1959 Italian GP

## Track Facts

* Name – Monza
* Location – Italy
* Corners – 7
* Laps – 72
* Base (Worst) Lap Time – 2:30.000
* Road Circuit:
* Lap Record (Real Life) – 1:39.700 (Stirling Moss)
* Lap Record (F1R) – 1:38.207 (Jean Behra)
* Combined Circuit:
* Lap Record (Real Life) – 2:42.600 (Juan Manuel Fangio)
* Lap Record (F1R) – 2:41.781 (Giuseppe Farina)
* Pit Lane Length – 40 seconds\*
* Fuel Consumption – High
* Tyre Wear – Medium

\*Note that this season pit-stops will last longer than in previous seasons; this number represents the time it takes to travel down the pit-lane NOT including the time you will spend stationary.

## Qualifying & Grid

It looks like a straight fight between Maserati and BRM for this race, with Championship protagonist Bonnier on Pole for Maserati ahead of Graham Hill in 2nd for BRM, Gurney in 3rd for Maserati, Phil Hill and Gregory in 4th and 5th for BRM with McLaren in 6th for Maserati. Next up are the Ferrari and Cooper drivers, with von Trips, d'Orey and Brabham in 7th through to 9th and then Flockhart, Behra and Bianchi in 10th through to 12th positions.

Trintignant is 13th for Porsche, from Allison in a very respectable 14th for Connaught, from Gendebien 15th for Porsche and then debutant Piper in a brilliant 16th for Connaught - which gives him a shot at the Top 10 if he can put together a strong race performance! Brooks is next up for Aston Martin in 17th, with Fairman 18th for Vanwall, Salavdori 19th for Aston Martin and de Beaufort rounding out the Top 20 for Vanwall.

Meanwhile his team-mate Ireland will be disappointed to start in 21st, with Moss 22nd for Connaught and de Filippis a little off his team-mate's pace in 23rd. The JBW's have not managed to keep up with the pace of development of the rest of the grid - as Scarlatti starts 24th, from Burgess 25th and Naylor 26th. Shelby will be disappointed to be so far behind his own team-mates with a 27th position starting point - before Testut, who lines up in 28th after a disastrous qualifying session for the Monegasque…

…though it could be worse, given that Lotus fail to qualify with any of their three cars due to issues with being able to get the cars to the circuit, which means that Bob Said's debut start will have to wait until the final race of the season!

## Race Commentary

*Lap 1* – Graham Hill gets the best start here, as he gets the better of Bonnier off the line – while the Maserati is more occupied with defending from the fast-starting Flockhart but is unable to keep the Brit behind him making it a 1-2 for the British here! Bonnier is now 3rd ahead of Gregory in 4th after Phil Hill moves over to let his American compatriot and team-mate move past him.

Phil Hill retains 5th to keep all three BRM’s in the points positions, while McLaren holds 6th from Behra up to 7th for Cooper, Trintignant into 8th for Porsche as he looks to revive his flagging Championship chances, Gendebien up to 9th after a great start for the Porsche duo and then Bianchi rounding out the Top 10.

Gurney drops to 11th after bogging down off the line, looking much heavier than those around him – with Fairman into 12th bringing Salvadori up to 13th with him. Allison retains 14th, Brooks is up to 15th with a great start for de Filippis moving her into 16th overall, Ireland up to 17th and Naylor into an impressive 18th – despite both of those last two drivers being blocked by their own team-mates!

The Ferrari’s have a woeful start, as they look heavy and cumbersome right now – causing them to drop right down the order. Von Trips is 19th from de Beaufort 20th and then Brabham down to 21st ahead of Moss 22nd, Scarlatti 23rd, Burgess 24th and d’Orey down to 25th overall. Meanwhile Piper has a tough start to his opening race, as he finds himself blocking several drivers…most of whom wait until the right moment to pass…

However Shelby and Testut are both far too eager and they try to go around the outside at the Parabolica and simply run out of room – and while Testut does manage to come out ahead of the Connaught, he has definitely damaged his car. Shelby’s damage is even more severe, and he elects to pit already to mend that damage and therefore drops down to the back of the field!

*Lap 2* – Graham Hill is starting pull away at the front, with a 2 second lead over Flockhart, who in turn has a 1.8 second lead over Bonnier. Meanwhile the man on the move is Trintignant, as McLaren and Behra squabble over 6th at Lesmo 1, he is able to take brake earlier and get a superior exit to claim the position himself from McLaren in 7th. Behra gets pushed rather wider though, and he also loses 8th to Gendebien’s opportunistic move!

Meanwhile Gurney’s slow start to the race continues, as he gets challenged by Fairman at Curva Grande – and as they jockey for position and the inside line, they both seem unaware that Salvadori is there waiting to pounce! The Aston Martin driver moves up to 11th, while Fairman keeps hold of 12th and Gurney drops to 13th overall.

Naylor gets the better of Ireland for 17th, while behind them the Ferrari’s start goes from bad to worse as von Trips loses 19th to de Beaufort and Brabham gets challenged by Moss – but thanks to the Connaught driver needing to defend his own position from Scarlatti he pulls back into line. Though that proves to be his undoing, as Burgess slipstreams behind Scarlatti and pulls out to go around both his team-mate and Moss to claim 22nd position. Indeed, he almost passes Brabham too…!

*Lap 3* – Considering his position in the Championship, Gregory is incredibly generous to move over and let compatriot Phil Hill inherit 4th position – while at the front the other BRM of Graham Hill sets a new fastest lap of a 1:44.5 to extend his lead to 2.7 seconds. Meanwhile, Bianchi is desperately defending to retain 10th place from Salvadori and Fairman – while Gurney’s fall from grace appears to have come to an end, with a lap of retaining 13th and steadying the ship!

Further back, more Ferrari woes as Brabham ensures that Burgess cannot possibly pass him at the 2nd Lesmo – but that only pushes them both wide and allows Moss and Scarlatti to both scamper through into 21st and 22nd respectively.

*Lap 4* – A 1:44.2 for Graham Hill has his lead out to 3.6 over Flockhart and 8.2 over Bonnier in 3rd – while behind him the BRM’s are still sorting themselves out, as Phil Hill moves over to let Gregory back past him into 4th. McLaren meanwhile is under pressure in 7th, as Gendebien pulls out to try and pass around the outside at Parabolica – but he easily defends from the Porsche, which allows Behra behind to sneak in and nab 8th from Gendebien!

Bianchi is still holding up both Salvadori and Fairman, who exit the Parabolica and cross the line neck and neck with each other!!! Further back, Brooks moves over to let de Filippis through at the 1st Lesmo – but does not react quick enough to Naylor and sees the JBW move into 16th as a result. Finally, von Trips successfully defends from Moss and Scarlatti, though Brabham is not so lucky and sees a presumably lighter Burgess sail past into 23rd position.

