1959 Italian Grand Prix
The seventh round of the 1959 Formula 1 World Championship was held on September 13 in Italy on the legendary Monza circuit. Compared to the previous year, the track remained unchanged, still measuring 5.75 km in length, while the drivers faced the challenge of completing 72 laps.
Being the final European Grand Prix of the season and one of the championship’s most prestigious event, the Italian Grand Prix once again lived up to expectations, attracting all factory teams as well as several private entries. Unsurprisingly, the tifosi’s sympathies lay with Scuderia Ferrari: following Maserati’s withdrawal from motorsport, it remained the only Italian team standing against the multitude of British outfits, and at Monza the Maranello squad appeared in full force, entering no fewer than five Ferrari 246 Dinos.
As before, the core of the team was formed by three principal drivers — Tony Brooks, Phil Hill and Dan Gurney — while the squad was reinforced for the weekend by two reserve drivers Cliff Allison and Olivier Gendebien.
Meanwhile, in the camp of Scuderia’s main rivals, the Cooper team, the line-up had also undergone some changes — though far from for the better. Hardly had the team caught its breath after Jack Brabham’s heavy crash at the Portuguese Grand Prix, in which the Australian fortunately escaped with only a few bruises, when another setback followed: the team’s second driver, Masten Gregory, was involved in an accident during the Tourist Trophy sports car race, suffering a fractured collarbone. With an urgent replacement required, John Cooper eventually handed one of his cars to local driver Giorgio Scarlatti, who became the team’s third entrant alongside Brabham and Bruce McLaren.
Meanwhile, from a technical standpoint, the weekend’s principal novelty was a new experimental car prepared by Alfred Owen’s team. Inspired by Cooper’s success this season, the Bourne engineers introduced at Monza their own rear-engined machine, combining familiar components from the existing car with a brand-new independent rear suspension to replace the ageing De Dion system.
At the same time, this car was reserved for practice only, while for the Grand Prix itself the team’s drivers — Jo Bonnier, Harry Schell, and Ron Flockhart — were given the proven BRM P25s.
As for the two other British factory teams, Lotus and Aston Martin, they remained true to form, epitomizing stability. Colin Chapman’s squad was once again represented by Graham Hill and Innes Ireland in the Lotus 16s, while David Brown’s outfit lined up with their familiar pairing of Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby in the Aston Martin DBR4s.
In addition to the factory teams, a number of private outfits were present at Monza, and leading the way was Rob Walker’s squad, represented by Stirling Moss and Maurice Trintignant, both driving factory Cooper T51s with Climax engines. A further two T51s with Maserati engines were entered by Scuderia Centro Sud, with Ian Burgess and Colin Davis at the wheel, while British veteran Jack Fairman competed in a Cooper T45 provided by Tommy Atkins. Completing the entry list was Giulio Cabianca, who took to the track in a Maserati 250F, a legendary car from a fading era, long past its prime.
Qualification
Qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix was held over two days, Friday and Saturday, and was marked by an intense battle for pole position between the three leading championship contenders: Jack Brabham, Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks. In the end, it was Moss who had the final say, topping the timesheets on Friday with a 1’39.7 lap to claim the milestone tenth pole position of his career.
At the same time, the Scuderia’s lead driver Brooks came within just 0.1 seconds of equalling Stirling’s benchmark on Saturday; however, after a thoroughly disappointing weekend in Portugal, even second on the grid felt like a genuine relief.
As for Brabham, his best lap left him already half a second adrift of Moss; nevertheless, the Australian secured third place and duly took his rightful spot on the front row of the grid.
Meanwhile, to the delight of the tifosi, the rest of the Scuderia drivers also produced a very solid showing, with Gurney, Hill, Gendebien and Allison qualifying 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th respectively. At the same time, seventh place was taken by none other than Schell in the BRM, who on this occasion proved the quickest of Alfred Owen’s drivers, while his teammate Bonnier — heavily involved in testing the new rear-engined car — ended qualifying down in 11th. Even so, the new BRM looked distinctly promising, lapping only around a second slower than its front-engined counterpart, which gave Owen reason for cautious optimism ahead of next season.
Meanwhile, ninth place went to the young McLaren, who, visiting Monza for the first time, was clearly unable to match the pace of Cooper’s lead driver, yet comfortably outpaced the team’s newcomer Scarlatti, who qualified 12th. Rounding out the top ten was Graham Hill, and in truth this marked the absolute limit of what the Lotus could achieve: even on his best lap, the Englishman had to use the slipstream from Gendebien’s Ferrari to compensate for the car’s evident lack of pace. As for the Aston Martins, qualifying at Monza proved to be yet another disappointment: Salvadori could manage only 17th, while Shelby fared even worse, ending up 19th.
