1959 Italian Grand Prix

The 1959 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on September 13, 1959.

Race report

This race was won on the weight of the cars, with Stirling Moss and Rob Walker gambling on running the whole race without a tyre change in the little lightweight Cooper - although they substituted knock-on wheels for bolt-ons in case a pit stop was necessary. Stirling drove a careful race, relying on the Ferrari crew needing to pit. Tony Brooks made a good start but a piston failure eliminated him on the first lap. Graham Hill and then Dan Gurney led, but lost their advantages through clumsy pit-stop action. Moss continued to win at an average speed of 124 mph, a track record. This closed his championship gap to only 5 1/2 points behind Jack Brabham who came third. Phil Hill was second for Ferrari on their home track, ahead of a Ferrari 4-5-6 in the order Gurney, Cliff Allison and Olivier Gendebien.

Classification

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	14	Stirling Moss	Cooper-Climax	72	2:04:05.4	1	8
2	32	Phil Hill	Ferrari	72	+ 46.7	5	6
3	12	Jack Brabham	Cooper-Climax	72	+ 1:12.5	3	4
4	36	Dan Gurney	Ferrari	72	+ 1:19.6	4	3
5	34	Cliff Allison	Ferrari	71	+ 1 Lap	8	2
6	38	Olivier Gendebien	Ferrari	71	+ 1 Lap	6
7	2	Harry Schell	BRM	70	+ 2 Laps	7
8	6	Jo Bonnier	BRM	70	+ 2 Laps	11
9	16	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper-Climax	70	+ 2 Laps	13
10	26	Carroll Shelby	Aston Martin	70	+ 2 Laps	19
11	40	Colin Davis	Cooper-Maserati	68	+ 4 Laps	18
12	10	Giorgio Scarlatti	Cooper-Climax	68	+ 4 Laps	12
13	4	Ron Flockhart	BRM	67	+ 5 Laps	15
14	42	Ian Burgess	Cooper-Maserati	67	+ 5 Laps	16
15	28	Giulio Cabianca	Maserati	64	+ 8 Laps	21
Ret	24	Roy Salvadori	Aston Martin	44	Engine	17
Ret	8	Bruce McLaren	Cooper-Climax	22	Engine	9
Ret	22	Jack Fairman	Cooper-Maserati	18	Engine	12
Ret	20	Innes Ireland	Lotus-Climax	14	Brakes	14
Ret	18	Graham Hill	Lotus-Climax	1	Clutch	10
Ret	30	Tony Brooks	Ferrari	0	Clutch	2

Notes

• Pole position: Stirling Moss - 1:39.7
• Fastest Lap: Phil Hill - 1:40.4
• Cooper-Climax won the Constructors' Championship with one race left to go.