*Lap 5* – A 1:43.6 for Graham Hill has his lead out to 4.2 over Flockhart and over 10 seconds to Bonnier in 3rd, and in a familiar move Gregory moves over to let Phil Hill into 4th – and all of that jostling for position between the BRM’s is keeping Trintignant in 6th very much in contention! McLaren again defends from both Behra and Gendebien, while behind them Salvadori really commits to the move on Bianchi and tries to go around the outside of the 2nd Lesmo – which not only does not allow him to pass, but also hands the incentive to Fairman in the Vanwall, who claims 11th as a result!

Meanwhile, lap after lap Moss is unable to quite find a way past von Trips for fear of Scarlatti behind taking advantage…and despite von Trips getting a slow exit from Curva Grande, the Connaught simply tucks in – as does the first JBW of Scarlatti…but unbeknownst to the whole group Burgess (fresh from his overtake on Brabham), manages to get a draft behind his team-mate and pass them all on the outside into the 1st Lesmo to move up to 20th from von Trips 21st, Moss 22nd and Scarlatti 23rd overall. Behind them d’Orey blocks Testut, who is still competitive with the Ferrari’s despite his damage!

*Lap 6* – A 1:43.4 for Graham Hill makes the relevant gaps 4.6 and 12.2 seconds to Flockhart and Bonnier respectively! Though one wonders just how many stops he will be making to justify this pace…

McLaren again blocks Behra and Gendebien, while behind them Salvadori rights a wrong from his point of view by using Bianchi’s blocking of Fairman to reclaim 11th from the Vanwall! De Filippis blocks Naylor for 15th while further back von Trips is still using all of his cunning and guile to retain 21st despite the significant pressure from Moss and Scarlatti. Finally, at the back of the pack Testut does get the better of d’Orey for 25th, though will surely be pitting soon for both fuel and to fix his damaged car! Worth noting that Shelby may be last by some distance after his pit-stop, but he is moving faster than several of the drivers ahead of him…

*Lap 7* – A 1:42.4 for Graham Hill has his gaps out to 5.4 and 14.4 respectively, which could be setting up a brilliant tilt for a podium if he can keep this pace up for a few more laps! Remember that a similar strategy for Phil Hill last time out netted him 4th place of course…

Meanwhile, Bianchi’s resolve could not last all race, as he slides wide at the 1st Lesmo to let both Salvadori and Fairman through – though they are neck and neck on the run down to Rettifilo Centro, before it is…FAIRMAN who manages to get his nose ahead at the Parabolica to move into 10th from Salvadori 11th and Bianchi in 12th overall. Behind them Naylor is all over the back of de Filippis but can not find a way through.

Von Trips’ defensive efforts are sadly over for now, as he finds himself out-braked by Moss at the 1st Lesmo – where they both run a little wide to try and avoid locking their tyres up, which allows Scarlatti to move past them both…followed by Brabham!!! Moss recovers to 23rd, while von Trips looks forlorn in 24th position now.

*Lap 8* – Graham Hill is still fastest on track but no new Fastest Lap this time, as the gaps stabilise a little – though the BRM’s do swap 4th place again to put Gregory back as Bonnier’s closest challenger…

…while behind them and the gaining Trintignant, McLaren brakes hard at the 2nd Lesmo to send Behra scurrying for the outside line to avoid a collision, which allows Gendebien to re-take 8th place – though with Fairman just 2 seconds back this group may need to stop squabbling or they will be caught!

Further back, Brabham’s opportunistic move does not keep him ahead for long – as first Moss squeezes past on the inside of the Parabolica and, as the Aussie struggles for grip on the outside, von Trips goes back ahead into 23rd as well.

*Lap 9* – A 1:41.4 shows Graham Hill’s pace at the front – as he is up to 6.5 seconds ahead of Flockhart and a strong 18.5 ahead of Bonnier! Gregory meanwhile allows Phil Hill to re-pass him again, which if anything is not bringing them closer to Bonnier in 3rd (some 4 seconds ahead now) but rather allowing Trintignant to close in (just 0.7 seconds behind now)!

De Filippis looks to have the measure of Naylor in their fight for 15th, while Moss challenges Scarlatti for 21st but can not find a way to pass this time around.

*Lap 10* – Graham Hill comes into the pits, which drops him right down the order – allowing Flockhart to claim the lead with a 13 second gap back to Bonnier in 2nd from Phil Hill 3rd, Gregory 4th and Trintignant now 5th (and just 0.6 seconds off the back of the BRM’s)…

Meanwhile McLaren blocks Gendebien, which again allows Behra to sneak in and claim what is now 7th position! Fairman defends 9th from Salvadori with the two coming remarkably close to bashing wheels at one stage…meanwhile near the back Scarlatti is now inside the Top 20 from Moss 21st, von Trips 22nd, Brabham 23rd and then Graham Hill emerging with a heavy fuel load and cold tyres exactly where you don’t want to be – 1.9 seconds ahead of an already damaged Testut moving at a vaguely competitive pace!!!

*Lap 11* – Flockhart’s turn to pit this time, which puts Championship protagonist Bonnier into the race lead! The BRM’s appear to have sorted out that Phil Hill will lead their charge now, with him just 3.4 seconds behind the Maserati and both Gregory and Trintignant only a second further back in 3rd and 4th respectively!

McLaren is now up to 5th and not about to give up his 1st ever points paying position easily – as he slams the door on Behra to keep the Cooper back in 6th, with Gendebien, Fairman, Salvadori and Bianchi completing the Top 10. De Filippis is still blocking Naylor, albeit for 13th position now, while a great pass for Moss on Scarlatti sees the Connaught leap up to 19th from Scarlatti 20th, von Trips 21st, Brabham 22nd and Flockhart out in 23rd thanks to that extra lap of running.

Graham Hill meanwhile chooses not to get tangled up with the disaster zone that is Testut by moving over and letting the Porsche into 24th – though the BRM will soon have d’Orey for company too if he is not careful!

*Lap 12* – McLaren again blocks Behra, which allows Gendebien to repay the favour and move into 6th at the 2nd Lesmo – while behind them disaster strikes! Salvadori and Fairman had been getting incredibly close to one another and they both try for the inside line at the Curva Grande, which sees them touch wheels and be forced to slow down to ensure they do not spin. Both cars are certainly damaged, and that contact allows Bianchi up to 8th place, with Fairman 9th and Salvadori 10th – thanks to the gap back to Gurney et al…

Moss blocks Scarlatti for 19th, while Testut pits from 24th to emerge in 28th and last some 5 seconds ahead of Shelby – though an angry Monegasque is hardly what the Connaught would have hoped to have some 5 seconds behind him! Graham Hill is now 24th from d’Orey 25th and the heavily laden Piper up to 26th place.

*Lap 13* – Another block by McLaren and another pass behind him, as Behra now expects the opportunity and moves up to 6th at the expense of Gendebien! Salvadori passes Fairman for 9th despite their respective damage, which means Gurney is now gaining even more on them.

Another lap for de Filippis blocking Naylor without the JBW being able to pass, while further back Flockhart already manages to pass Brabham for 22nd and d’Orey overtakes Graham Hill with his heavier fuel load for 24th position.

