	24	Hans Herrmann	Cooper	21	Gearbox	0
Ret	64	David Piper	Lotus	19	Overheating	0
Ret	36	Brian Naylor	JBW	18	Transmission	0
Ret	50	Mike Taylor	Cooper	17	Transmission	0
Ret	20	Tony Brooks	Vanwall	13	Ignition	0
DNQ	54	Keith Greene	Cooper			0
DNQ	56	Bill Moss	Cooper			0
DNQ	60	Mike Parkes	Fry			0
DNQ	62	Dennis Taylor	Lotus			0
DNQ	44	Trevor Taylor	Cooper			0
DNQ	66	Tim Parnell	Cooper			0

Includes 0.5 points for shared fastest lap

1959 British Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	6	Stirling Moss	BRM	69	1:57.000
1	16	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	75	1:57.000

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. One championship point was awarded for fastest lap, divided equally when shared.

1959 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1959 British Grand Prix.

1959 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Jack Brabham	Australian	Cooper	27
2	Tony Brooks	British	Ferrari / Vanwall	14
3	Phil Hill	American	Ferrari	9
4	Stirling Moss	British	Cooper / BRM	8.5
5	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	Cooper	8.5
6	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	BRM	8
7	Rodger Ward	American	Watson	8
8	Jim Rathmann	American	Watson	6
9	Maurice Trintignant	French	Cooper	6
10	Johnny Thomson	American	Lesovsky	5
11	Masten Gregory	American	Cooper	4
12	Harry Schell	American	BRM	3
13	Innes Ireland	British	Team Lotus	3
14	Tony Bettenhausen	American	Epperly	3
15	Olivier Gendebien	Belgian	Ferrari	3
16	Jean Behra	French	Ferrari	2
17	Paul Goldsmith	American	Epperly	2
—	Roy Salvadori	British	Cooper / Aston Martin	0
—	Ron Flockhart	British	BRM	0
—	Johnny Boyd	American	Epperly	0
—	Graham Hill	British	Team Lotus	0
—	Duane Carter	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Eddie Johnson	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Giorgio Scarlatti	Italian	Maserati	0
—	Alan Stacey	British	Team Lotus	0
—	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Dutch	Porsche / Maserati	0
—	Cliff Allison	British	Ferrari	0
—	Paul Russo	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Fritz d'Orey	Brazilian	Maserati	0
—	Anthony Foyt	American	Kuzma	0
—	Chris Bristow	British	Cooper	0
—	Gene Hartley	American	Kuzma	0
—	Henry Taylor	British	Cooper	0
—	Bob Veith	American	Moore	0
—	Peter Ashdown	British	Cooper	0
—	Al Herman	American	Dunn	0
—	Ivor Bueb	British	Cooper / Cooper	0
—	Jimmy Daywalt	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Chuck Arnold	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Jim McWithey	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Carroll Shelby	American	Aston Martin	0
—	Wolfgang von Trips	German	Porsche	0
—	Dan Gurney	American	Ferrari	0
—	Bruce Halford	British	Team Lotus	0
—	Ian Burgess	British	Cooper	0
—	Eddie Sachs	American	Kuzma	0
—	Jack Fairman	British	Cooper	0
—	Al Keller	American	Kuzma	0
—	Pat Flaherty	American	Watson	0
—	Dick Rathmann	American	Watson	0
—	Colin Davis	British	Cooper	0
—	Hans Herrmann	German	Cooper	0
—	Bill Cheesbourg	American	Kuzma	0
—	David Piper	British	Team Lotus	0
—	Don Freeland	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Azdrubal Fontes	Uruguayan	Maserati	0
—	Brian Naylor	British	JBW	0
—	Ray Crawford	American	Elder	0
—	Mike Taylor	British	Cooper	0
—	Don Branson	American	Phillips	0
—	Bob Christie	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Bobby Grim	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Jack Turner	American	Christensen	0
—	Chuck Weyant	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Jud Larson	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Mike Magill	American	Sutton	0
—	Red Amick	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Len Sutton	American	Lesovsky	0
—	Jimmy Bryan	American	Epperly	0

1959 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Cooper – Climax	26
2	Ferrari	16
3	BRM	14
4	Team Lotus	3
—	Cooper – Maserati	0
—	Aston Martin	0
—	Maserati	0
—	Porsche	0
—	Cooper – Borgward	0
—	JBW	0
—	Vanwall	0

Drivers counted their best 5 results. The first five places earned 8–6–4–3–2 points, with one further point for fastest lap, shared equally when necessary. Shared drives earned no championship points. Constructors also retained their best 5 results, scoring through only their highest-placed eligible car, without fastest-lap points. Indianapolis counted for drivers only.

1959 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1959 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	10 May
2	1959 Indianapolis 500	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Indiana	30 May
3	1959 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	31 May
4	1959 French Grand Prix	Reims-Gueux, Reims	5 July
5	1959 British Grand Prix	Aintree Motor Racing Circuit, Liverpool	18 July
6	1959 German Grand Prix	AVUS, Berlin	2 August
7	1959 Portuguese Grand Prix	Monsanto Park Circuit, Lisbon	23 August
8	1959 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	13 September
9	1959 United States Grand Prix	Sebring International Raceway, Sebring, Florida	12 December