Jack Brabham1950s Racing Drivers
Jack Brabham wins his place in the list of top 1950s racing drivers as not only did he become Formula One champion but also went on to run and drive for his own team. Brabham won his first World Drivers Championship in 1959, at the end of a decade which saw him make his name as a racing driver on the world stage. Brabham enjoyed his first motor racing success in his native Australia. He won four Australian championships on-the-tot and was the 1953 hill climb champion driving a Cooper-Bristol. That was to be crucial as Brabham was to form a successful relationship with the Cooper Car Company which would see both Brabham and Cooper propelled into Formula One fame. Brabham was to base himself in the United Kingdom and he made his first excursion into Formula One driving a Cooper. He debuted in the 1955 British Grand Prix, but was forced to retire from the race. Again, in 1956, the Australian entered the British Grand Prix, and history repeated itself as he was forced to retire.
He entered six Grand Prix in the 1957 Formula One series, his best performance being a sixth place finish in the Monaco Grand Prix. All but one was driven in Cooper Car Company cars. He rode the British Grand Prix as one of the Rob Walker Racing team, but yet again the hoodoo struck as he was forced to retire yet again. So far, Brabham had never achieved a placing in the World Drivers Championship, but all that was to change in 1958. Driving a Cooper throughout the season he finished third in the championship. A year later he was to emerge as the world’s top driver winning the Monaco Grand Prix as well as lifting the cloud which hung over him in his previous British Grand Prix by winning the race. Still with Cooper, the Australian went to claim a second championship in 1960. Brabham’s success had very much been based on his relationship with Cooper. Indeed, he persuaded them to adopt the rear-engined designs which were beginning to dominate Formula One. However, he was to break with Cooper following a mediocre campaign in 1961, which saw him slip to 11th in the drivers championship. Brabham went on to form his own Brabham Racing Corporation with whom he won the World Drivers Championship, for a third time, in 1966. Related Articles |
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Brabham had failed to make an impression in his first two Grand Prix ventures,
but his fortunes were to change. A third place finish in a non-championship race at Snetterton persuaded him
he had a future in Formula One.