*Lap 14* – Three of the four leaders pit, with Bonnier, Phil Hill and Trintignant all coming in – which means Gregory now takes the race lead. McLaren is now up to 2nd place, with another block allowing Gendebien to move up to 3rd ahead of Behra 4th and Bianchi now up to 5th. Salvadori is now 6th despite his damage, though with Gurney now up to 7th after making short work of the pass on Fairman, the Aston Martin will need to watch out! Allison is up to 9th position, with Naylor finally getting the better of de Filippis on the run down to the 1st Lesmo to move into the Top 10! De Filippis is 11th from Brooks 12th, Ireland 13th, de Beaufort 14th, Burgess 15th, Moss 16th, Scarlatti 17th, Flockhart up to 18th after an easy pass on von Trips 19th and then Brabham rounding out the Top 20.

Bonnier emerges in 21st, from Trintignant 22nd as the Porsche has a much better stop than Phil Hill 23rd…

*Lap 15* – The leading four drivers pit along with Salvadori in 6th, which promotes Bianchi to the race lead by some 15 seconds ahead of Gurney now 2nd, Fairman 3rd – though the damaged Vanwall is falling back into the clutches of those behind, which include Allison in 4th, Naylor in 5th, de Filippis 6th, Brooks 7th, Ireland 8th, de Beaufort 9th and Burgess rounding out the Top 10.

Moss is up to 11th from Scarlatti 12th, Flockhart 13th (leader of those to have already pitted), von Trips 14th and Brabham 15th with Gregory out in 16th after his stop JUST ahead of Bonnier by less than a second!

Trintignant is up to 18th, Phil Hill 19th and d’Orey rounds out the Top 20. Meanwhile McLaren has a slow stop that allows Gendebien and Behra to sneak ahead into 21st and 22nd respectively, while McLaren is out in 23rd from Graham Hill 24th, Piper 25th and Salvadori out in 26th with his damage now repaired.

*Lap 16* – Fairman is starting to really struggle for pace with his damage, which allows Allison up to 3rd, from Naylor 4th and de Filippis 5th. Fairman has dropped to 6th overall and will surely be stopping soon to fix it…

Gregory meanwhile is struggling to cope with his cold tyres, which promotes Bonnier to 16th position as the BRM fails to stick to the apex at the 1st Lesmo. Behra gets blocked by Gendebien, while McLaren is now holding up Graham Hill for 23rd position.

*Lap 17* – Bianchi sets a new Fastest Lap of a 1:40.8, which moves him 18 seconds ahead of Gurney at the front of the race, while Fairman loses another place and drops behind Brooks to 7th. Burgess defends his Top 10 position tigerishly from Moss while Trintignant passes Gregory for 17th at the Parabolica.

D’Orey passes Phil Hill for 19th position, while Gendebien continues to hold up Behra for 21st and McLaren blocks Graham Hill for 23rd position.

*Lap 18* – Another series of stops here, with Bianchi, Gurney, Naylor, de Filippis, Fairman (who not only has to fix the damage but also runs out of fuel on his final lap) and also Shelby coming in. That means Allison now leads for Connaught from Brooks 2nd, Ireland 3rd, de Beaufort 4th, Burgess 5th after he blocks Moss with Scarlatti 7th, Flockhart 8th, von Trips 9th and Brabham now inside the Top 10.

Bonnier is up to 11th from Trintignant 12th and then Bianchi out in 13th place. D’Orey is up to 14th after he passes Gregory with Phil Hill 16th, Gendebien 17th, Behra 18th, McLaren 19th and Graham Hill 20th. Gurney is out in 21st, from Naylor 22nd, de Filippis 23rd, Piper up to 24th, Salvadori 25th and Fairman out in 26th, while Testut is now 27th and Shelby is back at the rear of the field.

*Lap 19* – Allison, Brooks, de Beaufort, Moss (far enough behind Allison to avoid queuing) and Scarlatti all come into the pits this lap, which promotes Ireland into 1st position, Burgess into 2nd, Flockhart 3rd, von Trips 4th, Brabham 5th, Bonnier 6th, Trintignant 7th, Bianchi 8th, d’Orey 9th and Gregory rounding out the Top 10.

Phil Hill is up to 11th, from Gendebien 12th blocking Behra in 13th, McLaren blocking Graham Hill over 14th and then Allison out in 16th. Gurney is back up to 17th from Brooks out in 18th, Naylor up to 19th and de Beaufort out in 20th position.

De Filippis is up to 21st, Piper 22nd, Salvadori 23rd, Scarlatti out in 24th ahead of Moss 25th as the JBW team do a great job to get him out ahead of the Connaught!

*Lap 20* – Ireland and Burgess both pit, which means Flockhart is now into the race lead ahead of the Ferrari duo of von Trips and Brabham. Bonnier is up to 4th, from Trintignant 5th and then d’Orey 6th after he comfortably scythes past the cold-tyre clad Cooper of Bianchi.

Gregory is back up to 8th from Phil Hill 9th and Behra 10th after he finally makes a move on Gendebien stick at the 1st Lesmo! McLaren is 12th from Graham Hill 13th and then Ireland out in 14th from Allison 15th, Gurney 16th, Brooks 17th, Naylor 18th, de Beaufort 19th keeping de Filippis behind in 20th – with Piper now up to 21st on his debut ahead of Burgess in 22nd overall after his stop.

*Lap 21* – Flockhart now has a 9 second lead over von Trips, with Brabham tracking his team-mate every step of the way! Bonnier is falling back a little in 4th ahead of Trintignant and d’Orey. Behind them Gregory moves over to let Phil Hill up to 8th as the American seems to really have the bit between his teeth in this stint!!!

McLaren blocks Graham Hill over 12th, while a little further back de Beaufort blocks de Filippis for 19th – and the man that takes advantage is Piper, who moves up to 19th ahead of the pair of them by sticking to the inside line at Curva Parabolica.

*Lap 22* – Flockhart pits for the 2nd time, emerging in 16th position – thereby promoting von Trips into the race lead and Brabham into 2nd…though the latter appears to have had a recurrence of the technical fault he has had in previous races, which he does seem to be coping with slightly better than in previous races. One wonders whether his driving style may be causing these issues…!

Bonnier is back up to 3rd from Trintignant 4th and d’Orey 5th for Ferrari. Bianchi is up to 6th from Phil Hill 7th and Behra in 8th after he out-drags Gregory on the run down to the Curva Grande. Gendebien is 10th from McLaren, Graham Hill, Ireland, Allison and then Gurney in 15th place.

De Filippis moves into the Top 20 at the expense of de Beaufort on this lap, while behind them Salvadori easily passes Burgess for 22nd on account of his cold tyres! Meanwhile Testut is on the war path, passing Fairman at Curva Grande before taking Moss and Scarlatti – with Fairman latching on to follow him through also to make it Testut 24th, Fairman 25th, Scarlatti 26th and Moss 27th overall.

