1959 Dutch Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Jo Bonnier delivered the result BRM had pursued for years at the 1959 Dutch Grand Prix. Pole position was followed by victory at Zandvoort, where the Swedish driver resisted Cooper‘s challenge to secure his first championship win and the team’s breakthrough success.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Jo Bonnier	BRM
Pole time	1:36.000
Fastest lap	Stirling Moss	Cooper
Fastest-lap time	1:36.700 on lap 42
First	Jo Bonnier	BRM
Second	Jack Brabham	Cooper
Third	Masten Gregory	Cooper

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
29 May 1959	Friday timed practice	16:30–18:30
30 May 1959	Saturday morning timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
30 May 1959	Saturday afternoon final qualifying	Start time unconfirmed
31 May 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 3 leading the 1959 F1 World Championship on 9 points, with Rodger Ward on 8.

Race entries

Aston Martin made its World Championship debut with Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby, while Innes Ireland joined Graham Hill at Lotus. Local entrant Carel Godin de Beaufort brought a Porsche sports car. Ferrari initially had only three race places, but agreement was eventually reached for Cliff Allison to join its starting line-up in a fourth car.

Friday timed practice

Moss arrived well prepared after extensive testing at Zandvoort and immediately set the pace. Bonnier’s BRM looked particularly well suited to the circuit, while the Lotus cars also showed encouraging balance. Ferrari was less settled: Brooks and Phil Hill struggled to find confidence in their cars, and Behra preferred a shorter Formula Two chassis fitted with a larger engine. Trintignant’s session ended with gearbox trouble.

Saturday morning timed practice

Bonnier raised the stakes with a 1:36.0 lap, beating Moss’s earlier improvement. Brabham helped diagnose gear-selection trouble on Masten Gregory‘s Cooper, while BRM rehearsed rear-wheel changes in case tyre wear demanded a stop. Aston Martin‘s cars were steady but lacked the speed of the lighter opposition. Ferrari continued moving engines between chassis as its drivers searched for a more convincing combination.

Saturday afternoon final qualifying

Brabham worked on the new Cooper‘s carburation and steadily improved until he matched Bonnier’s morning time. Bonnier retained pole, with Brabham and Moss alongside on the front row. Several leading teams did little further running, but Ferrari kept adjusting springs, dampers and tyre pressures without finding an easy answer. The contrasting afternoons left BRM and Cooper looking ready for the race while Ferrari was still searching.

Qualifying Classification

The best times from the three sessions established the grid. Bonnier and Brabham both recorded 1:36.0, with Bonnier taking pole. Allison’s additional Ferrari entry was admitted before the race.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	7	Jo Bonnier	BRM	1:36.000
2	8	Jack Brabham	Cooper	1:36.0
3	11	Stirling Moss	Cooper	1:36.2
4	1	Jean Behra	Ferrari	1:36.6
5	14	Graham Hill	Lotus	1:36.7
6	6	Harry Schell	BRM	1:37.3
7	9	Masten Gregory	Cooper	1:37.6
8	2	Tony Brooks	Ferrari	1:37.9
9	12	Innes Ireland	Lotus	1:38.3
10	5	Carroll Shelby	Aston Martin	1:38.5
11	10	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper	1:38.7
12	3	Phil Hill	Ferrari	1:39.2
13	4	Roy Salvadori	Aston Martin	1:39.7
14	15	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	1:44.5
15	16	Cliff Allison	Ferrari	No time

What happened in the 1959 Dutch Grand Prix?

Bonnier made a strong start, but the Coopers ensured that BRM‘s breakthrough would have to be earned. Gregory and Brabham both challenged at the front before Moss became the most immediate threat in Rob Walker’s car. The pace remained demanding even as the teams watched their tyres.

Moss moved into the lead, only for another transmission failure to undo his work. Bonnier regained the advantage and kept the BRM clear of Brabham through the closing laps, turning its promising practice form into the result that mattered.

Brabham finished fifteen seconds behind, with Gregory completing Cooper‘s double podium. Ireland impressed with fourth on his championship debut, ahead of Behra. Moss’s fastest lap still earned a point despite his retirement, but the day belonged to Bonnier and the long-awaited first victory for BRM.

After the race, Jack Brabham headed the drivers’ standings with 15 points, followed by Jo Bonnier on 8.

1959 Dutch Grand Prix race results

The 1959 Dutch Grand Prix was held on 31 May 1959.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	7	Jo Bonnier	BRM	75	2:05:26.8	8
2	8	Jack Brabham	Cooper	75	+ 14.2	6
3	9	Masten Gregory	Cooper	75	+ 1:23.0	4
4	12	Innes Ireland	Lotus	74	+ 1 Lap	3
5	1	Jean Behra	Ferrari	74	+ 1 Lap	2
6	3	Phil Hill	Ferrari	73	+ 2 Laps	0
7	14	Graham Hill	Lotus	73	+ 2 Laps	0
8	10	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper	73	+ 2 Laps	0
9	16	Cliff Allison	Ferrari	71	+ 4 Laps	0
10	15	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	68	+ 7 Laps	0
Ret	11	Stirling Moss	Cooper	62	Gearbox	1
Ret	6	Harry Schell	BRM	46	Gearbox	0
Ret	2	Tony Brooks	Ferrari	42	Oil Leak	0
Ret	5	Carroll Shelby	Aston Martin	25	Engine	0
Ret	4	Roy Salvadori	Aston Martin	3	Engine	0

1 point for fastest lap

1959 Dutch Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	11	Stirling Moss	Cooper	42	1:36.700

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 Dutch Grand Prix.

1959 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Jack Brabham	Australian	Cooper	15
2	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	BRM	8
3	Rodger Ward	American	Watson	8
4	Tony Brooks	British	Ferrari	6
5	Jim Rathmann	American	Watson	6
6	Johnny Thomson	American	Lesovsky	5
7	Maurice Trintignant	French	Cooper	4
8	Masten Gregory	American	Cooper	4
9	Phil Hill	American	Ferrari	3
10	Tony Bettenhausen	American	Epperly	3
11	Innes Ireland	British	Team Lotus	3
12	Jean Behra	French	Ferrari	2
13	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	Cooper	2
14	Paul Goldsmith	American	Epperly	2
15	Stirling Moss	British	Cooper	1
—	Roy Salvadori	British	Cooper / Aston Martin	0
—	Johnny Boyd	American	Epperly	0
—	Graham Hill	British	Team Lotus	0
—	Duane Carter	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Eddie Johnson	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Cliff Allison	British	Ferrari	0
—	Paul Russo	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Anthony Foyt	American	Kuzma	0
—	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Dutch	Porsche	0
—	Gene Hartley	American	Kuzma	0
—	Bob Veith	American	Moore	0
—	Al Herman	American	Dunn	0
—	Jimmy Daywalt	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Chuck Arnold	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Jim McWithey	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Ron Flockhart	British	BRM	0
—	Harry Schell	American	BRM	0
—	Wolfgang von Trips	German	Porsche	0
—	Carroll Shelby	American	Aston Martin	0
—	Bruce Halford	British	Team Lotus	0
—	Eddie Sachs	American	Kuzma	0
—	Al Keller	American	Kuzma	0
—	Pat Flaherty	American	Watson	0
—	Dick Rathmann	American	Watson	0
—	Bill Cheesbourg	American	Kuzma	0
—	Don Freeland	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Ray Crawford	American	Elder	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	14
2	BRM	8
3	Ferrari	8
4	Team Lotus	3
—	Cooper – Maserati	0
—	Porsche	0
—	Aston Martin	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