1960 Argentine Grand Prix
The opening round of the 1960 Formula One World Championship took place on 7 February in Argentina at the October 17 Autodrome in Buenos Aires. Built in 1951, the circuit featured an unusual design with several different layouts created by a network of interconnecting sections. As was customary for the Argentine Grand Prix, the 3.91-kilometre No. 2 layout was used, with the drivers scheduled to complete 80 laps.
After a one-year absence, the Argentine Grand Prix returned to the Formula One World Championship calendar and, in stark contrast to the 1958 race, which had attracted only ten starters, drew almost all of the championship’s leading teams to Buenos Aires, along with a large number of private entrants. The composition of the field had also changed considerably, and in the wake of Cooper’s triumph the previous season, rear-engined cars had rapidly gained in popularity, already making up around a third of the starting grid.
The works Cooper team was represented by two drivers: newly crowned World Champion Jack Brabham, driving the championship-winning Cooper T51, and the young Bruce McLaren, who campaigned the older T45 chassis. As usual, however, Scuderia Ferrari fielded the largest works entry, bringing four Ferrari 246 Dino cars in the previous season’s specification. They were driven by the team’s regular drivers Phil Hill, Wolfgang von Trips and Cliff Allison, together with local guest entrant José Froilán González — the legendary "Pampas Bull", making his first Grand Prix start in three years.
Colin Chapman’s team fielded almost as many cars — three in total — and found itself at the centre of attention following the debut of the all-new Lotus 18, the first rear-engined Formula One car in the team’s history.
Only a single example of the new car had been completed, and it was entrusted to the team’s new leader, Innes Ireland, while second driver Alan Stacey and local guest entrant Alberto Rodríguez Larreta had to make do with the previous season’s Lotus 16s. Meanwhile, BRM drivers Jo Bonnier and Graham Hill also took the start in the previous season’s P25s, as the debut of BRM’s new rear-engined car was postponed until the European leg of the championship.
As usual, the privateer field was headed by Rob Walker’s team, represented by Stirling Moss and Maurice Trintignant, both of whom drove Cooper T51s powered by Climax engines — identical to the machinery used by the Surbiton works team.
In addition, another identical car was entered by former BRM driver Harry Schell, competing here as a privateer, while the Scuderia Centro Sud team fielded two more Cooper T51s powered by Maserati engines, entrusting them to Carlos Menditéguy and Roberto Bonomi.
In addition to its Cooper entries, Centro Sud also fielded a Maserati 250F for the Grand Prix, with three local drivers — Nasif Estéfano, Oscar Cabalén and Pedro Llano — competing for the seat. A further four Maserati 250Fs were entered by privateers Giorgio Scarlatti, Antonio Creus, Gino Munaron and Ettore Chimeri, who remained loyal to the legendary model that had once dominated Formula One but had, by 1960, long since lost its former competitiveness. The final entry on the list was former Cooper driver Masten Gregory, who took the start in a 1.5-litre Porsche previously owned by Jean Behra.
Qualification
Qualifying for the opening round of the 1960 World championship took place over three days, and from the very first day it became clear just how much speeds had increased since Formula One’s previous visit to Buenos Aires, with more than half the field breaking the lap record set two years earlier by Juan Manuel Fangio. Once again, it was Stirling Moss who set the pace, underlining his reputation as one of the greatest drivers of his era by posting a time of 1'36.9 that left him more than a second and a half clear of the nearest challenger.
However, the main sensation of qualifying was not Moss’s brilliant performance — something to which everyone had long since become accustomed — but Innes Ireland’s second place, which clearly demonstrated the huge potential of the new Lotus and immediately focused the attention of the entire paddock on Colin Chapman’s creation. At the same time, the BRM drivers also delivered a highly convincing showing: both of Alfred Owen’s men secured places on the front row, finishing less than half a second behind Ireland, with Graham Hill, in his debut Grand Prix for BRM, proving no slower than the more experienced Jo Bonnier.
Meanwhile, things were considerably less encouraging for the Ferrari drivers: their best efforts were only enough to place von Trips, Phil Hill and Allison fifth, sixth and seventh on the grid, while a rusty González could do no better than eleventh.
