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.
Read more about this topic: 1959 Italian Grand Prix
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