Season Summary
Vanwall's withdrawal, believed to have been a result of the high mortality rate of the 1958 season, left Ferrari as the only race-winning team in the Championship. However, the British dominance continued with Cooper's revolutionary rear-engined cars. Powered by the compact Coventry-Climax 2.5 litre engine, the Coopers driven by Jack Brabham, Stirling Moss and Bruce McLaren won five races and BRM finally won one in the hands of Jo Bonnier.
Aston Martin also appeared with a car which, in the face of Cooper's rear-engined revolution, was outdated and overweight. The German Grand Prix was held for the second time on the very high speed AVUS circuit, where Ferrari's Jean Behra was killed during an unrelated sports car race.
Ferrari's Tony Brooks took the fight to the Coopers and going into the final race he, Moss or Brabham could win the title. Moss retired from the race, the inaugural United States Grand Prix, giving Brabham the lead. Brabham ran out of fuel on the last lap but pushed his car across the line to finish fourth. With Brooks unable to do better than third Brabham became the first Australian World Champion while Cooper won the Constructors' crown.
Read more about this topic: 1959 Formula One Season
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