Race
Given the severe tyre wear seen in qualifying, the Scuderia decided to plan a single pit stop for the race, while at Cooper - where wheel changes took twice as long - the team had little choice but to rely on their drivers’ skill in preserving the tyres...
Start. At the drop of the national flag the cars leap away… and the tifosi’s jubilation instantly turns to shock as Brooks’ Ferrari pours out a cloud of smoke within the first few yards! Failing to gather speed, Tony is swallowed by the entire field and pulls off to the side with engine trouble, narrowly avoiding being collected by his own teammates, while the lead is immediately seized by his two principal rivals, Moss and Brabham!
Meanwhile, Ireland and Salvadori emerge as the true heroes of the start, charging through the field to gain six and seven positions respectively, while Fairman, by contrast, stalls and drops to the very back of the field!
Lap 1: As so often, the opening lap is marked by skirmishes all across the field, but for two drivers the race is already compromised: Trintignant heads for the pits with throttle linkage problems, while Scarletti follows him in after suffering a gearchange mechanism failure!
Position after Lap 1: Moss, Brabham, Phil Hill, Gurney, Schell, Gendebien, Ireland, Allison, McLaren, Graham Hill.
Lap 2: The tifosi are quickly given reason to cheer again as Phil Hill, now carrying Ferrari’s hopes, sweeps past first Brabham and then Moss in quick succession to seize the lead!
At the same time, after letting Hill through, the Australian also yields to Gurney, while Gendebien scores another gain for Ferrari, passing Schell! Besides, on the same lap, Flockhart gains a place at the expense of Burgess, while Fairman, having caught up with the rest of the field, easily disposes of Cabianca’s Maserati. For Graham Hill, however, the race is once again cut short, this time due to a clutch failure.
Lap 3: Schell refuses to yield without a fight and responds to Gendebien with a counterattack, reclaiming 5th! Meanwhile, on the same lap, Flockhart gains another place by overtaking Davis, while misfortune continues for Fairman, the British veteran forced into the pits with ignition troubles!
Lap 4: After shadowing Hill for a couple of laps, Moss makes his move, overtaking the American to retake the lead!
Meanwhile, the battle between Schell and Gendebien rages on, with the Belgian emerging ahead once again!
Besides, on the same lap, Allison also gains a place at the expense of Ireland, thus moving up to 8th.
Lap 5: Phil Hill is clearly in no mood to concede today - a swift counterattack sees the American back ahead of Moss!
Meanwhile, growing in confidence, Allison sweeps past Gendebien and Schell in quick succession to take over 5th!
Also on this lap, Bonnier passes Salvadori in the fight for 9th, while Ireland’s promising drive is cut short by brakes trouble, sending him into the pits and to the very back of the field!
Lap 6: Taking advantage of a momentary lapse by Moss during his duel with Phil Hill, Gurney launches his own attack and also leaves Stirling behind!
Meanwhile, disheartened by the loss of two positions, Schell proves defenseless against the pressure from McLaren and Bonnier, instantly giving up another two spots!
Lap 7: Unwilling to let Gurney get in his way, Moss responds with a counterattack, pushing the American back to third!
Lap 8: After passing Gurney, Moss slots in right behind Hill, choosing to preserve his tyres rather than challenging for the lead!
Meanwhile, McLaren, previously hidden in the pack, finally announces himself by overtaking Gendebien for 6th!
Lap 10: Allison keeps charging forward, passing Brabham for 4th!
Position after 10 laps: Phil Hill, Moss, Gurney, Allison, Brabham, McLaren, Gendebien, Bonnier, Schell, Salvadori.
After 10 laps, Phil Hill still leads, yet Moss stays glued to his tail, keeping pace with the Ferrari with apparent ease and preventing the American from getting any significant gap!
Lap 15: Like a game of cat and mouse, Moss tests Phil Hill’s strength once again and, after a swift attack, reclaims the lead of the race!
Meanwhile, after struggling with his brakes for about ten laps, Ireland finally heads into the pits, ending his race for good.
Lap 16: Spurred on by the cheers from the stands, Phil Hill strikes again, putting Moss firmly in his wake!
Meanwhile, plagued by technical issues with his BRM, Flockhart heads into the pits and, after a lengthy repair, finds himself at the very back of the field!
Lap 23: Another blow - a piston shatters in McLaren's Cooper, forcing the New Zealander off the track and robbing him of a prime opportunity to score points in this race!
