1959 Portuguese Grand Prix
The sixth round of the 1959 Formula 1 World Championship was held on August 23 in Portugal, with the event moving away from the Porto street circuit used the year before to the picturesque Monsanto road track, a venue previously reserved for sports car races and now making its Grand Prix debut. The circuit measured 5.425 km in length, with the drivers facing a demanding 62-lap contest.
After Scuderia Ferrari’s commanding victory at AVUS, the championship battle flared up once again, with the gap between the Maranello team and Cooper reduced to just a handful of points. Determined not ease off, the Scuderia arrived in Portugal at full strength, fielding the very trio who had swept the podium in Germany — Tony Brooks, Phil Hill and Dan Gurney — each equipped with identical Ferrari 246s.
At the same time, John Cooper’s team also had no intention of backing down, entering their own trio of leading drivers — Jack Brabham, Masten Gregory and Bruce McLaren — all equipped with Cooper T51s.
In addition, Rob Walker’s outfit also fielded a pair of identical T51s, with their main drivers - Stirling Moss and Maurice Trintignant - taking the wheel.
Meanwhile, alongside the Cooper team, the Portuguese round drew three more factory British outfits — BRM, Lotus and Aston Martin. Alfred Owen’s squad was represented by as many as three drivers this time, with Jo Bonnier, Harry Schell and returning Ron Flockhart driving BRM P25s.
Colin Chapman’s team, as usual, was represented by just two drivers — Graham Hill and Innes Ireland — who took their Lotus 16s onto the track. Meanwhile, David Brown’s outfit, absent from the previous round, made a comeback with their familiar pairing of Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby, both behind the wheel of Aston Martin DBR4s.
The only private driver at Monsanto was local boy Mário Araujo de Cabral, who competed in a Cooper T51-Maserati entered by the Scuderia Centro Sud.
Qualification
Qualifying sessions for the Portuguese Grand Prix was held over two days, Friday and Saturday, with the Monsanto circuit proving to be an entirely new challenge for most of the drivers. Of all the entrants, only Phil Hill, Masten Gregory, and Stirling Moss had previous experience on this track — and it was the latter who immediately took control, setting the pace for everyone else. Starting the practice with a modest 2:10.0, Stirling improved with every lap, and by the end of the second day he stopped the clock at an impressive 2:02.9, claiming his second pole position of the season!
Naturally, the superb handling of the Cooper cars on this twisty circuit was a key factor in the Englishman’s success, a fact confirmed by Brabham, Gregory, and Trintignant, who filled the next three spots on the starting grid.
The lone exception among the Coopers drivers was young McLaren, who could manage only eighth position — hardly surprising given that the New Zealander had effectively lost the entire first day of practice due to cooling problems and incorrect gear ratios. Even so, these problems paled in comparison to Ferrari’s woes. The victors of the previous round looked completely out of sorts here: struggling to tame their cars, Gurney and Hill could secure only 6th and 7th on the grid, while Brabham’s main title rival, Tony Brooks, languished as far back as 10th!
Meanwhile, BRMs matched Ferraris for pace, with Jo Bonnier securing 5th, a mere tenth of a second ahead of Gurney and Hill, while Schell and Flockhart lined up 9th and 11th respectively. As for Aston Martins, they came nowhere near the form they had displayed at Silverstone, and in the end, losing Moss more than ten seconds, Salvadori and Shelby were left with only 12th and 13th on the grid.
However, the main casualty of qualifying was undoubtedly Colin Chapman’s team. As had already happened earlier in the season, the team’s transporter broke down en route, forcing the Lotus drivers to miss the entire first day of practice and watch helplessly as their rivals logged lap after lap. Meanwhile, the second day brought no relief either: problems with the master brake cylinder for Hill and the gear-change mechanism for Ireland prevented both men from finding any sort of reasonable pace, leaving the two Lotus drivers stranded at the very back of the field.
Race
Race day dawned clear and hot, and anticipating a severe test for both men and machines, the organizers decided to postpone the start until 5:00 p.m. Meanwhile, as the cars lined up on the slightly sloping grid, a Cooper mechanic discreetly tucked a small stone under Brabham’s rear wheel - hoping to give their lead driver an extra edge for a successful getaway...