Behind the three Ferrari drivers came Trintignant and Schell, who, despite running machinery identical to Moss’s, were already more than three seconds adrift of the pace, while qualifying proved a complete fiasco for the works Cooper team. Due to logistical problems, John Cooper was only able to get his cars to the circuit on the final day of practice, leaving his drivers with little opportunity to acclimatise to the unfamiliar Buenos Aires circuit. As a result, reigning World Champion Jack Brabham could manage only the tenth-fastest time, while Bruce McLaren, driving the older T45 chassis, ended qualifying down in thirteenth.
Race
As in previous years, race day greeted the competitors with clear skies and blazing sunshine, and with an arduous 80-lap contest ahead of them, the drivers braced themselves for a gruelling battle in the sweltering cockpits of their cars. Meanwhile, before the start, the spectators were treated to the sight of their greatest hero once again: five-time World Champion Juan Manuel Fangio, who, although retired from competition, remained a welcome presence in the paddock and warmly greeted the new World Champion Jack Brabham along with the rest of the field.
Start. As the national flag falls, the field surges away from the line, and to Chapman’s delight it is Ireland who makes the best start from the front row, immediately seizing the lead of the race!
Brabham, meanwhile, makes an equally impressive start, storming from tenth to fifth, while Moss, by contrast, is unusually cautious off the line and finds himself only eighth at the end of the first lap.
Order after Lap 1: Ireland, Bonnier, Graham Hill, Phil Hill, Brabham, González, Menditeguy, Moss, McLaren, Trintignant.
Lap 2: Lotus’s lead does not last long: already on the second lap, Ireland makes a mistake in a sequence of slow corners, spins, and loses five positions in one go! Taking full advantage of Ireland’s mistake, two BRM drivers now head the field, while Phil Hill holds third place. Meanwhile, after his poor start, Moss immediately sets about his recovery, overtaking Menditeguy, González and Brabham in quick succession to move up into fourth! Von Trips also gains a position by passing Trintignant, while Schell’s race, by contrast, goes from bad to worse: after being passed by Scarlatti, the American drops back to 16th!
Lap 3: Moss continues his rapid charge through the field: after overtaking Phil Hill he moves up into third place! Meanwhile, in the chasing pack, Menditeguy begins to pressure González and soon completes the move, leaving his compatriot behind in the fight for 7th.
Lap 4: After passing Phil Hill, Moss quickly closes in on Graham Hill’s BRM, but the Englishman proves a tougher proposition, fending off attack after attack and refusing to give Stirling any opportunity to move ahead. Meanwhile, Phil Hill loses another position as Brabham slips past him, the reigning World Champion continuing his impressive charge through the field to move up into 4th.
Lap 5: Another position is lost for Phil Hill as he is passed by Ireland, who, after his earlier mistake, is once again working his way back through the field. Meanwhile, González drops two places on the same lap after being overtaken by McLaren and von Trips, while his teammate Allison, by contrast, gains a position by passing Trintignant.
Lap 6: González continues to lose ground, and after being passed by Allison and Trintignant he drops to 12th!
Lap 7: After passing González, Allison immediately attacks his other teammate, von Trips, and moves ahead in the fight for 9th!
Meanwhile, González is clearly in trouble and cannot hold off even the rookie Stacey!
Lap 10: After spending seven laps on Graham Hill’s tail, Moss finally launches a decisive attack and moves ahead in the battle for 2nd place!
Order after 10 laps: Bonnier, Moss, Graham Hill, Brabham, Ireland, Phil Hill, Menditeguy, McLaren, Allison, von Trips.
After passing Graham Hill, Moss resumes his charge and sets off in pursuit of race leader Jo Bonnier, who, aided by the strong defensive efforts of his teammate, has already managed to open up a gap of several seconds over the chasing pack.
Lap 11: Scarlatti’s Maserati engine begins to overheat dangerously, forcing the Italian into the pits and making him the first retirement from the race.
Lap 14: After a couple of laps of intense battle, Ireland passes Brabham and moves up into 4th!
Lap 16: Having completely erased the gap to Bonnier, Moss launches an attack and passes the Swede to take the lead in the race!
