1960 United States Grand Prix
The ninth and final round of the 1960 Formula 1 World Championship took place on 20 November in the United States, at California’s Riverside International Raceway. Built in 1957 near Moreno Valley, on the edge of the Southern California desert, the circuit measured 5.27 km, including a 1.8 km main straight, while the race distance was set at 75 laps. This Grand Prix marked the end of the 2.5-litre Formula 1 era: from the following season, new technical regulations would come into force, limiting engine capacity to 1.5 litres.
Following the controversial Italian Grand Prix, which all the British teams boycotted and which ended in a commanding victory for Scuderia Ferrari, the 1960 season finale proved to be something of a mirror image of the Monza race. Cooper, BRM and Lotus were out in full force before the American crowds, while the Maranello team never made the trip to the United States, preferring to end the year on a winning note and focus on preparations for the following season.
However, even without Formula 1’s most prestigious team, there was still plenty to see at Riverside. Inevitably, much of the crowd’s attention focused on the Cooper team and its perennial leader, Jack Brabham, who had effectively arrived in the United States already a two-time World Champion and was more than happy to pose for the photographers alongside Miss Corvette — the famous Playboy model June Wilkinson.
Unlike at most Grands Prix that season, John Cooper’s team fielded three cars at Riverside: two lowline T53s for Jack Brabham and his ever-present teammate Bruce McLaren, plus the previous year’s T51, entrusted to Scotsman Ron Flockhart.
Like Cooper, the other two British works teams, BRM and Lotus, also fielded three cars each. Alfred Owen’s team entered its familiar trio of drivers — Jo Bonnier, Graham Hill and Dan Gurney — each entrusted with a rear-engined BRM P48.
There were no changes at Lotus either: Colin Chapman once again entrusted his cars to Innes Ireland, Jim Clark and John Surtees, each of whom was assigned a Lotus 18.
Meanwhile, to the delight of the local fans, Lance Reventlow’s American works team was also on the grid at Riverside, represented by a single Scarab driven by Chuck Daigh. It is worth noting that since its last appearance at the French Grand Prix, the American car had undergone a minor upgrade, shedding around 70 kg and gaining an additional 12 bhp.
However, the works teams were far from the only entrants at Riverside: a sizeable contingent of private teams had also made the trip to California. As ever, the strongest of them was Rob Walker’s outfit, fielding none other than Stirling Moss, who took his place on the grid at the wheel of a Lotus 18.
The largest privateer entry came from Yeoman Credit Racing, which fielded no fewer than four drivers, each behind the wheel of a Cooper T51-Climax.
Alongside its regular drivers — Tony Brooks, Olivier Gendebien and Henry Taylor — Yeoman Credit Racing also welcomed local favourite Phil Hill, fresh from victory at the previous round and granted permission by Enzo Ferrari to drive for any team of his choosing. Meanwhile, another Ferrari driver, Wolfgang von Trips, was equally determined to make the most of the opportunity and secured a drive with Scuderia Centro Sud, joining Maurice Trintignant and Ian Burgess in a Cooper T51-Maserati.
Rounding out the entry were several independent privateers, including Roy Salvadori in a Cooper T51-Climax and Pete Lovely in a similar machine, albeit powered by a Ferrari engine. They were joined by Jim Hall in his own Lotus 18, Bob Drake at the wheel of the once-famous Maserati 250F, and Brian Naylor, who campaigned a JBW-Maserati of his own construction.
Qualification
Qualifying for the season finale was spread over three days, giving the majority of the field — most of whom had never raced at Riverside before — ample time to learn the circuit’s layout and get to grips with the unfamiliar track. Even so, the top four places on the grid went to drivers who already knew Riverside, with Stirling Moss emerging as the fastest of them in 1'54.4 to secure his fourth pole position of the season despite a gearbox failure in his main car.
Reigning World Champion Jack Brabham was also on the pace, securing second place on the grid, while his teammate Bruce McLaren once again struggled to match the frontrunners in practice, managing only tenth.
BRM drivers Dan Gurney and Jo Bonnier, by contrast, put in impressive performances to secure third and fourth places respectively, with Graham Hill the only outlier in Owen’s team, managing just eleventh.
Immediately behind the two BRM drivers came Chapman’s trio, with Jim Clark the fastest of the three this time, beating his teammates by around a second.
