The 1959 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on December 12, 1959 at Sebring International Raceway. It was the ninth and final round of the 1959 Formula One season. It was the second United States Grand Prix (ninth including the American Grand Prize races of the 1908–16). It was the first and only occasion the race was held at the home of the 12 Hours of Sebring endurance sports car race, the Sebring International Raceway in Florida. The race was held over 42 laps of the 8.36-kilometre circuit for a total race distance of 351 kilometres.
The race was won by New Zealander Bruce McLaren driving a Cooper T51 for the works Cooper team, the first win for a New Zealand-born driver. McLaren also became the youngest-ever Grand Prix winner, a record that would stand for over 40 years. McLaren won by six tenths of a second over French driver Maurice Trintignant driving a Rob Walker Racing Team-entered Cooper T51. British driver Tony Brooks finished third in his Ferrari Dino 246. Championship points leader Australian Jack Brabham ran out of fuel on the last lap and had to push his Cooper T51 across the line to finish fourth. Brooks' third place finish clinched the title for Brabham. It was the first of three world championships for Brabham, and the first for an Australian, for Cooper and for a rear-engined car.
This was the last race until the 1994 Monaco Grand Prix that no former world champions were in the field.
Read more about 1959 United States Grand Prix: Background, Summary, Classification, Championship Standings After The Race
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