1959 Italian Grand Prix

  1959 Italian Grand Prix

Race details
Race 8 of 9 in the 1959 Formula One season
Date	September 13, 1959
Official name	XXIX Gran Premio d'Italia
Location	Autodromo Nazionale Monza Monza, Italy
Course	Permanent racing facility 5.750 km (3.573 mi)
Distance	72 laps, 414.000 km (257.256 mi)
Weather	Dry and sunny
Pole position
Driver	Stirling Moss	Cooper-Climax
Time	1:39.7
Fastest lap
Driver	Phil Hill	Ferrari
Time	1:40.4
Podium
First	Stirling Moss	Cooper-Climax
Second	Phil Hill	Ferrari
Third	Jack Brabham	Cooper-Climax

The 1959 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on September 13, 1959. It was the eighth and penultimate round of the 1959 Formula One season. It was the 29th Italian Grand Prix and the 24th to be held at Monza. The race was held over 72 laps of the five kilometre circuit for a total race distance of 414 kilometres.

The race was won by British driver Stirling Moss driving a Cooper T51 for the privateer Rob Walker Racing Team. Moss won by 46 seconds over American driver Phil Hill driving a Ferrari Dino 246 for Scuderia Ferrari. Championship points leader Australian Jack Brabham finished third in works entered Cooper T51, expanding his points lead, but not sufficiently to prevent a championship showdown with Moss and Ferrari driver Tony Brooks at the United States Grand Prix.

Race report

This race was won on the weight of the cars, with Stirling Moss and team manager 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. 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.

Moss' win closed the championship gap to only 5½ points behind Jack Brabham with Brooks eight points behind Brabham. The combined efforts of Brabham, Moss, Maurice Trintignant, Bruce McLaren and Masten Gregory secured the constructors championship for the Cooper Car Company.

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	7
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

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Jack Brabham 31 1 2 Stirling Moss 25.5 1 3 Tony Brooks 23 4 Phil Hill 20 3 5 Dan Gurney 13

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Cooper-Climax 38 (45) 2 Ferrari 32 (34) 3 BRM 18 4 Lotus-Climax 3

• Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. Only the best 5 results counted towards each Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.