The remaining places in the top ten went to Yeoman Credit drivers Olivier Gendebien and Tony Brooks, who recorded identical times, 2.8 seconds slower than Moss. Meanwhile, the fastest of the privateers was Jim Hall, whose Lotus carried him to a respectable twelfth place, ahead of Phil Hill, Henry Taylor, Roy Salvadori and Wolfgang von Trips.
Hill himself could manage only thirteenth on the grid, though there were good reasons for his relatively modest showing: not only was the American driving a rear-engined Cooper for the first time, but he had also been entrusted with an older version of the car, equipped with a four-speed gearbox.
Race
Race day dawned in glorious weather, and before the main event, the spectators were treated to a series of compact-car races and a demonstration run by the experimental Chevrolet CERV I single-seater, driven by its creator, Zora Arkus-Duntov.
Meanwhile, after his disappointing qualifying performance, Phil Hill still managed to persuade Yeoman Credit’s management to let him race the upgraded Cooper fitted with a five-speed Colotti gearbox — a decision that made perfect sense given his ongoing battle for third place in the championship — while his original car was handed over to Henry Taylor.
Start. As the national flag falls, the cars leap away, with Brabham making a lightning-fast getaway and sweeping into the first turn in front, Gurney and Moss hot on his heels!
Meanwhile, Yeoman Credit’s Gendebien and Phil Hill suffer the worst starts of all: both cars stall on the grid, and only a push from the mechanics gets them moving, leaving the pair at the very back of the field!
Lap 1: Having lost the start to both his front-row rivals, Moss wastes no time launching an attack and snatches second place from Gurney before the end of the opening lap!
Meanwhile, his poor start only spurs Phil Hill on: the American quickly catches up with the field and sweeps past three rivals in a single lap!
Order after Lap 1: Brabham, Moss, Gurney, Ireland, Bonnier, Clark, Surtees, McLaren, Brooks, Taylor.
Lap 2: Despite the ongoing battles throughout the field, the top ten remain largely unchanged, with the only exception being Hall, who overtakes Taylor to claim tenth place.
Meanwhile, the two Hills are making the biggest impression in the lower half of the field: Graham overtakes Naylor for thirteenth, while Phil gains another three places, sweeping past Lovely, Flockhart and Daigh!
At the same time, things are going less smoothly for Trintignant: the Frenchman brings his Cooper into the pits with a fuel leak and, after a brief inspection, rejoins the race in second-last place!
Bringing up the rear is none other than Trintignant’s teammate, Burgess: after spinning at Turn 6, the Englishman stalls his engine and loses valuable time getting it restarted, dropping to the very back of the field!
Lap 3: Having surged into fourth at the start, Ireland is clearly holding up the faster Bonnier, but the Swede’s latest attack finally pays off, and he moves ahead!
Meanwhile, just behind this pair, an equally fierce battle is raging between Lotus’s two young drivers, with Surtees coming out on top against Clark! At the same time, Brooks is equally quick to make his move, attacking and passing McLaren to snatch eighth place! Further down the field, Gendebien is the man to watch: following Phil Hill’s example, the Belgian sets about making up for lost ground and sweeps past von Trips, Flockhart and Drake in the space of a single lap!
Lap 4: The desperate duel between the two Lotus drivers finally ends in disaster! Under Clark’s relentless pressure, Surtees makes a mistake at Turn 6 and spins directly in front of his teammate, leaving the Scotsman with no chance of avoiding a collision! The impact is devastating — both Lotuses are sent careering off the track as the rest of the field flashes past! Yet their race is not quite over. After watching the last car disappear into the distance, both drivers nurse their damaged machines back to the pits, where they hand them over to the mechanics under Chapman’s furious gaze. After lengthy repairs, however, only one of them makes it back onto the track: Jim Clark, whose Lotus is fitted with the surviving nose cone from Surtees’s car!
Meanwhile, aside from the collision between the two Lotuses, the lap provides the spectators with plenty of spectacular overtaking moves: Graham Hill passes Taylor and Salvadori to claim eighth place, Phil Hill moves ahead of Naylor, while Gendebien continues his impressive charge, sweeping past Lovely and Daigh!
Lap 5: Brabham is in trouble! A sudden tongue of flame bursts from beneath his Cooper on the main straight, and fearing a fire, the Australian immediately backs off before turning into the pits at the end of the lap! A quick inspection, however, reveals nothing suspicious, and Brabham returns to the track — but only in eighth place, with Moss now moving into the lead!
