1959 French Grand Prix

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Flag of France.svg 1959 French Grand Prix
Racing data
4th of 9 races in the 1959 World Automobile Championship
Route profile
Surname: XLV Grand Prix de l'ACF
Date: 5th July 1959
Place: Reims , France
Course: Circuit de Reims-Gueux
Length: 417.4 km in 50 laps of 8.348 km

Weather: sunny, dry, hot
Pole position
Driver: United KingdomUnited Kingdom Tony Brooks ItalyItaly Ferrari
Time: 2: 19.4 min
Fastest lap
Driver: United KingdomUnited Kingdom Stirling Moss United KingdomUnited Kingdom BRM
Time: 2: 22.8 min
Podium
First: United KingdomUnited Kingdom Tony Brooks ItalyItaly Ferrari
Second: United States 49United States Phil Hill ItalyItaly Ferrari
Third: AustraliaAustralia Jack Brabham United KingdomUnited Kingdom Cooper-Climax

The 1959 French Grand Prix took place on July 5, 1959 on the Circuit de Reims-Gueux near Reims and was the fourth race of the 1959 World Automobile Championship . The Grand Prix also had the FIA ​​honorary title of European Grand Prix .

Reports

background

Dan Gurney's debut race

The 1959 French Grand Prix was held on the high-speed circuit in Reims, which, with its kilometers of straights and few corners, was particularly suitable for cars with high top speeds and powerful engines. This brought an advantage to the front-engined cars in the field, while the rear-engined Cooper were at a disadvantage. The balance of power between the two concepts was still balanced at this point, Cooper won the 1959 Monaco Grand Prix , BRM won the third race of the season. The Indianapolis 500 1959 was also won by a front-engined car. In the drivers' championship, however, Cooper was ahead of BRM and Ferrari . In the drivers' championship, Jack Brabham led ahead of Rodger Ward and Jo Bonnier , all three of whom won a race each.

The Cooper works team started again with three cars after Bruce McLaren paused for a race. In addition to McLaren, Brabham and Masten Gregory drove for the team. At BRM, Harry Schell and Ron Flockhart , who had also paused a race before , drove alongside Bonnier . Ferrari increased the number of its cars significantly and entered the race with five cars. In addition to regular drivers Tony Brooks , Phil Hill and Jean Behra , Olivier Gendebien and Dan Gurney also drove for Scuderia Ferrari. For Gurney, the 1959 French Grand Prix marked the start of his career, he won several races in the 1960s and became one of the most successful Americans in Formula 1 history. For Behra, on the other hand, it was the last time he took part in a Formula 1 race; he died in an accident in a sports car during the supporting program for the 1959 German Grand Prix .

Lotus was the only team to keep its driver pairing, many drivers qualified for the race again with private cars. The Scuderia Centro Sud reported two Cooper T51s and two Maserati 250Fs , the Cooper was driven by Ian Burgess and debutant Colin Davis , the Maserati by the two debutants Asdrúbal Fontes Bayardo and Fritz d'Orey . For Bayardo it was the only attempt to qualify for a Grand Prix. Maurice Trintignant drove again for the Rob Walker Racing Team , Roy Salvadori again for High Efficiency Motors , both on Cooper. In addition, the Scuderia Ugolini was registered with two Maserati for Giorgio Scarlatti and Carel Godin de Beaufort , Beaufort drove a Maserati for the only time in his career at the 1959 French Grand Prix.

After Stirling Moss had already completed test drives for BRM at the Dutch Grand Prix in 1959 and had helped make the car victorious, he now drove a BRM here himself, but not with the works team, but with the British Racing Partnership .

None of the former winners of the race took part, only Ferrari had previously been successful with the designers, the team won the two previous events.

training

In practice, Brooks secured pole position in a Ferrari , so there were four different drivers and teams in first place in the first four races of the season. The surprise was achieved by Brabham, who qualified his Cooper with a rear-engined engine to take second place on the grid and proved that a rear-engined car was competitive even on high-speed courses and could keep up with the supposedly superior competition. Brabham was only three tenths of a second missing from Brooks' time.

Behind Brabham, Phil Hill qualified in the second Ferrari with a narrow gap ahead of Moss in a private BRM Behra in the third Ferrari and finished fifth ahead of the winner of the last race, Bonnier. With three Ferraris in the top five, the team secured the best starting position for the race, while Brabham's teammates only finished seventh and tenth on the grid.

Lotus was still in the middle with starting positions 14 and 15. The outdated Maserati were no longer competitive and occupied the last starting places. Bayardo drove no time in practice and for this reason was the only driver not to qualify for the race.

