1959 - 50th Anniversary

Fifty years ago, a racing legend cemented his name in motorsport history by becoming the first Australian to be crowned Formula One world champion. Sir Jack Brabham went on to add two further world titles, each unique in its own way, but it is the first success that is being celebrated in 2009.

Running with the works Cooper team, Brabham surpassed all previous personal bests in 1959, claiming not only his first Grand Prix podium, but also his first victory. He racked up a championship-winning total of 31 points from eight starts to see off competition from Ferrari's Tony Brooks and Stirling Moss, who split his season between a privateer Cooper and BRM.

Having worked hard to develop the ground-breaking rear-engined Cooper T45 - effectively an F2 car punching above its weight and occasionally beating the more powerful Ferraris and Vanwalls - Brabham began the year in the new T51. A pure Grand Prix machine, while not necessarily the fastest, it proved to be as reliable as any of its front-engined rivals.

The 1959 season was eventful from the start, with the Argentine Grand Prix cancelled before a wheel had been turned in anger. That left the Monaco Grand Prix to kick off the campaign on 10 May, but the year began without a reigning world champion, following the recently-retired Mike Hawthorn's untimely death in a road accident.

Vanwall, the constructors' champion, was also missing, having withdrawn at the end of 1958 following the deaths of British drivers Peter Collins and Stuart Lewis-Evans, but the famous names of Ferrari, BRM and Maserati were joined by Aston Martin, although all continued to use the front-engined layout.

Having begun his Formula One career four years earlier, with one-off appearances in the British Grand Prix of 1955 and '56, Brabham finally had a machine worthy of his talent, and immediately set about improving on the career-best fourth place he had achieved in Monaco in 1958.

Monaco GP May 10th 1959

Brabham qualified third on the famous Monaco street circuit, but the race was fought out, initially at least, by polewinner Moss and Ferrari's Jean Behra, who swapped places before the Briton took the lead. With Moss suffering gearbox failure in his Cooper and Behra's engine letting the Frenchman down, it left the way clear for Brabham to take the first F1 world championship victory of his career. The Australian also posted the fastest lap of the race, worth a bonus point, as the T51 made a winning debut.

Indianapolis 500 May 30th 1959

Although the Indianapolis 500 was included in the 1959 Grand Prix calendar, it did not actually feature any of the recognised Formula One drivers. In their absence, the race was won by Rodger Ward, but his success was sadly overshadowed by the loss of two drivers, Jerry Unser and Bob Cortner, who were tragically killed during practice.

Dutch GP May 31st 1959

When the season returned to Europe, Brabham moved up to the front row of the grid, qualifying second, alongside Sweden's Joakim Bonnier, at Zandvoort. The pair remained in the same order at the finish but, once again, both Brooks (oil leak) and Moss (gearbox) failed to go the distance, leaving Brabham to capitalise by adding six points to his early championship total. Masten Gregory, meanwhile, underlined the Cooper's potential by completing the podium in third position.

French GP July 5th 1959

The French GP, on the quick road course at Reims, was dominated by Ferrari driver Brooks, who started on pole and went on to win the race in his Dino 246 by almost 30 seconds. Moss, having switched temporarily to a BRM P25 similar to Bonnier's Dutch GP winner, was on course for another good result until he was disqualified for receiving a push start after a spin, allowing Brabham, who had again qualified second, to quietly go about his business. The Australian, unable to keep pace with the Ferraris of Brooks and Phil Hill, eventually came home third to keep up his record of podium finishes.

British GP July 19th 1959

The 1959 British GP was held at Aintree and Brabham once again showed his class in qualifying as he secured his first F1 pole position. The circuit clearly suited the Cooper too, and 'Black Jack' went on to win by a massive 22 seconds over home favourite Moss, while Brooks - having opted for a Vanwall when Ferrari decided against entering - suffered a misfire-related retirement. Rising star Bruce McLaren completed the podium in another Cooper as British cars dominated the result sheets. Approaching the halfway point of the season, Brabham's reliability was already beginning to tell, with none of his rivals able to mount a concerted effort to match him from race to race.

German GP August 2nd 1959

Ironically, Brabham's finishing rate took a hit in the German GP, run on the quirky Avus circuit that consisted of two stretches of autobahn connected by banked hairpins at either end. The race result was decided on aggregate times over two heats, and Brooks again took advantage of the Ferrari's prowess on power circuits to win both heats from pole and claim the bonus point for fastest lap. This time around, Brabham's weekend was spoilt by mechanical trouble, with transmission failure on lap 15 of heat one forcing him into his first retirement of the season. Again, tragedy overshadowed the race as Behra, having split from the dominant Ferrari team, was killed driving for Porsche in a support event.

Portuguese GP August 23rd 1959

Having joined Brabham in retirement at Avus, the Portuguese GP was to be Moss' weekend. The Briton put his Rob Walker-run Cooper on pole for the only world championship event to be held on the Monsanto circuit close to Lisbon, and went on to take his first win of the year, complete with fastest lap. Brabham qualified second, but suffered another setback to his title challenge when he crashed out while trying to avoid a backmarker. The Cooper hit a telegraph pole and Brabham was thrown from the cockpit, fortunately avoiding any major injury - and even more narrowly avoiding being run over by eventual runner-up Gregory. Brooks, meanwhile, finished five laps down and outside the points.

Italian GP September 13th 1959

Moss proved that his Portuguese success was no fluke by repeating the performance in the penultimate round of the season at Monza, qualifying on pole and taking the win, despite the fast Italian circuit being expected to favour Ferrari. Brooks, looking to get his title bid back on track, qualified alongside the Briton, but was forced into retirement by a clutch problem at the start. Even so, Moss' success was secured when he opted not to change tyres, leaving Phil Hill to settle for second in the best of the Prancing Horses. Brabham, meanwhile, bounced back from his successive retirements by converting third on the grid into his fifth podium finish of the season, collecting another four points as Cooper clinched the constructors' title.

United States GP December 12th 1959

Despite posting more non-scores than Brabham, both Brooks and Moss remained in the title hunt heading to Sebring, ensuring that the championship would be decided at the last race. The pole went to Moss for the third time in a row, while Brabham started from second, with Brooks back in fourth. The Ferrari driver was removed from contention almost straight away, his car hit at the start by that of team-mate Wolfgang von Trips, but Moss and Brabham continued to battle over victory until the Rob Walker Cooper suffered transmission failure while pulling away. Brabham, having led early on, now looked likely to win the race and the championship - only for disaster to strike in the final lap as he ran out of fuel.

While Bruce McLaren and Maurice Trintignant went through to ensure Cooper still finished 1-2, Brabham heroically pushed his car across the line in fourth place, before collapsing on the floor from exhaustion. Although Brooks recovered from a precautionary pit-stop to claim third, the Australian had done enough to clinch the world title. Ironically, with only a driver's best five results counting, the heroic effort to complete the USGP only resulted in three points that were eventually dropped from his season's tally.

Brabham's success - he also won the non-championship Daily Express BRDC International Trophy at Silverstone - helped Cooper easily win the constructors' title. The British marque took five victories in all, three more than Ferrari, with BRM picking up the other.

Twelve months later, Brabham repeated as champion on the back of five straight mid-season victories, and the Brabham name became legendary six years further on, as he won a third title, but this time in a car of his own making.

To this day, Sir Jack Brabham, the first driver in history to be knighted for his services to motorsport, remains one of racing's most popular personalities.