Start. At the drop of the national flag, the cars surge off the line - and, surprise, surprise, it is Brabham who makes the perfect getaway, instantly leaving Moss and Gregory behind! At the same time, the stone tucked behind the Australian’s rear wheel shoots out like a bullet, but fortunately it passes harmlessly between the cars without hitting anyone. Meanwhile, the young McLaren also makes a brilliant start: from 8th on the grid, the New Zealander rockets up to 4th, leaving several rivals with a single swift move! For Bonnier, however, the beginning of the race turns into a total nightmare: barely up to speed on the main straight, his engine suddenly stalls, and the Swede drops to the very back of the pack, barely escaping a smash from Brooks!
Lap 1: Brabham doesn’t hold the lead for long: having swiftly dealt with Gregory, Moss overtakes the Cooper leader before halfway through the first lap, claiming his rightful place at the front of the pack!
At the same time, having let Moss through, Gregory immediately comes under attack from a flying-start McLaren, who decisively snatches third place from his teammate!
Meanwhile, at the back of the field, Bonnier still manages to fire his engine back to life, yet the relief is fleeting — persistent ignition issues prevent the Swede from finding the necessary pace!
Position after Lap 1: Moss, Brabham, McLaren, Gregory, Gurney, Phil Hill, Trintignant, Schell, Shelby, Graham Hill.
Lap 2: Taking the lead, Moss immediately sets a blistering pace, pulling a full two seconds away from the chasing Cooper drivers!
Meanwhile, caught between his teammate Gurney and the pursuing Trintignant, Phil Hill blunders on the descent to Lake Hairpin and, forced to take the escape road, drops down to 13th!
Besides, on the same lap, Graham Hill overtakes Shelby in the fight for 8th, while his teammate Ireland drops to the very back of the field due to ignition problems.
Lap 3: Shelby continues to lose ground — after being passed by Hill, the American succumbs to the pressure from Salvadori and Flockhart, now dropping to 11th!
Meanwhile, for Ireland, this Grand Prix turns into a complete disaster: after stopping in the pits for a spark plug change, he barely completes half a lap before gearbox issues strike again, bringing his race to an end!
Lap 4: Recovering from his earlier mistake, Phil Hill makes a strong comeback, overtaking both Shelby and his teammate Brooks in a single lap!
Lap 5: Phil Hill overtakes two more rivals — Salvadori and Flockhart — moving up to 9th!
Lap 6: Phil Hill is preparing another move, ready to challenge his namesake Graham — and then absolute chaos! A mistake by the Chapman driver at the bend after Lake Hairpin leaves Phil no room at all, and the American’s Ferrari crashes into the spinning Lotus at full speed! The impact sends both cars scattering in all directions - a stroke of luck for the closely following Flockhart, who somehow threads his way through the gap! Catching his breath, Ron carries on, while both Hills, shaken but unhurt, climb out of their wrecked cars — their Grand Prix ends here. Meanwhile, there’s another change of position on this lap as Brooks overtakes Salvadori for 10th.
Lap 9: After shadowing McLaren for a couple of laps, Gregory finally goes on the attack and wrests 3rd place away from his teammate!
Position after 10 laps: Moss, Brabham, Gregory, McLaren, Gurney, Trintignant, Schell, Flockhart, Brooks, Salvadori.
At the 10-lap mark, Moss remains in complete command, already 18 seconds ahead of Brabham!
Meanwhile, the closest fight on track right now is between Gurney and Trintignant, with the Frenchman trying to snatch 5th away from the Scuderia driver!
Lap 11: It’s all over for Bonnier! A fruitless pit stop is followed by retirement, as the Swede stops by the side of the road with a fuel-starved engine!
Lap 13: Brooks looks no more competitive in the race than he did in qualifying — he all but waves Salvadori through, now dropping to 10th!
Lap 16: Schell’s brakes begin to fade, and Flockhart wastes no time in striking, pushing his teammate down to 8th!
Meanwhile, after yielding to Salvadori, Brooks is immediately put under pressure by Aston Martin’s other driver, Shelby - and unable to resist, drops out of the top ten!
Lap 17: They in Scuderia have no idea what’s going on with their leader, and they show Brooks a pit board with his disastrous lap time — 2’18! But Tony merely waves it off in irritation, making it clear that he’s powerless to change anything!
Lap 22: Passing the pits, Brooks spots another board from his team urging him at least to try to challenge the Aston Martins, and a lap later, Tony finally pulls in to report engine misfires. After a quick check reveals nothing serious, the mechanics send him back on the track — and now the Englishman finds himself at the very back of the field, even behind the inexperienced de Cabral!