*Lap 23* – Von Trips’ lead is up to 3.5 seconds from Brabham, while further back Gregory looks a lot heavier on fuel than those around him and so concedes 9th to Gendebien’s Porsche. Meanwhile Ireland, Allison, Gurney and Flockhart go 4-wide down into the 1st Lesmo, and it is…FLOCKHART who emerges in 13th from Gurney 14th, Allison 15th and Ireland dropping to the rear of the group in 16th position.

Piper meanwhile continues to pick up spots, with passes on Naylor and Brooks to move up to 17th position! Testut also overhauls Burgess for 23rd place this time around…

*Lap 24* – Brabham pits to fix his damage, dropping him down the order and promoting Bonnier to 2nd, Trintignant to 3rd, d’Orey to 4th and Bianchi back into the points scoring positions! Phil Hill pulls out to take a look at Bianchi’s 5th place – but thinks better of it…though before he can get back on the racing line Behra has snuck in and taken the position! The Belgian then allows his team-mate through later in the lap as Behra takes 5th from Bianchi 6th, the opportunistic Gendebien 7th and Phil Hill down to 8th place.

Gregory is now 9th from McLaren 10th and Graham Hill 11th, Flockhart 12th, Gurney 13th, Allison 14th, Ireland 15th, Piper 16th, Brooks 17th, Naylor 18th, de Filippis 19th and then Brabham out in 20th just ahead of de Beaufort! Testut also stops this lap, which promotes Burgess to 23rd, Fairman to 24th, Scarlatti to 25th and Moss to 26th position.

*Lap 25* – Von Trips and Piper both pit for the 1st time on this lap (putting the debutant in some exalted company strategically speaking!), which hands the race lead to Bonnier from Trintignant 2nd, d’Orey 3rd, Behra 4th and then Bianchi makes a mess of the Parabolica and almost spins! He recovers just in time – though not soon enough to prevent Gendebien claiming 5th and Phil Hill also moving through in 6th place.

Gregory is up to 8th from McLaren 9th, Graham Hill 10th (pressuring the Maserati ahead!) and Flockhart 11th (who has already stopped twice today!). Gurney is 12th and von Trips is out in 13th position – with no fewer than 7 cars and 15 seconds between him and Championship rival/team-mate Brabham! Within those cars Piper’s stop promotes Naylor to 16th thanks to his pass on Brooks (who stays 17th), de Filippis to 18th and Salvadori to 19th after passes on both de Beaufort (now 20th) and Brabham put all three Aston Martin’s adjacent to one another on track!

Fairman is on the comeback trail behind and takes what is now 22nd from Burgess at the 1st Lesmo – while Scarlatti and Moss are 24th and 25th and Piper is out in 26th with Testut bearing down on him…

*Lap 26* – D’Orey stops this lap after his tyres looked to be ready to give up entirely! That means Behra is now 3rd (with Bonnier and Trintignant streaking away up front!) from Gendebien 4th, Phil Hill 5th, Bianchi 6th, Gregory 7th, McLaren 8th, Graham Hill 9th and Flockhart now inside the Top 10!

Gurney is 11th, with Allison 12th (after easily overtaking the heavily laden von Trips), Naylor 13th (with passes on Ireland early in the lap and then the struggling von Trips), Brooks 14th (after he follows Naylor through both times!), Ireland 15th (with a pass on von Trips at the Parabolica) and then von Trips down to 16th after a lap to forget for him!

De Filippis is 17th from Salvadori 18th, de Beaufort 19th and then Fairman up to 20th after a relatively easy pass on Brabham (still 21st) ahead of Burgess 22nd and then d’Orey out in 23rd position. Behind them Testut makes quick work passing the heavily fuelled Piper for 26th place.

*Lap 27* – Bonnier threatens Bianchi’s fastest lap here – but does not quite beat the Cooper’s efforts. Although that does put him some 5.2 seconds ahead of Trintignant and 28 ahead of Behra in 3rd! Behind them Gregory looks far heavier on fuel than his rivals, which allows McLaren to out-drag him down to Curva Grande – but the American then allows his team-mate Graham Hill to draft behind him and then slingshot past the Maserati before Lesmo 1! That means Graham Hill is now 7th from McLaren 8th and Gregory 9th overall.

More spots lost for von Trips, who concedes 16th to Salvadori and 17th to de Filippis (as the Aston Martin’s swap places once the passes were completed). Brabham also loses 21st to Burgess this lap and d’Orey falls behind Scarlatti in 23rd in what is a lap that Ferrari Team Principal Tim Wagner looks less than pleased about!

*Lap 28* – More stops up front, as a whole host of different strategies play out – and it is the leading duo of Bonnier and Trintignant in this time around. Behra now leads by 2.3 seconds from Gendebien in 2nd with Phil Hill 3rd, Bianchi 4th and Graham Hill into 5th position.

McLaren, Gregory, Flockhart, Gurney and then the emerging Bonnier round out the Top 10! Allison is 11th, from Naylor 12th and then Trintignant out in 13th place as, despite the longer pit-lane, more stops looks to be advantageous right now thanks to the heavy fuel consumption here! Meanwhile Salvadori overtakes Ireland for 15th, while both de Beaufort and Fairman jockey for position and the chance to pass von Trips. Despite almost colliding, it is eventually Fairman who takes 18th from de Beaufort 19th and von Trips down to 20th position (still around 13.5 seconds ahead of Brabham…).

Moss passes d’Orey for 24th place, as all the Ferrari trio look to play the long game with their strategic choices…

*Lap 29* – The leading duo pitting together is becoming something of a theme, as Behra and Gendebien become the latest pair to do so! That promotes Phil Hill into the race lead, with Graham Hill passing Bianchi this lap to make it a BRM and a Hill 1-2!!!

Bianchi is still 3rd JUST ahead of McLaren 4th and Gregory now 5th, with Flockhart and Gurney in 6th and 7th – while behind them the fight for 8th between Bonnier, Allison and Naylor down to the Parabolica is won by…NAYLOR! The JBW takes 8th from Allison 9th and then Bonnier rounds out the Top 10. Further back, Brooks selflessly sacrifices his chances of passing Trintignant for what is now 11th to allow Salvadori to do so – meaning Trintignant is now 12th and Brooks 13th overall. De Filippis passes Ireland for 14th at Lesmo 1, with Fairman up to 16th, de Beaufort 17th, von Trips perhaps crucially in 18th and then it is Behra out in 19th position with Gendebien right behind in 20th just 1.6 seconds behind the Cooper!

Scarlatti takes 22nd from Brabham here, with the Ferrari pit-wall looking fairly rueful as it stands…

*Lap 30* – Graham Hill and McLaren both pit this lap, which means Phil Hills’ lead is now 8 seconds over Bianchi in 2nd, with Gregory 3rd, Flockhart into a respectable 4th and Gurney up to 5th position. Naylor is up to 6th briefly – before he is made to look incredibly slow by the man of this lap, Roy Salvadori!!! The Aston Martin driver is on fire, as he passes Bonnier (comfortably) at Curva Grande, Allison at Lesmo 1 and then Naylor at the Parabolica to move him up to 6th from Naylor 7th, Allison 8th, Bonnier 9th and now Brooks rounding out the Top 10 in a great lap for Aston Martin!