Meanwhile, on the same lap, Taylor — struggling with his steering — gets in Salvadori’s way, allowing Phil Hill, Naylor and Gendebien to sweep past both drivers in one fell swoop!
Further back, von Trips also moves up a place, sweeping past Flockhart.
Lap 6: Graham Hill is clearly feeling far more confident in the race than he did in qualifying: he launches another successful attack on Hall, moving ever closer to the points!
Meanwhile, Gendebien continues his impressive charge through the field — and now Naylor, too, falls behind the Belgian!
Meanwhile, further down the field, there is also plenty to keep the spectators entertained as Daigh and von Trips engage in a superb battle for position, with the German coming out on top!
As for Taylor, any hopes of a good result are already gone: the Englishman pulls into the pits with his steering wheel barely holding together and, after repairs, rejoins the race in third-last place!
Lap 7: Brooks, who has already climbed to fifth, makes a mistake at Turn 7 and spins, stalling his engine — his race is over! Meanwhile, further down the field, the duel between Daigh and von Trips is as intense as ever, with the American now taking the lead!
Lap 8: Having hounded Gurney for several laps, Bonnier finally makes his move and demotes his teammate to third!
Meanwhile, Salvadori also gains a place, getting past Naylor to take eleventh.
Lap 9: It happens again! Another tongue of flame bursts from beneath the Cooper, nearly sending Brabham into an uncontrollable spin and forcing the Australian to pull into the pits once more, demanding that his team get to the bottom of the problem! Eventually, the cause is found: fuel has been leaking beneath the car through a drain tube and igniting on contact with the scorching-hot exhaust pipe. After carrying out a quick repair, the mechanics send Brabham back out, assuring him that the problem will not recur. By then, however, the damage is done: the Australian rejoins the race down in eighteenth place!
Meanwhile, Trintignant also makes a second pit stop on the same lap: fuel is leaking straight into his cockpit, forcing his team to spend a great deal of time on repairs — and leaving the Frenchman at the very back of the field!
Meanwhile, things are going much better for Daigh: the American gets past Lovely to climb to twelfth place!
Lap 10: Following Daigh’s example, von Trips also gets past Lovely, making it clear that his battle with the American is far from over!
Order after 10 laps: Moss, Bonnier, Gurney, Ireland, McLaren, Graham Hill, Hall, Phil Hill, Gendebien, Salvadori.
After ten laps, Moss remains firmly in control at the front, with a lead of more than four seconds over the two BRM drivers!
Lap 11: With his problems behind him, Brabham sets about making up for lost ground, and Burgess is the first to fall victim to the Australian’s charge!
Lap 12: Having spent several laps tucked in behind Bonnier, Gurney now launches an attack of his own and reclaims second place! The spectators greet the move with thunderous applause — there can be little doubt where their sympathies lie!
Meanwhile, Flockhart’s race comes to an end on the same lap, as the rear brakes on his Cooper fail!
Lap 13: Daigh continues his charge, catching up with Naylor and dispatching the Englishman with a confident move!
Meanwhile, Brabham is also making up ground at a rapid pace — and now it is Drake’s turn to yield to the World Champion!
Lap 14: Naylor proves a tough nut to crack, counterattacking Daigh and retaking the position!
Lap 17: Burgess spins across the track for the second time in the race, yet the Englishman’s determination is remarkable: after repeated attempts, he finally manages to restart his engine and rejoin the race — albeit in last place!
Lap 18: Having failed to stay ahead of Naylor, Daigh now comes under renewed pressure from von Trips — and the German moves ahead!
Lap 19: Trouble for Gurney! The American’s BRM engine begins to smoke and dangerously overheat, forcing Dan to pull into the pits, where he receives a disheartening diagnosis: a core plug in the cooling system has blown out. A wave of disappointment sweeps through the grandstands — the spectators’ hopes of seeing their boy on the podium have been dashed in an instant!
Lap 20: Brabham continues to fly around the circuit — and now Lovely, too, succumbs to the Australian’s charge!
Lap 21: Naylor becomes the latest victim of mechanical trouble — a real shame, as the Englishman had only just secured a place in the top ten!
Meanwhile, Naylor’s retirement and a successful move on Daigh allow Brabham to gain two places in a single lap!
