The 1959 British Grand Prix was a

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

motor race Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

held at the

Aintree Circuit Aintree Motor Racing Circuit is a motor racing circuit in the village of Aintree, Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. The circuit is located within the Aintree Racecourse and used the same grandstands as horse racing. It was ...

on 18 July 1959. It was race 5 of 9 in the 1959 World Championship of Drivers and race 4 of 8 in the 1959 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. It was the 14th

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Ch ...

and the third to be held at the Aintree Motor Racing Circuit, a circuit mapped out in the grounds of the Aintree Racecourse horse racing venue. The race was held over 75 laps of the four kilometre circuit for a race distance of 362 kilometres. The race was won by Australian

Jack Brabham Sir John Arthur Brabham (2 April 1926 – 19 May 2014) was an Australian racing driver who was Formula One World Champion in , , and . He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name. Brabham was a R ...

taking his second Grand Prix victory in a works

Cooper T51 The Cooper T51 was a Formula One and Formula Two racing car designed by Owen Maddock and built by the Cooper Car Company for the 1959 Formula One season. The T51 earned a significant place in motor racing history when Jack Brabham drove the car ...

. Brabham dominated the race, leading all 75 laps to win by 22 seconds over British driver Stirling Moss driving a

British Racing Partnership British Racing Partnership (BRP) was a racing team, and latterly constructor, from the United Kingdom. It was established by Alfred Moss and Ken Gregory – Stirling Moss's father and former manager, respectively – in 1957 to run cars for Stir ...

entered

BRM P25 The BRM P25 was a Formula One racing car raced from 1956 to 1960 and the second car produced by the British Racing Motors consortium. After the failure of the complex BRM V16, the P25's design emphasized simplicity. The car was fitted with a 2.5- ...

. It was the first time a BRP entry finished in the top three. Brabham's

Cooper Car Company The Cooper Car Company is a British car manufacturer founded in December 1947 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles's small gara ...

teammate, New Zealander

Bruce McLaren Bruce Leslie McLaren (30 August 1937 – 2 June 1970) was a New Zealand racing car designer, driver, engineer, and inventor. His name lives on in the McLaren team which has been one of the most successful in Formula One championship history, ...

finished in third place, just 0.2 seconds behind Moss, having lost second place late in the race.

Harry Schell Henry O'Reilly "Harry" Schell (June 29, 1921 – May 13, 1960) was an American Grand Prix motor racing driver. He was the first American driver to start a Formula One Grand Prix. Early life Schell was born in Paris, France, the son of expatri ...

finished fourth for the

Owen Racing Organisation British Racing Motors (BRM) was a British Formula One motor racing team. Founded in 1945 and based in the market town of Bourne in Lincolnshire, it participated from 1951 to 1977, competing in 197 grands prix and winning seventeen. BRM wo ...

BRM team a lap behind Brabham. The British Grand Prix had the biggest entry of the season outside the Indianapolis 500 with 30 cars competing and 24 starting the race, all despite the absence of Ferrari. Strikes in Italy trapped the team at home, leaving the British teams to fight over the race. Ferrari's new lead driver Tony Brooks was given a release and started the race in a

Vanwall Vanwall was a motor racing team and racing car constructor that was active in Formula One during the 1950s. Founded by Tony Vandervell, the Vanwall name was derived by combining the name of the team owner with that of his Thinwall bearings ...

but was the first to retire with misfire after 13 laps having started in a lowly 17th after winning the

French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de France), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championsh ...

a few weeks earlier. The win saw Brabham expand his points lead over Brooks to 13 points. Moss and McLaren moved into fourth place just half a point behind the absent Phil Hill. On the last lap of this race, McLaren became the youngest driver to set a fastest lap in Formula One, aged 21 years and 322 days. It was another 44 years before Fernando Alonso relieved him of that achievement with fastest lap in the 2003 Canadian GP. He was a day younger aged 21 years and 321 days.

Classification

Qualifying

Race

;Notes * – Includes 0.5 points for shared fastest lap

Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Constructors' Championship standings * Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

External links

* * * (Race results and statistics.) {{F1GP 50-59

British Grand Prix 1959 in British motorsport