That is because the Brit passes Trintignant and even pushed the Porsche wide enough at Lesmo 1 to let team-mate de Filippis into 11th from Trintignant 12th, Ireland, de Beaufort and Fairman 13th, 14th and 15th for Vanwall and then Behra 16th, as he passes von Trips on the run down to Rettifilo Centro.

The Ferrari is now 17th from Gendebien 18th, Burgess 19th, Scarlatti 20th, McLaren out in 21st (thanks to some sterling work by the Maserati pit-crew), Moss 22nd and then Graham Hill emerging in 23rd position. Brabham has slipped back to 24th with his fuel load still weighing him down…

*Lap 31* – Bonnier is struggling to keep with the pace of those on different strategies around him, which sees both Brooks and de Filippis pass him – with the Brit saying “ladies first” to allow his team-mate into 9th from Brooks 10th and Bonnier now 11th position. Ireland moves over to let Fairman through, which the latter uses as an opportunity to challenge Trintignant at Lesmo 1 and move past the Porsche into 12th – before he later manages to take 11th from Bonnier and 10th from Brooks. That Vanwall looks like it is hardly carrying any fuel, considering the pace of it in fact!!!

Brooks is therefore 11th, from Bonnier 12th, Trintignant 13th and Ireland 14th – while behind them more struggles for von Trips, who is passed by Gendebien, who in turn gets taken by Burgess…indeed the JBW flies up the road and even manages to pass Behra for 16th this time around too! The Cooper is therefore 17th from Gendebien 18th and von Trips down to 19th spot. McLaren loses out to Moss also, as his cold tyres can do nothing to defend his 21st place from the Connaught.

*Lap 32* – Phil Hill pits from the race lead to move Bianchi into 1st, Gregory to 2nd, Flockhart to 3rd, Gurney to 4th, Salvadori to 5th, Naylor to 6th, Allison to 7th and Fairman up to 8th after a pass on de Filippis looks all too easy…

Brooks now completes the Top 10 from Bonnier 11th, Trintignant 12th (just 1 second behind his Championship rival), Ireland 13th, de Beaufort 14th and then Phil Hill emerging in 15th place ahead of both Behra and Gendebien! Scarlatti meanwhile is the latest to pass von Trips (for 19th), with the gap back to Brabham down to 11 seconds as it stands.

*Lap 33* – Flockhart and Salvadori both enter the pits this lap, which means Bianchi leads Gregory by 3.8 seconds, with Gurney in 3rd some 38 seconds down on the leader. Naylor is 4th, with Allison 5th and Fairman up to 6th – though ignoring a sign on the pit-wall to come in for fuel this lap, given that he is less than a second behind the Connaught ahead and presumably eager to move into the points paying positions…

De Filippis is 7th from Brooks 8th, Bonnier 9th and then Ireland 10th after he passes Trintignant (now 11th) at Parabolica. De Beaufort is 12th from Phil Hill, Burgess, Behra, Gendebien, Scarlatti and then Moss 18th after overtaking von Trips. Flockhart emerges in 19th with the reigning champion 20th (though best of the Ferrari’s still), McLaren 21st, Brabham now 22nd as he passes Graham Hill (23rd), d’Orey 24th and then Salvadori out in 25th overall.

*Lap 34* – Gregory trims Bianchi’s lead by taking the Cooper’s fastest lap away (with a 1:40.6), while Gurney is looking ever more distant in 3rd (39 seconds back). Naylor and Allison look delighted to be in the Top 5 right now, though behind them Fairman ignores his pit-wall and therefore fails to see Team Principal Mike Baston angrily shouting at his driver to come in for fuel…

…and he should have heeded the warnings, as his car splutters to a halt at the 2nd Lesmo to finish his race there. That promotes de Filippis to 6th, Brooks to 7th, Bonnier to 8th, Ireland to 9th (as he tries to pass the Maserati ahead) and Trintignant now back inside the Top 10.

De Beaufort is 11th from Burgess 12th, thanks to a pass on Phil Hill (who stays 13th) and then it is Behra in 14th. Scarlatti passes Gendebien for 15th, while behind them are Moss 17th, Flockhart 18th, von Trips 19th, McLaren 20th and Brabham 21st (still 11 seconds behind his team-mate and moving more quickly).

Graham Hill is 22nd, with d’Orey 23rd, Testut up to 24th after a pass on Salvadori 25th from Shelby now 26th after Piper moves over to let his more experienced team-mate past him.

*Lap 35* – As Gregory pits from 2nd, Bianchi refuses to let the BRM defeat him and so reclaims his Fastest Lap with a 1:40.4 to stake a claim for his chances to win the race (given that his lead is up to 40 seconds over Gurney in 2nd!). Naylor is into an astonishing 3rd place for JBW, with Allison 4th, de Filippis 5th, Brooks 6th and Ireland 7th after a great move on Bonnier at the 2nd Lesmo, which pushes the Maserati way off line and allows Trintignant up to 8th and de Beaufort into 9th – with Bonnier now down to 10th position.

Gregory emerges in 11th and is certainly one of the drivers who will feel they can take victory today if their strategy works out – while behind them Scarlatti passes Behra for 13th (with the Cooper also losing 14th to Phil Hill), Moss passes Gendebien for 16th and Testut takes 23rd from d’Orey’s Ferrari.

*Lap 36* – Battles on track are raging between Moss and Gendebien, Behra and Phil Hill and lastly Trintignant and Ireland – with the latter having the Porsche get the better of the Vanwall by forcing his way up the inside at the 1st Lesmo! Several drivers are pushing hard this lap, including Brooks, Phil Hill (despite the pressure from Behra), von Trips, de Filippis, Bianchi, de Filippis and Naylor – the latter trio all on their in-laps!

Meanwhile the leading 5 drivers all pit, along with Testut and Shelby further back. That promotes Brooks to 1st, Trintignant to 2nd after his pass on Ireland (now 3rd), de Beaufort to 4th and Bonnier up to 5th position – crucially some 2.8 seconds ahead of Bianchi, who emerges in 6th place. Burgess is up to 7th after a comfortable pass on Gregory, while Scarlatti is now 9th and Phil Hill rounds out the Top 10.

After fighting earlier in the lap, we do finally see an overtake with Moss passing Behra at Parabolica for what is now 11th position. Gendebien is 13th from Flockhart 14th, von Trips 15th, McLaren 16th, Brabham 17th and Gurney out in 18th position. Naylor is right behind, emerging in 19th with Graham Hill now completing the Top 20.

De Filippis is out in 21st after the combination of his in-lap and the Aston Martin mechanics sees him leap Allison during the stops, while d’Orey is now 23rd from Salvadori 24th, Testut out in 25th, Piper just behind in 26th and Shelby out in 27th place.