Lap 23: Von Trips, too, is unable to withstand the World Champion’s charge — and Brabham is now back in the top ten!
Lap 30: Ian Burgess’s persistence ultimately comes to nothing, as ignition problems force the Englishman to retire from the race!
Order after 30 laps: Moss, Bonnier, Ireland, McLaren, Graham Hill, Hall, Phil Hill, Gendebien, Salvadori, Brabham.
After thirty laps, Moss has extended his lead over his nearest rival, Bonnier, to a commanding fourteen seconds; the Briton’s smooth driving and pinpoint precision through every corner are clearly paying off!
Lap 34: Brabham’s next victim is his former Cooper teammate Salvadori — the Australian catches up with him with ease and snatches ninth place!
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Lap 35: Another blow for BRM! Graham Hill limps into the pits with gearbox trouble, leaving Alfred Owen’s hopes resting entirely on Bonnier’s shoulders as the Swede continues to hold a confident second place!
Meanwhile, Graham Hill’s retirement promotes Jim Hall to fifth — an impressive result for a privateer!
Lap 46: Brabham passes yet another rival — Gendebien — and is now just one place away from the points!
Lap 47: Gendebien’s Cooper engine begins to overheat, forcing the Belgian to pull into the pits to top up the radiator with water. The unscheduled pit stop costs the Yeoman driver precious time, dropping Gendebien several places and out of the top ten!
Meanwhile, Clark pulls into the pits on the same lap, as his Lotus is suffering from a lack of water in the radiator too.
However, the pit stop makes little difference to the Scotsman’s race: Jim was already running second-last, with only one car behind him!
Order after 50 laps: Moss, Bonnier, Ireland, McLaren, Hall, Phil Hill, Brabham, Salvadori, von Trips, Daigh.
After fifty laps, Moss has stretched his lead over Bonnier to 25 seconds — victory already seems all but certain for the Briton!
Lap 58: Brabham catches up with another of the race’s standout performers — Phil Hill! The American, too, is unable to withstand the World Champion’s charge and surrenders the points-scoring position he has fought so hard to secure!
Lap 60: Trouble for Bonnier! The Swede’s BRM engine begins to lose power, leaving Jo an easy target for Ireland — and now the Lotus driver moves up to second place!
At the end of the lap, Bonnier pulls into the pits, where the mechanics discover a fault in the valve gear but nevertheless send the Swede back out, hoping that at least one of the team’s cars will make it to the finish!
Lap 62: Bonnier’s loss of power costs him another place: McLaren catches up with the Swede and sweeps past him to claim third!
Lap 67: With just eight laps remaining, Brabham catches up with yet another rival — Hall — and sweeps past the American to take fifth place!
However, the World Champion’s charge is far from over: before the end of the lap, he catches the increasingly sluggish Bonnier and sweeps past the Swede to move up to fourth!
Lap 69: Bonnier continues to slip down the order — now Hall gets past him as well, pushing the Swede to the very edge of the points!
Lap 71: Although Brabham is clearly out of reach of any further rivals, the World Champion refuses to ease off and sets a new fastest lap of the race — 1'56.3!
Final Lap: After 75 laps, Stirling Moss finally crosses the finish line, bringing a challenging season to a close with a magnificent victory! Waiting to greet him on the podium is American actress Shirley Knight, who congratulates the Briton with a kiss on his well-deserved triumph — a result that secures him third place in the World Championship!
Innes Ireland finishes second in another Lotus, and the six points he earns are enough to secure fourth place in the final championship standings, just behind Moss. Bruce McLaren takes third: as so often, the New Zealander delivers a remarkably consistent performance, rounding off the season with yet another podium finish. Meanwhile, Jack Brabham comes home fourth after an impressive charge through the field, having made two unscheduled pit stops in the opening stages of the race. Jim Hall, however, fails to score points on his Grand Prix debut: on the final lap, transmission trouble strikes his Lotus, and the American loses two places just before the finish, slipping back to seventh.
Thus, fifth place eventually goes to Bonnier, who manages to nurse his ailing BRM to the finish and salvage at least a couple of points for his team. The final point, awarded for sixth place, goes to Phil Hill, but it offers little consolation for the American: he ends the season fifth in the championship, having been overtaken by both Moss and Ireland in the decisive battle for the final standings.
Interesting facts:
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Cooper’s 10th fastest lap.
Driver standings
Constructor standings
Alternative GP results