Already in the first days of training the temperatures rose significantly, which means that most of the best times were achieved on the first days of training. On the last day, no time improvements were possible due to the heat.

run

During the race weekend it got warmer again. Saturday was a day of rest for Formula 1, but a planned twelve-hour race had to be canceled because it was feared that the track could be damaged due to the high temperatures. This then happened on Sunday, the asphalt melted and even cracked in some places. The race is considered one of the warmest in Formula 1 history, which not only caused the damaged track to fail, but also the many technical failures caused by the heat.

Brooks decided the starting duel for himself, behind him Moss positioned himself, who braked late and thus overtook several opponents. Gregory improved by several positions and was third behind Moss after the first lap. Brabham fell back to fourth place. The loser of the start was Behra, whose Ferrari stopped and had to be pushed by the marshals. In the run-up to the French Grand Prix, Behra had complained about the poor reliability of his car and told the marshals that Ferrari gave him bad material to favor Brooks.

While Brooks at the front of the field extended the lead over the pursuers, the first vehicles in the rear field began to fail. Bonnier sustained an engine failure on the sixth lap of the race; at Graham Hill, the radiator was destroyed by stones thrown up in the cracking asphalt. On the same lap, an oil leak forced Davis to give up, Gregory parked his car because of a cut. In the “Thillois” hairpin bend, the asphalt had broken apart and blown stones hit him in the face.

Brooks drove to a safe start-finish victory, there were hardly any duels behind it, as the race was mainly characterized by failures and technical problems. Both Brabham and Schell needed repair pit stops, Brabham was doused with a watering can to cool him down. On lap 13 Ireland retired with a defective wheel bearing, Burgess with an engine failure. Gurney did not reach the finish line in his debut race either, the radiator on his Ferrari was also damaged by blown stones. Salvadori then retired with engine failure.

Meanwhile, Behra had fought his way up to third place and set the fastest race lap. When he was dueling for second place with his team-mate Phil Hill, he too suffered an engine failure. He drove back to the pit and angrily parked his car. A heated argument followed with the Ferrari team manager Romolo Tavoni , as a result of which Behra hit him. Enzo Ferrari then fired Behra, who contested his last Formula 1 race here. A month later he was killed in an accident in the framework of the German Grand Prix .

Behind Brooks, an exciting battle for the podium developed in the final third of the race. At first Trintignant was in second place, but he spun and fell back several positions. Brabham finished second until he was overtaken first by Phil Hill and then by Moss. Moss then drove the fastest race lap, but spun off the track. As he pushed his car, he almost collapsed from exhaustion. Moss finished eighth, but was disqualified after the race because marshals had helped push his BRM.

Brooks, while in the lead, also had a technical problem with his car. The fuel supply to the car failed and Brooks had to constantly switch the ignition on and off on the long straight to stay in the race. In the end, however, the problem resolved itself and Brooks won the Grand Prix. Phil Hill finished second, 27.5 seconds back. Brabham completed the podium in third place. Ferrari scored a one-two and the third of four victories in a row at the Reims-Gueux circuit. With Brooks and Ferrari as winners of the French Grand Prix, no driver or team had won twice in the first four races of the season; for Brooks it was the only victory on this track. The other points were also split between Ferrari and Cooper vehicles, with Gendebien in fourth place ahead of Mclaren in fifth. BRM drivers Flockhart and Schell missed out on the points in sixth and seventh place. Three Maserati drivers reached the finish behind them, each ten laps behind, Trintignant was classified in eleventh place, despite 14 laps behind.

In the drivers' championship, Brabham continued to lead, after the race he was five points ahead of the new runner-up Brooks, Phil Hill moved up to third, Bonnier and Rodger Ward each lost two positions. In the constructors' championship, Ferrari came close to Cooper by two points, while BRM fell back to third.