Lap 17: After passing Bonnier, Moss tries to pull away from his rival, but it is not to be: the Swede clings on tenaciously, continuing to fight for the lost lead! Meanwhile, the exhausting heat is beginning to take its toll, and Creus is the first to give in, pulling into the pits and retiring from the race.
Lap 18: Ireland gets past another challenger, Graham Hill, and pushes Lotus up into third place!
Order after 20 laps: Moss, Bonnier, Ireland, Graham Hill, Brabham, Phil Hill, Menditeguy, McLaren, Allison, von Trips.
Lap 21: Setting a record lap time of 1:39.5, Bonnier finally seizes his opportunity and launches a counterattack, reclaiming the lead of the race!
Lap 22: Realizing that Bonnier is matching his pace today, Moss eases off slightly to preserve the car, temporarily halting his attacks and waiting for a better opportunity. Meanwhile, in the midfield, Stirling’s teammate Trintignant passes von Trips’ Ferrari in the fight for 10th.
Lap 23: More movement in the midfield as two veterans go head-to-head — González and Schell, with the American getting ahead of his rival in the battle for 12th!
Lap 24: González refuses to give in and, with a counterattack, moves ahead of Schell’s Cooper once again! Meanwhile, the race loses another contender as Chimeri, on the verge of heat exhaustion, heads into the pits.
Lap 25: Feeling as though the cockpit of the Lotus has become a furnace, Stacey struggles to complete the lap and heads into the pits, where Chapman’s mechanics literally pull the fading driver from the car!
Lap 26: Seeing almost no fuel left on the gauge, Menditeguy dives into the pits for a refuelling stop, where the mechanics immediately get to work. However, during the pit stop it becomes clear that the Argentine had simply forgotten to switch to the reserve tank — a mistake that costs him a full minute and four positions!
Order after 30 laps: Bonnier, Moss, Ireland, Graham Hill, Brabham, Phil Hill, McLaren, Allison, Trintignant, von Trips.
At the 30-lap mark, Bonnier is still out front, but Moss is right there with him, only a couple of seconds back. Meanwhile, aware of how punishing the conditions are, local supporters set up an unofficial water supply around the circuit, occasionally dousing the drivers at a slow corner to help them cope with the heat!
Lap 31: With a full fuel load, Menditeguy can’t resist the pressure from the closing González and Schell — he’s passed by both and slips back to 13th!
Lap 33: Due to a radiator defect, Phil Hill is forced into the pits, and the stop drops the American to the very back of the field, allowing McLaren to move up into 6th!
Lap 37: After 15 laps of waiting, Moss finally makes his move — a record lap of 1:38.9, an attack on Bonnier, and he’s back in the lead!
Lap 38: Moss, now in front, gives Bonnier no opportunity to fight back — and with another flying lap he’s already pulling clear! Meanwhile, Graham Hill’s BRM suffers a radiator pipe failure, and the Englishman, faced with engine overheating, is forced to retire to the pits, losing any hope of scoring his first points.
Moreover, back on his original pace, Menditeguy gets ahead of Schell on the same lap, and the American immediately drops another place, this time to Larreta!
Lap 39: After passing Schell, Menditeguy immediately goes on the attack against González and moves ahead in the fight for 9th! Meanwhile, after an unscheduled pit stop, Phil Hill is back in contention and, in a single lap, gains three positions, passing Bonomi, Gregory, and Munaron!
Lap 40: Larreta gets ahead of González in the fight for 10th — and the “Pampas Bull” immediately drops another position, this time to his teammate Phil Hill!
Lap 41: Moss is in trouble! After pulling a few seconds clear of Bonnier, his Cooper suddenly drops onto its left side in the S-bend — a clear sign of a serious rear suspension failure! Lifting off, a frustrated Moss slowly returns to the pits to retire, while Bonnier flashes past to retake the lead!
Lap 42: With his main rival out of the race, Bonnier eases off straight away — and he’s already over a lap clear of Ireland in second!
Lap 43: Hardly into the top three, Brabham is out — gearbox failure ends his race, and the world champion leaves the opening round empty-handed. But there’s no despair in the Cooper camp, because McLaren, his teammate, is now up into third!
