1959 Monaco Grand Prix

The 1959 season opens at Monaco without a reigning world champion on the grid for the first time. Fangio has retired; Hawthorn, who claimed the 1958 title by a single point from Moss, died in a road accident in January.

Entrants

Stirling Moss starts from pole in a Rob Walker–entered Cooper, with Jack Brabham and Ferrari’s Jean Behra within half a second of his time. The Porsche works team make their first appearance in a proper Formula One race, entering Wolfgang von Trips in a 1500cc car — well short of the 2500cc limit — for Monaco only.

André Testut is the last Monégasque driver to start in the home race, following Louis Chiron’s retirement from motorsport the previous year.