Lap 24: Having finally caught up with the rest of the field after his early pit stop, Scarlatti tucks in behind Cabianca and gains a position!
Lap 25: Another early-stricken driver, Trintignant, doesn’t sit still either and passes Shelby to move up to 12th!
Lap 26: Cabianca yields to the rapidly approaching Flockhart - and the Italian now finds himself at the very back of the field!
Position after 30 laps: Phil Hill, Moss, Gurney, Allison, Brabham, Gendebien, Bonnier, Schell, Salvadori, Davis.
After 30 laps, Moss still holds second place, sandwiched between Hill’s and Gurney’s Ferraris, yet with the Scuderia pit stops still ahead, the Englishman is exactly where he wants to be!
Lap 32: Desperate to shake off Moss, Phil Hill gives everything and sets the fastest lap of the race - 1’40.4 - but it’s already too late, as the American is summoned into the pits!
Lap 33: Phil Hill dives into the pits for new rear tyres, and although the stop goes perfectly, the American still rejoins only in 4th - with Moss now back in the lead!
Meanwhile, on the same lap, Salvadori gives his team a small reason to cheer by overtaking Schell in the battle for 8th!
Lap 34: A lap after Hill, Gurney also heads for the pits, and with his tyres in far worse condition, the American has all four changed and rejoins the race only in 6th!
Also on this lap, Burgess stops in the pits, as a result of which he drops behind Trintignant and Shelby.
Lap 36: Allison, up to second following his teammates’ pit stops, now heads for the pits himself and, after changing tyres, also loses several places, rejoining behind Gurney!
Lap 38: Gendebien, the last of the Scuderia drivers, heads into the pits for new tyres and pays the highest price of all, rejoining the race only in 8th!
Lap 39: With his new tyres not yet fully bedded in, Gendebien quickly becomes easy prey for the rapidly closing Schell, who wastes no time in passing the Belgian for 8th!
Position after 40 laps: Moss, Phil Hill, Brabham, Gurney, Allison, Bonnier, Salvadori, Schell, Gendebien, Davis.
Ferrari’s sequence of pit stops completely reshapes the race: Moss emerges as the clear leader, holding a lead of over 40 seconds over Phil Hill, while Brabham consolidates in 3rd without fuss!
Lap 41: Another Centro Sud driver, Davis, also heads into the pits and, after a tyre change, rejoins the race in 12th, letting Trintignant and Shelby through.
Lap 43: Finding his old rhythm again, Gendebien responds to Schell with a counterattack and retakes 8th!
Lap 45: The engine on Salvadori’s Aston Martin succumbs to Monza’s punishing conditions, and Roy retires, surrendering 7th to Gendebien!
Lap 52: Gendebien gains another position by passing Bonnier and now moves up to 6th!
Meanwhile, on the same lap, Trintignant catches up to BRM’s second driver, Schell, and pushes the American back to 9th!
Lap 53: Refusing to let things stand, Schell strikes back and leaves the Frenchman behind once again!
Position after 60 laps: Moss, Phil Hill, Brabham, Gurney, Allison, Gendebien, Bonnier, Schell, Trintignant, Davis.
With twelve laps to go, Moss still holds a comfortable lead, and all Phil Hill can do is reduce the gap by a few seconds!
Lap 68: Having caught his teammate Bonnier in the closing stages, Schell launches a merciless attack, seizing 7th from the Swede!
Final lap. Moss completes his final lap and, under the waving checkered flag, claims a truly brilliant victory today, fully showcasing both his impeccable skill and sharp tactical acumen!
This victory, his second in a row, earns the Englishman another healthy haul of points, allowing him not only to move up to second in the standings but also to keep his genuine chances for the title alive right up to the final round of the season!
Meanwhile, finishing second more than forty-five seconds behind Stirling, Phil Hill matches his career-best result, but for the tifosi, it offers little consolation in the face of such a bitter defeat. For Brabham, on the other hand, his third place is a clear success - with another four points, the Australian remains at the top of the championship standings, heading into the final round as the main contender for the title! Moreover, thanks to the successes of Brabham and Moss throughout the season, Cooper secures the Constructors’ Championship here at Monza, and to celebrate this unforgettable achievement, John Cooper takes a lap of honor atop the Australian’s car!
Meanwhile, the rest of the top six is claimed by the Ferrari squad: Gurney and Allison take fourth and fifth, with Cliff scoring his first points for the team, while Gendebien, despite an impressive drive, has to settle for sixth, just outside the points.
Interesting facts:
- Stirling Moss' 10th pole position.
Driver standings
Constructor standings
Alternative GP results
