1959 French Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Tony Brooks put Ferrari firmly back in the hunt at the 1959 French Grand Prix. On the fast roads of Reims-Gueux, he led every lap and headed Phil Hill home for a one-two, while Jack Brabham salvaged third on a day when fierce heat and a deteriorating surface tested everyone.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Tony Brooks	Ferrari
Pole time	2:19.400
Fastest lap	Stirling Moss	BRM
Fastest-lap time	2:22.800 on lap 40
First	Tony Brooks	Ferrari
Second	Phil Hill	Ferrari
Third	Jack Brabham	Cooper

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
1 July 1959	Wednesday timed practice	18:00–20:00
2 July 1959	Thursday timed practice	18:00–20:00
3 July 1959	Friday final qualifying	18:00–20:00
5 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 4 leading the 1959 F1 World Championship on 15 points, with Jo Bonnier on 8.

Race entries

Ferrari expanded to five cars, adding Dan Gurney and Olivier Gendebien alongside Brooks, Hill and Jean Behra. Stirling Moss switched to British Racing Partnership’s BRM, while Cooper experimented with streamlined bodywork. The separate Formula Two race shared the meeting but was not part of the championship Grand Prix.

Wednesday timed practice

Brooks immediately demonstrated Ferrari‘s strength on the long straights. After a rear-suspension adjustment he lowered the benchmark repeatedly, eventually reaching 2:19.4. Moss responded in the BRM but could not quite match him. Cooper‘s streamlined experiment was less successful: aerodynamic lift unsettled the front of the car, and Brabham returned to a conventional machine after gearbox trouble. Phil Hill also lost useful running to ignition problems.

Thursday timed practice

With Brooks content to protect his advantage, Brabham improved in the conventional Cooper and moved onto the provisional front row. Phil Hill answered with a late improvement of his own. Behra abandoned his preferred short-chassis Ferrari for Gendebien’s car and immediately found more speed, while Gurney settled into his first championship weekend. Moss watched much of the session without his BRP car available.

Friday final qualifying

A change in wind and a sharp rise in temperature made improvements difficult. Moss tried different wheel sizes and a modified approach to his flying lap but could not dislodge the front row. Ferrari used some running to prepare tyres, while Lotus continued working on carburation. Brooks retained pole beside Brabham and Phil Hill; Saturday was kept clear so the road surface could recover before the race.

Qualifying Classification

The grid used the best Formula One lap across Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The meeting’s separate Formula Two sessions and race did not count towards this championship event.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	24	Tony Brooks	Ferrari	2:19.400
2	8	Jack Brabham	Cooper	2:19.7
3	26	Phil Hill	Ferrari	2:19.8
4	2	Stirling Moss	BRM	2:19.9
5	30	Jean Behra	Ferrari	2:20.2
6	4	Jo Bonnier	BRM	2:20.6
7	10	Masten Gregory	Cooper	2:20.8
8	14	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper	2:21.3
9	6	Harry Schell	BRM	2:21.5
10	12	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	2:21.5
11	22	Olivier Gendebien	Ferrari	2:21.5
12	28	Dan Gurney	Ferrari	2:21.9
13	44	Ron Flockhart	BRM	2:23.4
14	32	Graham Hill	Lotus	2:23.7
15	34	Innes Ireland	Lotus	2:24.2
16	16	Roy Salvadori	Cooper	2:26.4
17	20	Colin Davis	Cooper	2:32.3
18	38	Fritz d'Orey	Maserati	2:34.0
19	18	Ian Burgess	Cooper	2:35.2
20	42	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Maserati	2:35.4
21	40	Giorgio Scarlatti	Maserati	2:35.6
DNS	36	Asdrúbal Fontes Bayardo	Maserati	No time

What happened in the 1959 French Grand Prix?

Brooks took the lead at the start and stayed there, with Ferrari‘s power well suited to Reims. Behind him, the contest was complicated by heat severe enough to soften the road surface. Flying stones and loose material made following another car particularly unpleasant.

Brabham needed fresh goggles, Gregory retired with facial cuts and Graham Hill‘s radiator was damaged. Behra fought his way forward before engine failure ended his race. Moss also encountered gearbox difficulties, and a prohibited push start brought disqualification, although his fastest lap remained a notable demonstration of pace.

