Era · 1958–1965
The rear-engine revolution
Cooper put the engine behind the driver and the entire grid followed within three years. British 'garagiste' teams displaced the Italian manufacturers.
- Dominant
- Cooper, Lotus, BRM, Ferrari
- Technology
- Mid-engined layout, monocoque chassis, the 1.5 L formula, the first Constructors' Championship
- Confidence
- medium
The seasons 8
| Season | Rounds | Drivers' champion | Driving for | Points | Wins | Runner-up | Margin | Title race | Constructors' champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | 10 | Jim Clark | Team Lotus | 54 | 6 | Graham Hill | 14 | Team Lotus | |
| 1964 | 10 | John Surtees | Ferrari | 40 | 2 | Graham Hill | 1 | Ferrari | |
| 1963 | 10 | Jim Clark | Team Lotus | 54 | 7 | Graham Hill | 25 | Team Lotus | |
| 1962 | 9 | Graham Hill | BRM | 42 | 4 | Jim Clark | 12 | BRM | |
| 1961 | 8 | Phil Hill | Ferrari | 34 | 2 | Wolfgang von Trips | 1 | Ferrari | |
| 1960 | 10 | Sir Jack Brabham | Cooper | 43 | 5 | Bruce McLaren | 9 | Cooper | |
| 1959 | 9 | Sir Jack Brabham | Cooper | 31 | 2 | Tony Brooks | 4 | Cooper | |
| 1958 | 11 | Mike Hawthorn | Ferrari | 42 | 1 | Sir Stirling Moss | 1 | Vanwall |
Margin is the points gap between champion and runner-up at the end of the season; before 1991 that is net of dropped scores, so it can look small beside the wins. A row marked “so far” is the season still running: its leader, not its champion. The title race is the champion’s lead over the runner-up after each round, above the line when ahead and below it when behind, each season drawn to its own scale. A row reading “not yet run” is a calendar that has been announced and not yet raced. A blank constructors’ champion before 1958 is not a gap — the championship did not exist yet.
Engine formulae 2
| Era | Formula | Typical | Power (bhp) | Revs | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The 2.5-litre formula 1954–1960 | 2.5 L naturally aspirated | Straight-4 to V8 | 250-290 | ~8,000 rpm | Mercedes's desmodromic-valve W196 and the Maserati 250F belong to this period; ends with the rear-engine revolution. |
| The 1.5-litre formula 1961–1965 | 1.5 L naturally aspirated | V8 / flat-8 / H16 | 150-225 | up to 12,000 rpm | Unpopular on introduction for cutting power, but produced light, nimble cars and Clark's Lotus 25 monocoque. |
Regulation changes 3
| Year | Category | Change | Detail | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | technical | 1.5 L formula | Capacity halved and a minimum weight of 450 kg imposed. | Fiercely opposed by British teams, who were unprepared; Ferrari dominated 1961. |
| 1958 | sporting | International Cup for F1 Manufacturers | The first Constructors' Championship, awarded to Vanwall. | Made the constructor, not just the driver, a championship competitor. |
| 1958 | sporting | Commercial fuel mandated | Avgas replaced exotic alcohol fuel blends; race distances cut from 500 km to 300 km. | Cut power and cost, and shortened races to roughly two hours. |
Technical innovations 1
| Year | Innovation | Originator | What it was | What became of it | Banned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Monocoque chassis | Lotus 25 (Colin Chapman) | A stressed-skin aluminium tub replacing the spaceframe. | Halved chassis weight and roughly trebled torsional stiffness. Now universal, in carbon fibre. | — |
Safety 1
Fuel and crowd control questions raised1961
After: Von Trips's Monza crash killing 15 spectators
Spectator placement began to be treated as a design problem rather than a local matter.