Formula 1

About the season

1960 was the last season of the 2.5-litre formula, and by now the rear-engined Coopers and Lotuses had clearly overtaken the traditional front-engined Ferraris and Aston Martins. Jack Brabham won his second consecutive title in the Cooper T53, becoming the first driver to take back-to-back championships in a rear-engined car. The Belgian Grand Prix weekend (19 June 1960) became one of the sport's darkest: Stirling Moss suffered a huge practice crash and broke both legs, and in the race itself Chris Bristow and Alan Stacey were both killed - the only time two drivers have died during the running of a single World Championship race. 1960 was also the last year the Indianapolis 500 counted toward the Formula One World Championship; from 1961 the two series went their separate ways. Jack Brabham won the 1960 Drivers' Championship with 43 points (Cooper-Climax), 9 points ahead of the runner-up. Cooper-Climax won the Constructors' Championship with 48 points, 14 points ahead of the runner-up. Across 10 completed races this season, there were 105 retirements. 5 different drivers won a race this season. Jack Brabham took the most race wins, 5 in total. McLaren won the season-opening race, the Argentine Grand Prix. The season's biggest upset win came from McLaren at the Argentine Grand Prix, starting from grid position 13. The closest finish of the season came at the Indianapolis 500, with a gap of just 12.8 seconds. Goldsmith made the biggest gain of the season at the Indianapolis 500, from grid position 26 to finishing 3 (up 23 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 147.6 seconds. Moss won the United States Grand Prix, the final race of the season.