Formula 1

About the season

The season was defined by Cooper's engine revolution: the compact Coventry-Climax-powered, rear-engined Cooper cars of Jack Brabham, Stirling Moss and Bruce McLaren upended Formula One's long-standing front-engine tradition. Jack Brabham became the first Australian World Champion, and also the first driver to win the title in a rear-engined car and the first to do so for a British manufacturer. The title was settled at the newly created, season-closing United States Grand Prix at Sebring, where Brabham ran out of fuel on the final lap and physically pushed his car across the finish line to salvage fourth place, just enough to clinch the championship. That image of Brabham pushing his stalled Cooper over the line has remained one of the most iconic moments in Formula One history. Jack Brabham won the 1959 Drivers' Championship with 31 points (Cooper-Climax), 4 points ahead of the runner-up. Cooper-Climax won the Constructors' Championship with 40 points, 8 points ahead of the runner-up. Across 9 completed races this season, there were 87 retirements. 6 different drivers won a race this season. Jack Brabham took the most race wins, 2 in total. Brabham won the season-opening race, the Monaco Grand Prix. Russo made the biggest gain of the season at the Indianapolis 500, from grid position 27 to finishing 9 (up 18 places). The Indianapolis 500 saw the most retirements of the season, with 17 drivers failing to finish. The most dominant win of the season came at the Italian Grand Prix, with a margin of 46.7 seconds. The season's biggest upset win came from McLaren at the United States Grand Prix, starting from grid position 10. The closest finish of the season came at the United States Grand Prix, with a gap of just 0.600 seconds. McLaren won the United States Grand Prix, the final race of the season.