A sticking throttle made Brooks’s final laps less comfortable than they looked, but he brought Ferrari home first, 27 seconds ahead of Phil Hill. Brabham held third, followed by Gendebien and McLaren. Brooks’s victory moved him closer to the championship lead; Behra’s subsequent confrontation with Ferrari management instead brought his time with the team to an abrupt end.

After the race, Jack Brabham headed the drivers’ standings with 19 points, followed by Tony Brooks on 14.

1959 French Grand Prix race results

The 1959 French Grand Prix was held on 5 July 1959.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	24	Tony Brooks	Ferrari	50	2:01:26.5	8
2	26	Phil Hill	Ferrari	50	+ 27.5	6
3	8	Jack Brabham	Cooper	50	+ 1:37.7	4
4	22	Olivier Gendebien	Ferrari	50	+ 1:47.5	3
5	12	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	50	+ 1:47.7	2
6	44	Ron Flockhart	BRM	50	+ 2:05.7	0
7	6	Harry Schell	BRM	47	+ 3 Laps	0
8	40	Giorgio Scarlatti	Maserati	41	+ 9 Laps	0
9	42	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Maserati	40	+ 10 Laps	0
10	38	Fritz d'Orey	Maserati	40	+ 10 Laps	0
11	14	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper	36	+ 14 Laps	0
DSQ	2	Stirling Moss	BRM	42	Push start	1
Ret	30	Jean Behra	Ferrari	31	Engine	0
Ret	16	Roy Salvadori	Cooper	20	Engine	0
Ret	28	Dan Gurney	Ferrari	19	Radiator	0
Ret	34	Innes Ireland	Lotus	14	Wheel	0
Ret	18	Ian Burgess	Cooper	13	Engine	0
Ret	10	Masten Gregory	Cooper	8	Physical	0
Ret	32	Graham Hill	Lotus	7	Radiator	0
Ret	20	Colin Davis	Cooper	7	Oil Leak	0
Ret	4	Jo Bonnier	BRM	6	Engine	0
DNS	36	Asdrúbal Fontes Bayardo	Maserati			0

1 point for fastest lap

1959 French Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	2	Stirling Moss	BRM	40	2:22.800

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 French Grand Prix.

1959 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Jack Brabham	Australian	Cooper	19
2	Tony Brooks	British	Ferrari	14
3	Phil Hill	American	Ferrari	9
4	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	BRM	8
5	Rodger Ward	American	Watson	8
6	Jim Rathmann	American	Watson	6
7	Johnny Thomson	American	Lesovsky	5
8	Maurice Trintignant	French	Cooper	4
9	Masten Gregory	American	Cooper	4
10	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	Cooper	4
11	Innes Ireland	British	Team Lotus	3
12	Tony Bettenhausen	American	Epperly	3
13	Olivier Gendebien	Belgian	Ferrari	3
14	Jean Behra	French	Ferrari	2
15	Paul Goldsmith	American	Epperly	2
16	Stirling Moss	British	Cooper / BRM	2
—	Ron Flockhart	British	BRM	0
—	Roy Salvadori	British	Cooper / Aston Martin	0
—	Johnny Boyd	American	Epperly	0
—	Harry Schell	American	BRM	0
—	Graham Hill	British	Team Lotus	0
—	Duane Carter	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Eddie Johnson	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Giorgio Scarlatti	Italian	Maserati	0
—	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Dutch	Porsche / Maserati	0
—	Cliff Allison	British	Ferrari	0
—	Paul Russo	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Anthony Foyt	American	Kuzma	0
—	Fritz d'Orey	Brazilian	Maserati	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
—	Wolfgang von Trips	German	Porsche	0
—	Carroll Shelby	American	Aston Martin	0
—	Dan Gurney	American	Ferrari	0
—	Bruce Halford	British	Team Lotus	0
—	Eddie Sachs	American	Kuzma	0
—	Ian Burgess	British	Cooper	0
—	Al Keller	American	Kuzma	0
—	Pat Flaherty	American	Watson	0
—	Dick Rathmann	American	Watson	0
—	Colin Davis	British	Cooper	0
—	Bill Cheesbourg	American	Kuzma	0
—	Don Freeland	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Azdrubal Fontes	Uruguayan	Maserati	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	18
2	Ferrari	16
3	BRM	8
4	Team Lotus	3
—	Cooper – Maserati	0
—	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