Registration list

team No. driver chassis engine tires
United KingdomUnited Kingdom British Racing Partnership 02 United KingdomUnited Kingdom Stirling Moss BRM P25 BRM 2.5 L4 D.
United KingdomUnited Kingdom Owen Racing Organization 04th SwedenSweden Jo Bonnier BRM P25 BRM 2.5 L4 D.
06th United States 49United States Harry Schell
44 United KingdomUnited Kingdom Ron Flockhart
United KingdomUnited Kingdom Cooper Car Company 08th AustraliaAustralia Jack Brabham Cooper T51 Climax 2.5 L4 D.
10 United States 49United States Masts Gregory
12 New ZealandNew Zealand Bruce McLaren
United KingdomUnited Kingdom Rob Walker Racing Team 14th FranceFrance Maurice Trintignant Cooper T51 Climax 2.5 L4 D.
United KingdomUnited Kingdom High efficiency motors 16 United KingdomUnited Kingdom Roy Salvadori Cooper T45 Maserati 2.5 L4 D.
ItalyItaly Scuderia Centro Sud 18th United KingdomUnited Kingdom Ian Burgess Cooper T51 Maserati 2.5 L4 D.
20th United KingdomUnited Kingdom Colin Davis
36 UruguayUruguay Asdrúbal Fontes Bayardo Maserati 250F Maserati 2.5 L6
38 Brazil 1889Brazil Fritz d'Orey
ItalyItaly Scuderia Ferrari 22nd BelgiumBelgium Olivier Gendebien Ferrari Dino 246F1 Ferrari 2.4 V6 D.
24 United KingdomUnited Kingdom Tony Brooks
26th United States 49United States Phil Hill
28 United States 49United States Dan Gurney
30th FranceFrance Jean Behra
United KingdomUnited Kingdom Team Lotus 32 United KingdomUnited Kingdom Graham Hill Lotus 16 Climax 2.5 L4 D.
34 United KingdomUnited Kingdom Innes Ireland
ItalyItaly Scuderia Ugolini 40 ItalyItaly Giorgio Scarlatti Maserati 250F Maserati 2.5 L6 D.
42 NetherlandsNetherlands Carel Godin de Beaufort

Classifications

Starting grid

Item driver constructor time Ø speed begin
01 United KingdomUnited Kingdom Tony Brooks ItalyItaly Ferrari 2: 19.4 215.59 km / h 01
02 AustraliaAustralia Jack Brabham United KingdomUnited Kingdom Cooper-Climax 2: 19.7 215.12 km / h 02
03 United States 49United States Phil Hill ItalyItaly Ferrari 2: 19.8 214.97 km / h 03
04th United KingdomUnited Kingdom Stirling Moss United KingdomUnited Kingdom BRM 2: 19.9 214.82 km / h 04th
05 FranceFrance Jean Behra ItalyItaly Ferrari 2: 20.2 214.36 km / h 05
06th SwedenSweden Jo Bonnier United KingdomUnited Kingdom BRM 2: 20.6 213.75 km / h 06th
07th United States 49United States Masts Gregory United KingdomUnited Kingdom Cooper-Climax 2: 20.8 213.44 km / h 07th
08th FranceFrance Maurice Trintignant United KingdomUnited Kingdom Cooper-Climax 2: 21.3 212.69 km / h 08th
09 United States 49United States Harry Schell United KingdomUnited Kingdom BRM 2: 21.5 212.39 km / h 09
10 New ZealandNew Zealand Bruce McLaren United KingdomUnited Kingdom Cooper-Climax 2: 21.5 212.39 km / h 10
11 BelgiumBelgium Olivier Gendebien ItalyItaly Ferrari 2: 21.5 212.39 km / h 11
12 United States 49United States Dan Gurney ItalyItaly Ferrari 2: 21.9 211.79 km / h 12
13 United KingdomUnited Kingdom Ron Flockhart United KingdomUnited Kingdom BRM 2: 23.4 209.57 km / h 13
14th United KingdomUnited Kingdom Graham Hill United KingdomUnited Kingdom Lotus Climax 2: 23.7 209.14 km / h 14th
15th United KingdomUnited Kingdom Innes Ireland United KingdomUnited Kingdom Lotus Climax 2: 24.2 208.41 km / h 15th
16 United KingdomUnited Kingdom Roy Salvadori United KingdomUnited Kingdom Cooper Maserati 2: 24.4 208.12 km / h 16
17th United KingdomUnited Kingdom Colin Davis United KingdomUnited Kingdom Cooper Maserati 2: 32.3 197.33 km / h 17th
18th Brazil 1889Brazil Fritz d'Orey ItalyItaly Maserati 2: 34.0 195.15 km / h 18th
19th United KingdomUnited Kingdom Ian Burgess United KingdomUnited Kingdom Cooper Maserati 2: 35.2 193.64 km / h 19th
20th NetherlandsNetherlands Carel Godin de Beaufort ItalyItaly Maserati 2: 35.4 193.39 km / h 20th
21st ItalyItaly Giorgio Scarlatti ItalyItaly Maserati 2: 35.6 193.14 km / h 21st
21st UruguayUruguay Asdrúbal Fontes Bayardo ItalyItaly Maserati no time DNQ