Lap 47: Battling both the heat and a severe toothache, Trintignant comes into the pits to retire — but then comes a twist! Moss jumps straight into the Cooper in his place and rejoins the race! Neither of them can score points now, but Moss doesn’t care one bit — he’s charging after the cars ahead at full speed!
Lap 48: After several laps of relentless pressure, Phil Hill finally finds a way past Larreta and climbs into 8th!
Order after 50 laps: Bonnier, Ireland, McLaren, Allison, Moss, von Trips, Menditeguy, Phil Hill, Larreta, González.
Fifty laps in, Bonnier has everything under control, and it's looking more and more like the Swede is heading for the second victory of his career!
Lap 61: Nothing changes over the next ten laps, and convinced the race is all but settled, many spectators start heading for the exits to beat the queues for the scarce buses. Ironically, they miss one of their favorites making a crucial move: Menditeguy gets past von Trips' Ferrari for 6th and breaks into the points!
Lap 62: Schell's Cooper suffers a fuel pump failure, and after limping back to the pits, the American becomes the race's latest retirement.
Lap 63: Ireland is struggling with his gearchanges, and McLaren wastes no time in taking advantage, sweeping past the Lotus driver into second place!
Lap 64: Ireland loses yet another place, this time to Allison, and slips out of the top three!
Lap 65: González closes in on his fellow countryman Larreta and makes the pass, moving ahead!
Lap 67: Larreta fights back immediately — he counterattacks González and retakes 9th place!
Lap 68: Trouble for Bonnier! The BRM starts to lose power, and the Swede heads straight for the pits, where the mechanics discover a valve mechanism fault.
Still, Bonnier is sent back out in the hope of reaching the finish, but the costly pit stop robs him of the lead — and suddenly Bruce McLaren finds himself at the head of the race!
Meanwhile, the midfield battle between González and Larreta shows no sign of easing, and the “Pampas Bull” moves back ahead!
Lap 69: With his engine now clearly struggling, Bonnier is unable to hold his earlier pace and keeps slipping back, first losing out to Allison and then to Moss! Things aren’t any better for Ireland either, as gearbox trouble costs him another place to Menditeguy. Meanwhile, the only real battle on track is between González and Larreta, with the latter once again moving ahead!
Lap 70: Bonnier surrenders another place to Menditeguy and slips back to 5th!
Lap 73: After a few laps of waiting, González goes for it again on Larreta — and makes it stick!
Lap 76: With both Bonnier and Ireland struggling with mechanical issues, they end up running wheel-to-wheel, but it’s the Lotus driver whose problems are less severe — and he moves ahead! Also on the same lap, Larreta once again passes González, finally putting an end to their fierce duel!
Lap 77: Bonnier’s hopes of scoring even a single point are slipping away as Wolfgang von Trips sweeps past him at full speed!
Lap 78: Von Trips is still flying — and with two laps remaining, he also gets ahead of Ireland to snatch 5th!
Final lap: McLaren wins it! Not a single on-track overtake all race, but he’s been perfectly placed to capitalise on others’ misfortune — and he takes victory, backing up his Sebring win and going into the early championship lead!
In second place, more than 25 seconds behind the winner, comes Allison — and it’s a major success for him, his first podium in Formula 1! Meanwhile, third place goes to Stirling Moss, shared with Maurice Trintignant; however, under the shared drive regulations, neither scores championship points and they have to settle for the trophy alone. Fourth is local hero Menditeguy, who not only scores three points but also receives a tremendous ovation from the home crowd, every bit as loud as that for the winner. Fifth across the line is Wolfgang von Trips, who only in the closing stages managed to snatch a points finish, earning two valuable points. Ireland, one of the stars of the race, ultimately has to settle for sixth, with a single point doing little to soften the blow for Chapman’s team, who had been hoping for much more. And there’s heartbreak for BRM: after a superb drive, Jo Bonnier finishes only seventh and leaves this Grand Prix empty-handed.
Interesting facts:
- Innes Ireland's first leading in Grand Prix;
- Cliff Allison's first podium;
- Jose Froilan Gonzalez's last Grand Prix;
- Harry Schell's last Grand Prix.
Driver standings
Constructor standings
Alternative GP results
