The season began without a defending champion on the grid. Five-time champion Juan Manuel Fangio had retired after 1958, and 1958 champion Mike Hawthorn had both retired from racing and been killed in a road accident in January 1959. This left the championship genuinely open and contested across a grid in transition, with Cooper's mid-engined layout — not yet universally adopted — increasingly proving its worth against Ferrari's front-engined orthodoxy.
The dominant technical story of 1959 was Cooper's rear-engined Climax-powered cars versus Ferrari's more powerful but heavier front-engined machines. The season also marked the last year in which the Indianapolis 500 counted toward the World Championship, a tradition that had always involved a separate pool of American drivers with no crossover with the F1 regulars.
Nine championship rounds were held, including the inaugural United States Grand Prix at Sebring International Raceway — a circuit combining airport runways and technical infield sections. The British Grand Prix moved from Silverstone to Aintree, while the German Grand Prix relocated from the Nürburgring to AVUS, a circuit consisting of two long Autobahn straights linked by a tight hairpin and a steeply banked 43-degree turn. Several originally planned rounds were cancelled: the Argentine Grand Prix (dropped after Fangio and Gonzalez retired from racing), the Belgian Grand Prix (financial dispute over start money), and the Moroccan Grand Prix (monetary reasons). Points were awarded to the top five finishers, with a bonus point for fastest lap, but only each driver's best five results counted toward the championship.
Vanwall withdrew after 1958 following the deteriorating health of owner Tony Vandervell. Stirling Moss moved to the Rob Walker private team, racing a Cooper. Ferrari rebuilt its line-up after Hawthorn's retirement, bringing in Jean Behra from BRM, Tony Brooks from Vanwall, and Cliff Allison from Lotus. Porsche entered their 1500cc cars in limited championship rounds despite the formula requiring 2500cc engines, a preview of their full assault in the 1961 1500cc era. Aston Martin made their F1 debut with Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby.
The opening round at Monaco set the tone: Moss led before transmission failure handed Brabham victory. At Zandvoort, Jo Bonnier took BRM's first ever championship victory in a commanding drive. The French Grand Prix at Reims saw Ferrari dominate on the high-speed road circuit, with Brooks leading Hill and Brabham to the flag in scorching heat exceeding 44°C. Ferrari did not travel to Aintree for the British Grand Prix over an Italian labour dispute, allowing Brabham to win comfortably.
AVUS produced the season's darkest day before the Grand Prix. In the preceding sports car race run in wet conditions, Jean Behra's Porsche 718 RSK crested the banked turn and became airborne; Behra struck a flagpole with his head and died from the skull fracture. The Grand Prix itself ran in two timed heats. Ferrari dominated, with Brooks taking victory on aggregate. A separate fatality involving BRP's Ivor Bueb in a Formula Two race at Charade earlier in the season further underscored the era's dangers.
At Monsanto, Moss won for Walker's Cooper to stay in title contention. At Monza, Moss again triumphed with a strategic drive that conserved his tyres while Ferrari's Phil Hill and Dan Gurney faded at their pit stops.
Heading into the United States Grand Prix at Sebring, Brabham led with 31 points, Moss had 25.5, and Brooks had 23. Brabham needed only to stay ahead of his rivals; Moss had to win with Brabham behind him; Brooks needed victory with both rivals failing. Brooks was effectively eliminated when teammate Wolfgang von Trips rear-ended him on lap one. Moss built a ten-second lead over Brabham before his gearbox failed on lap five — denying him the championship for the fourth consecutive year despite often being the fastest driver on track.
Brabham and teammate Bruce McLaren then ran in formation until, just a mile from the finish, Brabham ran out of fuel. McLaren swept through to win; Maurice Trintignant followed in second. Brabham climbed out and began pushing his Cooper toward the line, crossing it five minutes later to be classified fourth — a scene that became iconic in Formula One history.
Jack Brabham won the Drivers' Championship with 31 points (net), ahead of Tony Brooks on 27 and Stirling Moss on 25.5. Cooper-Climax won the Manufacturers' Championship with 40 points ahead of Ferrari's 32 and BRM's 18. Cooper became the first constructor to win both titles with a rear-engined car, establishing a template every subsequent World Champion would follow. Brabham became the first Australian to win the Drivers' Championship.
The 1959 season marked the definitive transition toward rear-engined Formula One cars. Cooper's twin titles confirmed that the mid-engined layout was not a novelty but the future. Lotus, BRM, and Ferrari would all field competitive rear-engined machinery within two seasons. The inaugural US Grand Prix at Sebring established North America as a permanent fixture on the F1 calendar, eventually leading to multiple American venues across subsequent decades. The Brabham push-finish at Sebring remains one of the sport's most celebrated moments of determination.