*Lap 37* – Ireland looks ready to challenge Trintignant for 2nd – but elects to move over and let his team-mate de Beaufort take the 1st crack at the Porsche (clearly he must have been forgiven for the block earlier in the race!). The Dutchman makes the move without issues to claim 2nd from Trintignant 3rd and Ireland 4th.

Scarlatti comes in this time around, which promotes those behind him – including the three-way fight between Gregory, Phil Hill and Moss, which is won by…MOSS! The Connaught is up to 8th from Phil Hill 9th and then Behra up to 10th after Gregory overshoots the corner at the 1st Lesmo. Gregory is 11th from Gendebien 12th, Flockhart 13th, von Trips 14th, McLaren 15th, Brabham 16th, Gurney 17th, Naylor 18th, Graham Hill gaining in 19th, de Filippis 20th and d’Orey up to 21st after a pass on Allison. Salvadori is 23rd and Scarlatti emerges 24th overall…

*Lap 38* – Another instance of the leading duo pitting together, with Brooks and de Beaufort in at the same time as Burgess and Moss a little way further back. That ensures Trintignant briefly assumes the race lead, before he is challenged at Rettifilo Centro by Ireland, who has his nose ahead, and thus 1st position, by the time they reach the Parabolica!

Trintignant is 2nd from Bonnier 3rd and Bianchi 4th with Behra now up to 5th after an aggressive overtake on Phil Hill, which pushes the BRM wide and allows Gendebien to make it two BRM overtakes in one lap, as he passes Gregory at Curva Grande too! That means Gendebien is now 6th from Phil Hill 7th, Flockhart 8th (after following the Porsche through) and then Gregory down to 9th place. Von Trips is back inside the Top 10 ahead of McLaren, Brabham, Gurney and then Brooks emerging in 14th.

Graham Hill is up to 15th after a relatively straightforward pass on Naylor (16th), with d’Orey now up to 17th after overtaking de Filippis (now 18th) on the run down to the 1st Lesmo. De Beaufort emerges in 19th place ahead of Allison 20th, Salvadori 21st, Burgess out in 22nd and Moss emerging in 23rd place.

*Lap 39* – Behra staves off Gendebien’s attack over the final points position, while Flockhart looks aggressive as he passes Phil Hill for 7th and starts to home in on those ahead. Meanwhile Graham Hill overtakes Brooks for 14th place, as the BRM starts to work his way back towards the Top 10.

*Lap 40* – Another leader pits, as Ireland comes in this time. Trintignant now leads by around 3 seconds from Bonnier and then another 23 seconds back to Bianchi in 3rd position. Behra again blocks Gendebien for what is now 4th, with Flockhart 6th (just 1.2 seconds back), Phil Hill 7th, Gregory 8th, McLaren up to 9th after a pass on von Trips – that now means Brabham is the next car behind the German, with an 11 second gap to his team-mate as it stands.

Gurney and Graham Hill fighting allows Ireland to emerge in 12th, with Graham Hill passing Gurney for 13th and behind them Naylor taking 15th from Brooks at the Parabolica.

*Lap 41* – Bianchi is struggling to heat his tyres up and is falling right into the clutches of the chasing group, while Gregory has similar issues and loses 8th to McLaren and 9th to von Trips as a result. Brabham is 11th and only 10.5 seconds behind von Trips, while Ireland loses 12th to Graham Hill and 13th to Gurney thanks to his cold tyres and heavier fuel load.

D’Orey is very much on the comeback trail, as he passes both Naylor and Brooks on the run down to the 1st Lesmo to claim 15th from Naylor 16th and Brooks 17th.

*Lap 42* – Yet another leader comes in, in this race with a multitude of strategies playing out! Trintignant’s pit sees Bonnier reclaim the race lead from Behra in 2nd, Gendebien 3rd and Flockhart 4th (despite his best efforts to overhaul the Porsche), with Bianchi dropping to 5th thanks to his tyres not yet being fully up to temperature!

Phil Hill is 6th from McLaren 7th, von Trips 8th, Gregory 9th and Brabham 10th – just 10 seconds down on von Trips now, as the Aussie starts to warm to his task…and meanwhile Trintignant emerges in 11th, while behind them d’Orey’s latest pass is on Ireland for 14th, who also loses 15th to Naylor later in the lap.

*Lap 43* – Bonnier, Gendebien and Flockhart all pit, as no-one seems to be able to hold the lead here for more than a couple of laps! Behra is the latest race leader ahead of Bianchi 2nd, Phil Hill 3rd, McLaren 4th, von Trips back up to 5th, Gregory 6th and Brabham 7th now less than 10 seconds behind his team-mate. Bonnier emerges in 8th, with the Maserati definitely a strong contender for victory today – while Trintignant is now 9th from Graham Hill 10th, d’Orey 11th after a pass on Gurney (now 12th), Naylor 13th, Ireland 14th, Brooks 15th, de Filippis 16th and then Flockhart out in 17th thanks to the Cooper pit-crew ensuring he exits ahead of Gendebien in 18th place.

Further back, de Beaufort blocks Allison at the 2nd Lesmo, which costs them both time and allows Salvadori to slingshot out of the corner and past them both on the straight to move up to 19th position.

*Lap 44* – Behra now pits from the lead! That allows Bianchi into 1st, Phil Hill 2nd, McLaren 3rd, von Trips 4th and Brabham 5th (though he loses some time having to pass Gregory – now 6th). Bonnier is 7th, from Trintignant 8th, Graham Hill 9th, d’Orey 10th, Gurney 11th, Naylor 12th, Ireland 13th and Behra out just between Ireland and Brooks!

*Lap 45* – Bianchi’s lead over Phil Hill drops to just 6 seconds, while McLaren pits to promote von Trips into 3rd, Brabham to 4th, Gregory 5th, Bonnier 6th, Graham Hill 7th after an overtake on Trintignant (now 8th), d’Orey 9th, Gurney 10th, Naylor 11th, Ireland 12th, Behra 13th after blocking Brooks 14th, with de Filippis 15th, Flockhart 16th, Gendebien 17th, Salvadori 18th, de Beaufort 19th, Allison 20th and McLaren out in 21st overall.

*Lap 46* – Bianchi’s lead is just 5.3 seconds with von Trips just 5 seconds further back – as he appears to have pegged the gap back to Brabham at 10.7 seconds. Bonnier falls behind Graham Hill for 6th, while d’Orey manages to take 8th from Trintignant at the Parabolica. Meanwhile behind them, de Filippis is making big gains thanks to Brooks’ selfless driving, as he allows his team-mate to slipstream behind him before she manages to launch past both Behra and Ireland to claim 12th position!

Flockhart follows her through up as far as Behra, with Ireland now 13th from Flockhart 14th, Behra 15th and Brooks down to 16th position. Salvadori overtakes Gendebien for 17th in a good lap for Aston Martin, while de Beaufort defends 19th from Allison and Testut passes both Scarlatti and Moss to claim 23rd position.