run

Item driver constructor Round Stops time begin Fastest lap Failure reason
01 United KingdomUnited Kingdom Tony Brooks ItalyItaly Ferrari 50 2: 01: 26.5 01
02 United States 49United States Phil Hill ItalyItaly Ferrari 50 + 27.5 03
03 AustraliaAustralia Jack Brabham United KingdomUnited Kingdom Cooper-Climax 50 +1: 37.7 02
04th BelgiumBelgium Olivier Gendebien ItalyItaly Ferrari 50 +1: 47.5 11
05 New ZealandNew Zealand Bruce McLaren United KingdomUnited Kingdom Cooper-Climax 50 +1: 47.7 10
06th United KingdomUnited Kingdom Ron Flockhart United KingdomUnited Kingdom BRM 50 + 2: 05.7 13
07th United States 49United States Harry Schell United KingdomUnited Kingdom BRM 47 + 3 rounds 09
08th ItalyItaly Giorgio Scarlatti ItalyItaly Maserati 41 + 9 rounds 21st
09 NetherlandsNetherlands Carel Godin de Beaufort ItalyItaly Maserati 40 + 10 rounds 20th
10 Brazil 1889Brazil Fritz d'Orey ItalyItaly Maserati 40 + 10 rounds 18th
11 FranceFrance Maurice Trintignant United KingdomUnited Kingdom Cooper-Climax 36 + 14 rounds 08th
- United KingdomUnited Kingdom Stirling Moss United KingdomUnited Kingdom BRM 42 DSQ 04th 2: 22.8 disqualified
- FranceFrance Jean Behra ItalyItaly Ferrari 31 DNF 05 Engine failure
- United KingdomUnited Kingdom Roy Salvadori United KingdomUnited Kingdom Cooper Maserati 20th DNF 16 Engine failure
- United States 49United States Dan Gurney ItalyItaly Ferrari 19th DNF 12 cooler
- United KingdomUnited Kingdom Ian Burgess United KingdomUnited Kingdom Cooper Maserati 13 DNF 19th Engine failure
- United KingdomUnited Kingdom Innes Ireland United KingdomUnited Kingdom Lotus Climax 13 DNF 15th Wheel bearings
- United States 49United States Masts Gregory United KingdomUnited Kingdom Cooper-Climax 08th DNF 07th injury
- United KingdomUnited Kingdom Colin Davis United KingdomUnited Kingdom Cooper Maserati 07th DNF 17th Oil leak
- United KingdomUnited Kingdom Graham Hill United KingdomUnited Kingdom Lotus Climax 07th DNF 14th cooler
- SwedenSweden Jo Bonnier United KingdomUnited Kingdom BRM 06th DNF 06th Engine failure

World Cup stands after the race

The first five of the race got 8, 6, 4, 3, 2 points. The driver with the fastest race lap received an additional 1 point. Only the five best results from nine races counted. Only the points of the best placed driver on a team counted in the constructors' championship.

Driver ranking

Item driver constructor Points
01 AustraliaAustralia Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax 19th
02 United KingdomUnited Kingdom Tony Brooks Ferrari 14th
03 United States 48United States Phil Hill Ferrari 9
04th United States 48United States Rodger Ward Watson-Offenhauser 8th
05 SwedenSweden Jo Bonnier BRM 8th
06th United States 48United States Jim Rathmann Watson-Offenhauser 6th
07th United States 48United States Johnny Thomson Lesovsky-Offenhauser 5
08th FranceFrance Maurice Trintignant Cooper-Climax 4th
Item driver constructor Points
09 United States 48United States Masts Gregory Cooper-Climax 4th
10 New ZealandNew Zealand Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 4th
11 United States 48United States Tony Bettenhausen Epperly-Offenhauser 3
12 United KingdomUnited Kingdom Innes Ireland Lotus Climax 3
13 BelgiumBelgium Olivier Gendebien Ferrari 3
14th United States 48United States Paul Goldsmith Epperly-Offenhauser 2
15th FranceFrance Jean Behra Ferrari 2
16 United KingdomUnited Kingdom Stirling Moss Cooper-Climax / BRM 2

Constructors' championship

Item constructor Points
01 United KingdomUnited Kingdom cooper 18th
02 ItalyItaly Ferrari 16
03 United KingdomUnited Kingdom BRM 8th
04th United KingdomUnited Kingdom lotus 3

Individual evidence

  1. Grand Prix Results: French GP, 1959. grandprix.com, accessed March 8, 2014 .

Web links