Lap 23: Despite the evening hour, the heat is taking its toll on the drivers, and unable to maintain his previous pace, Trintignant finally let Gurney go in their battle for 5th!
Lap 24: Absolute disaster for Brabham! Trying to lap de Cabral on the twisty section, Jack misjudges and clips the straw bales at the edge of the track, causing his Cooper flying over them at full speed and crashing right into a telegraph pole! By the force of the impact, the car is hurled back, flipping multiple times in the air, before it finally comes to rest at the far end of the road, wheels pointing skyward in a horrifying spectacle! Meanwhile, Brabham himself, being thrown out of the cockpit, is landing right on the track — and in the next few seconds, he barely avoids being run over by his teammate Gregory! Fortunately, the American reacts perfectly, swerving his car aside, while Jack, summoning the last of his strength, crawls to the roadside to finally catch his breath!
Lap 25: As Moss passes the scene of the crash, he sees the twisted wreck of Brabham’s Cooper, and Jack himself lying on the verge, giving him a thumbs-up to signal he’s alright! Saluting in response, the Englishman completes the lap and, stopping at the Cooper pits, shares the reassuring news of the Australian’s condition with the team!
Lap 28: Moss is simply unstoppable today — and the stopwatch confirms it: 2’05.07, the fastest lap of the race!
Position after 30 laps: Moss, Gregory, McLaren, Gurney, Trintignant, Flockhart, Schell, Salvadori, Shelby, de Cabral.
Half-distance reached, and Moss’ advantage over Gregory - who inherited second place after Brabham’s retirement - is approaching a full minute!
Lap 34: Having finally caught de Cabral after his forced pit stop, Brooks regains a position — but it changes little, as the Englishman still down in 10th!
Lap 35: Suffering in the heat, Trintignant heads for the pits, where the mechanics quickly ease the Frenchman’s ordeal by dousing him with an entire bucket of water! Meanwhile, on the far side of the track, the retired Bonnier lends a hand as well, using his own helmet to splash water over his fellow drivers!
Lap 36: Another pit-stop: Flockhart came in for fuel as a precaution, having done a lot of motoring in third gear due to his gear-change being at fault. The time lost costs the Scot one position, but there’s no concern at BRM — the spot is still taken by his teammate Schell!
Lap 38: Flockhart makes a mistake and spins, and there’s far less calm at BRM now as the Scot lets Salvadori through as well!
Lap 39: Heartbreak for McLaren! Running a solid third, he is struck by yet another transmission failure and is forced to retire, squandering a golden opportunity for a podium finish!
At the same time, the retirement of the New Zealander is great news for Gurney — it is he who now moves into 3rd!
Position after 40 laps: Moss, Gregory, Gurney, Trintignant, Schell, Salvadori, Flockhart, Shelby, Brooks, de Cabral.
Lap 47: Moss laps Gurney - and now only Gregory remains on the same lap!
Lap 56: Gurney catches Trintignant by a lap, and the Frenchman, trying to make things easier for his recent rival, eases off — inadvertently doing Dan a real disservice! Caught off guard by Maurice’s sudden deceleration, the American drives the nose of his Ferrari straight into the rear wheel of the Cooper, turning it into a complete wreck!
Lap 58: With just four laps to go, Moss easily puts the final driver, Gregory, a lap down, displaying sheer, phenomenal superiority over every rival in this Grand Prix!
Final lap: After a truly flawless race, Moss completes his last lap — and to the thunderous applause of the spectators, takes his first victory of the season!
Having left no doubt about his superiority throughout the weekend, Stirling adds to his victory and valuable points the full set - pole position, fastest lap of the race, and leading from start to finish — thus claiming the first Grand Slam of his career!
Meanwhile, second place in this Grand Prix goes to Gregory — the best result for the American since his debut in 1957! The final step of the podium is taken by Gurney: despite an overheating engine, the American manages to bring his Ferrari home, salvaging some pride for Scuderia in this Grand Prix! Next, Trintignant finishes fourth, who, after an extremely exhausting race, still manages to add another three points to his tally, while Schell comes home fifth, marking just his second points finish of the season. As for Brooks, he finishes only ninth — a result he would probably rather forget, with the small consolation that his main rival Brabham also leaves the Grand Prix empty-handed.
Interesting facts:
- Stirling Moss' first Grand Slam.
Driver standings
Constructor standings
Alternative GP results