*Lap 47* – 3.7 seconds is the gap at the front, with von Trips down to 9.5 off the lead in 3rd. D’Orey passes Bonnier for 7th, though they are on vastly different strategies, while Ireland concedes 13th to the rampaging Flockhart in the Cooper! Allison almost grabs 19th from de Beaufort, were it not for the Vanwall’s late switch to the inside at the Parabolica…

*Lap 48* – Brabham makes what is surely his final stop here, while Testut also pits – though who knows how many more times he will come in! As such the gaps at the front are 3.1 and 9.6 thanks to a decent lap from Bianchi, while 4th is now Gregory and 5th Graham Hill.

Naylor is now back inside the Top 10 ahead of de Filippis and Flockhart, while Brooks’ generosity to his team-mates is astonishing! After launching de Filippis up the field, he does the same for Salvadori, who passes Behra and Ireland to move up to 13th from Ireland 14th, Behra 15th, Brooks 16th, Gendebien 17th, Allison up to 18th after a pass on de Beaufort 19th, McLaren 20th and Brabham out in 21st position. Moss, Scarlatti and Piper all gain a place thanks to Testut’s stop as well.

*Lap 49* – The lead just 1.1 seconds for Bianchi now, while von Trips pits to promote Gregory to 3rd and Graham Hill to 4th in an impressive 2-3-4 for BRM right now. D’Orey is up to 5th, with Bonnier 6th, Trintignant right behind in 7th, Gurney 8th, Naylor 9th, de Filippis 10th, Flockhart 11th, Salvadori 12th, Ireland 13th, Behra blocking Brooks for 14th, Gendebien 16th and von Trips out after his final stop in 17th place. Burgess takes 21st from Brabham (with his cold tyres and heavy fuel load) this lap also…

*Lap 50* – Brooks and Behra are fighting over 14th, while an opportunistic move for Trintignant sees him overtake Bonnier for 6th place.

Great laps this time around for Bonnier, Phil Hill (though it is an in-lap for him) and de Filippis - while Naylor, Bianchi in the race lead, Allison and von Trips all make mistakes as they push but get caught out on a little oil, presumably left over from Testut’s earlier crash!

Pits this lap from Phil Hill, Graham Hill (who is far enough behind to avoid stacking with his team-mate), d’Orey and Piper – presumably, the final stops for all of those drivers! That shuffles the pack at the front again, with Bianchi now 23 seconds ahead of Gregory in 2nd, Trintignant is now 3rd after his pass on Bonnier 4th from Gurney 5th, Naylor 6th, de Filippis 7th and then Phil Hill out in 8th position.

Flockhart is up to 9th, from Salvadori 10th, Ireland 11th, Behra 12th, Brooks 13th, Gendebien 14th, de Beaufort into 15th place after moves on von Trips (16th) and Allison (17th). McLaren is 18th and the final man on the lead lap right now, while Burgess is 19th, Brabham 20th, Graham Hill out in 21st, Moss 22nd, Scarlatti 23rd, d’Orey emerging in 24th, Testut 25th and Piper out in 26th place.

*Lap 51* – Phil Hill and his cold tyres fall behind Flockhart (now 8th) and Salvadori (now 9th). Behra blocks Brooks and Gendebien, while von Trips is another to lose ground straight after his stop – as he loses 16th to Allison and 17th to McLaren. Brabham and Graham Hill also drop behind Moss (now 20th) and Scarlatti (now 21st) to 22nd and 23rd respectively.

*Lap 52* – Salvadori pits this time around, which promotes Ireland to 9th, Behra to 10th, Brooks to 11th and Gendebien to 12th place – after Phil Hill slides wide on his colder tyres to drop to 13th overall. De Beaufort is 14th from Allison 15th, McLaren 16th, Burgess 17th (after an easy pass on the heavier von Trips), Moss 19th, Scarlatti 20th, Brabham 21st, Graham Hill 22nd, d’Orey 23rd and Salvadori out in 24th position.

*Lap 53* – Behra, Brooks and Gendebien all scrap over the final Top 10 position – and it is Gendebien who comes out ahead, from Behra 11th and Brooks 12th. De Beaufort passes Phil Hill for 13th place and Piper moves over to let Shelby pass him for 26th.

*Lap 54* – Bianchi, Gurney, Naylor, de Filippis and Shelby all pit this time around, which puts Gregory into the race lead from Trintignant 2nd, Bonnier 3rd, Flockhart 4th and then Bianchi out in 5th position – the top driver of those that have completed their stops! Ireland is up to 6th and blocking those behind, which allows Brooks to take advantage and pass Behra for what is now 8th place.

De Beaufort moves up to 10th from Allison now 11th and McLaren now 12th, as both pass Phil Hill (now 13th) – who is the next man to complete all his stops, some 32 seconds behind the now de-facto race leader Bianchi! Burgess is up to 14th from Scarlatti now 15th (with two overtakes this lap!) from Moss 16th and von Trips 17th overall (though 3rd of those that have completed their stops). Gurney emerges in 18th, from Naylor 19th, de Filippis 20th, Brabham 21st, Graham Hill 22nd, d’Orey 23rd and Salvadori 24th (all of whom have also now done their last stops…).

Piper is now 26th after his team-mate Shelby comes into the pits this time around.

*Lap 55* – Gregory, Flockhart and Scarlatti all pit – with Trintignant now leading the race from Bonnier 2nd, Bianchi 3rd (though effectively the race leader), Ireland 4th and defending incredibly vigorously from Gendebien 5th, Brooks 6th, Behra 7th and then Gregory out in 8th (though effectively 2nd position overall).

De Beaufort is up to 9th and right behind Gregory, with Allison 10th, McLaren 11th, Burgess up to 12th after a pass on Phil Hill (13th – though effectively 3rd), Moss 14th, von Trips 15th (effectively 4th), Gurney 16th (effectively 5th), Flockhart 17th (effectively 6th), Naylor 18th (effectively 7th), Brabham 19th (effectively 8th) after a pass on de Filippis 20th (effectively 9th), with Graham Hill 21st (effectively 10th). D’Orey is 22nd from Salvadori 23rd, Testut 24th and Scarlatti out in 25th position.

*Lap 56* – Allison, Burgess and Moss all come in this time around, while up front Ireland continues to defy Gendebien, Brooks and Behra. De Beaufort passes Gregory to claim 8th, while Gregory drops to 9th with McLaren right behind him in 10th. Phil Hill is up to 11th (effectively 3rd), from von Trips 12th (effectively 4th) and Gurney 13th (effectively 5th).

Flockhart is up to 14th from Naylor 15th, Brabham 16th, de Filippis 17th, Graham Hill 18th, d’Orey 19th, Allison out in 20th, Burgess out in 21st, Salvadori 22nd, Testut 23rd and Moss out in 24th overall.

