1959 Portuguese Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Stirling Moss revived his championship challenge with a commanding victory at the 1959 Portuguese Grand Prix. Monsanto Park Circuit rewarded the precision of his Rob Walker Cooper, and he lapped the entire field while title rivals Jack Brabham and Tony Brooks endured difficult afternoons.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Stirling Moss	Cooper
Pole time	2:02.890
Fastest lap	Stirling Moss	Cooper
Fastest-lap time	2:05.070 on lap 28
First	Stirling Moss	Cooper
Second	Masten Gregory	Cooper
Third	Dan Gurney	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
21 August 1959	Friday timed practice	18:15; end unconfirmed
22 August 1959	Saturday final qualifying	18:15; end unconfirmed
23 August 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 7 leading the 1959 F1 World Championship on 27 points, with Tony Brooks on 23.

Race entries

Portugal moved from Porto to Lisbon’s Monsanto course. The regular teams were joined by local driver Mário de Araújo Cabral in a Centro Sud Cooper–Maserati. Lotus again lost preparation time to a transporter breakdown, this time while crossing Spain, and arrived only for the second evening’s running.

Friday timed practice

Moss immediately made the unfamiliar championship venue his own. While most rivals learnt the bumps, cambers and blind corners, he refined tyre pressures and brake balance before setting a decisive benchmark. Gregory’s earlier experience at Monsanto helped him, but Ferrari struggled to find the expected advantage. McLaren lost time with unsuitable gearing and an air lock in the cooling system, while Lotus was still on the road.

Saturday final qualifying

Brabham improved sharply once settled into the circuit, but Moss remained more than two seconds clear with 2:02.89. McLaren recovered after a gearing change, and Gurney was Ferrari‘s strongest performer. Lotus concentrated on completing the required qualifying laps while dealing with brake and gear-selection faults. Shelby damaged his Aston Martin‘s nose against straw bales late in the session, and Bonnier also went off without serious consequences.

Qualifying Classification

The best lap from the two evening sessions determined the grid. The report retains the circuit’s contemporary hundredth-of-a-second timing and the required qualifying running for late arrivals.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	4	Stirling Moss	Cooper	2:02.890
2	1	Jack Brabham	Cooper	2:04.9
3	2	Masten Gregory	Cooper	2:06.3
4	5	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper	2:07.4
5	7	Jo Bonnier	BRM	2:07.9
6	16	Dan Gurney	Ferrari	2:08.0
7	15	Phil Hill	Ferrari	2:08.1
8	3	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	2:08.2
9	6	Harry Schell	BRM	2:09.1
10	14	Tony Brooks	Ferrari	2:11.0
11	8	Ron Flockhart	BRM	2:11.2
12	10	Roy Salvadori	Aston Martin	2:13.3
13	9	Carroll Shelby	Aston Martin	2:13.6
14	18	Mário de Araújo Cabral	Cooper	2:15.3
15	11	Graham Hill	Lotus	2:15.6
16	12	Innes Ireland	Lotus	2:18.5

What happened in the 1959 Portuguese Grand Prix?

Brabham made the initial getaway, but Moss was ahead before the opening lap was complete. From there he built his advantage steadily, with the works Coopers following and Gurney contesting the next places with Trintignant. Graham Hill‘s spin caught out Phil Hill, putting both their cars out of the race.

Brabham‘s attempt to lap Cabral ended in a heavy accident. The championship leader escaped serious injury, but his retirement removed another obstacle to Moss. Brooks never found a convincing rhythm in his Ferrari and finished well down the order, making this a valuable opportunity for the Walker team.

Moss made full use of it, winning a lap ahead of Gregory and also setting fastest lap. Gurney took third, with Trintignant and Schell completing the points places. The nine-point haul brought Moss back within striking distance of Brabham and Brooks with the season heading towards its conclusion.

After the race, Jack Brabham headed the drivers’ standings with 27 points, followed by Tony Brooks on 23.

1959 Portuguese Grand Prix race results

The 1959 Portuguese Grand Prix was held on 23 August 1959.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	4	Stirling Moss	Cooper	62	2:11:55.41	9
2	2	Masten Gregory	Cooper	61	+ 1 Lap	6
3	16	Dan Gurney	Ferrari	61	+ 1 Lap	4
4	5	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper	60	+ 2 Laps	3
5	6	Harry Schell	BRM	59	+ 3 Laps	2
6	10	Roy Salvadori	Aston Martin	59	+ 3 Laps	0
7	8	Ron Flockhart	BRM	59	+ 3 Laps	0
8	9	Carroll Shelby	Aston Martin	58	+ 4 Laps	0
9	14	Tony Brooks	Ferrari	57	+ 5 Laps	0
10	18	Mário de Araújo Cabral	Cooper	56	+ 6 Laps	0
Ret	3	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	38	Transmission	0
Ret	1	Jack Brabham	Cooper	23	Collision	0
Ret	7	Jo Bonnier	BRM	10	Engine	0
Ret	15	Phil Hill	Ferrari	5	Accident	0
Ret	11	Graham Hill	Lotus	5	Accident	0
Ret	12	Innes Ireland	Lotus	3	Gearbox	0

Includes 1 point for fastest lap

1959 Portuguese Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	4	Stirling Moss	Cooper	28	2:05.070

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 Portuguese 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	23
3	Stirling Moss	British	Cooper / BRM	17.5
4	Phil Hill	American	Ferrari	13
5	Maurice Trintignant	French	Cooper	12
6	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	BRM	10
7	Masten Gregory	American	Cooper	10
8	Dan Gurney	American	Ferrari	10
9	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	Cooper	8.5
10	Rodger Ward	American	Watson	8
11	Jim Rathmann	American	Watson	6
12	Johnny Thomson	American	Lesovsky	5
13	Harry Schell	American	BRM	5
14	Innes Ireland	British	Team Lotus	3
15	Tony Bettenhausen	American	Epperly	3
16	Olivier Gendebien	Belgian	Ferrari	3
17	Jean Behra	French	Ferrari	2
18	Paul Goldsmith	American	Epperly	2
—	Roy Salvadori	British	Cooper / Aston Martin	0
—	Ron Flockhart	British	BRM	0
—	Ian Burgess	British	Cooper	0
—	Johnny Boyd	American	Epperly	0
—	Graham Hill	British	Team Lotus	0
—	Duane Carter	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Carroll Shelby	American	Aston Martin	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
—	Mário de Araújo Cabral	Portuguese	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
—	Hans Herrmann	German	Cooper / BRM	0
—	Wolfgang von Trips	German	Porsche	0
—	Bruce Halford	British	Team Lotus	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
—	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	34
2	Ferrari	28
3	BRM	18
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