*Lap 57* – Another set of final stops sees Trintignant, Brooks and de Beaufort all come in – meaning Bonnier inherits the lead. 2nd place meanwhile is very much up for grabs between Bianchi, Ireland, Gendebien and Behra on the run down through Curva Grande and on to the 1st Lesmo – and the man who comes out first is…GENDEBIEN, who is now 2nd for Porsche, from Behra up to 3rd, Ireland still 4th and Bianchi down to 5th (albeit 1st overall effectively).

McLaren passes Gregory for 6th, with the BRM 2nd of those that were yet to stop from Phil Hill 8th (effectively 3rd) and then Trintignant out in 9th place (effectively 4th now) from von Trips 10th (effectively 5th). Gurney is now 11th from Flockhart 12th, Naylor 13th, Brooks out in 14th, Brabham 15th, de Filippis 16th, Graham Hill 17th, d’Orey 18th and de Beaufort out in 19th overall. Testut also passes Salvadori for 22nd position this time around as well.

*Lap 58* – The leading trio pit, with Bonnier, Gendebien and Behra all coming in that promotes Ireland to the race lead from Bianchi 2nd (effectively 1st), McLaren 3rd, Gregory 4th (effectively 2nd) and Bonnier out in 5th (effectively 3rd). Phil Hill is up to 6th (effectively 4th) from Trintignant 7th (effectively 5th), von Trips 8th, Gurney 9th, Gendebien out in 10th and Behra emerging in 11th overall.

Brooks blocks Brabham over 14th and Graham Hill holds up d’Orey for 17th and Testut takes over 21st from Burgess in the JBW.

*Lap 59* – Ireland and McLaren both pit, which means only Testut has a scheduled stop yet to make, which means that Bianchi is now leading Gregory by 20 seconds. Bonnier is now 3rd from Phil Hill 4th, Trintignant 5th, von Trips 6th, Ireland out in 7th (a decent effort for Vanwall thus far!), Gurney 8th, Gendebien 9th, Behra 10th, Flockhart 11th, Naylor 12th, Brooks 13th keeping Brabham behind him, de Filippis 15th and then McLaren out in 16th position.

D’Orey passes Graham Hill for 17th, though it is looking like too little too late for Ferrari now. Testut meanwhile is still yet to make his final stop and passes Allison for 20th position this time around.

*Lap 60* – Bianchi is extending his lead at the front and is now 21 seconds ahead of Gregory. Phil Hill meanwhile is gaining on Bonnier in 3rd and is only some 3 seconds behind, while von Trips has 17 seconds to make up on Trintignant in 5th – though he is moving faster than the Porsche. Flockhart and Naylor both look like they can make further progress given their current pace, while behind them Brooks continues to block Brabham in the Ferrari for 13th!

Testut pits at last to promote Allison to 20th, Burgess to 21st, Salvadori 22nd, Moss 23rd, Scarlatti 24th and Testut out in 25th overall.

*Lap 61* – Brooks again keeps Brabham behind him, while d’Orey passes McLaren for 16th position at the 1st Lesmo.

*Lap 62* – 22 seconds is Bianchi’s lead, as the Cooper looks odds on favourite to win his 1st ever race! Gregory in 2nd is looking good to be able to keep his hat in the ring for the Championship, while Bonnier in 3rd is also seeming likely to stay in the Championship hunt – though Phil Hill has the gap down to just 1.9 seconds!

Trintignant’s advantage over von Trips is 16 seconds, with Ireland a further 6 seconds behind. Brabham finally passes Brooks for 13th on this lap – though that may have wrecked his Top 10 chances!

*Lap 63* – 22.6 seconds is Bianchi’s lead, with Phil Hill down to 1.8 behind Bonnier. Flockhart blocks Naylor for 11th place – giving Brabham some hope of catching them, while further back d’Orey passes de Filippis for 15th position.

*Lap 64* – Phil Hill is 1.6 seconds behind Bonnier for 3rd, while McLaren blocks Graham Hill over 17th place…

*Lap 65* – The 3rd place gap is down to just 1 second, while von Trips is down to 14 seconds behind Trintignant. Brabham is gaining on Naylor for 12th, while d’Orey is moving even faster to haul in Brooks for 14th. Graham Hill is blocked by McLaren for 17th place again this lap.

*Lap 66* – A 0.6 seconds gap from Bonnier to Phil Hill and a 13.2 second gap from Trintignant to von Trips – with Ireland still just 6.9 behind the Ferrari as well (though starting to run out of laps). Graham Hill comes the closest he has come yet to passing McLaren – and they are neck and neck over the start/finish line…

*Lap 67* – …and finally the BRM gets the job done into Curva Grande! Meanwhile ahead of them, Behra looks like he is about to move over to let Flockhart through – but the Frenchman sees Naylor advancing behind and closes the door, which ultimately costs Flockhart 11th position to the JBW…

Meanwhile further ahead Phil Hill is just 0.2 seconds behind Bonnier…

*Lap 68* – …and he tries to pass the Maserati immediately into the 1st Lesmo…but has the door slammed shut in his face! Meanwhile Behra looks guilty for having cost his team-mate – and essentially brake-tests Naylor to cause the JBW to brake suddenly and allow Flockhart to reclaim his 11th position; a risky move for Cooper there!!!

Behind them d’Orey overtakes Brooks without issue and that now puts him just 2.5 seconds down on his team-mate Brabham, though only for 13th position on track. Further up the field von Trips is still faster than Trintignant – but he does not have quite the pace advantage he did earlier in the race.

*Lap 69* – 25 seconds is Bianchi’s lead – as a 1st win looks all but assured, presuming he has enough fuel on board…while Bonnier keeps Phil Hill at bay, though the BRM is right behind him still! Meanwhile Behra finally choreographs the move to let Flockhart through into 10th and keep Naylor behind the pair of them – JUST!!!

*Lap 70* – Naylor pressures Behra for 11th but cannot find a way through, as Moss likewise keeps Scarlatti at bay…

*Lap 71* – 26 seconds is Bianchi’s lead at the front, which surely only a crash or running out of fuel could cause him to lose…while Gregory’s 2nd place looks assured and Bonnier now seems to have the measure of Phil Hill, as he pulls out 1.2 seconds over the BRM in 4th. Trintignant likewise has stabilised his gap to von Trips at 12.2 seconds, with Ireland now gaining on the German and down to 4.5 seconds behind (though likely too much to catch within a single lap).

Naylor passes Behra for 11th, while in the all-Ferrari encounter behind Brabham pulls over to graciously allow d’Orey on his marginally fresher tyres to drive by into 13th – but does not close the door fast enough and loses 14th to Brooks as well! Behind them, McLaren is now pressuring Graham Hill as it appears the BRM’s tyres have come to the end of their usefulness…and Moss also loses 23rd to Scarlatti this time around too.

*Lap 72* – The whole Cooper team and Team Principal Kyle Morris are at the edge of the track to cheer Bianchi home for his 1st ever victory and Cooper’s 1st win since the Portuguese GP last season. However, the colour drains from Morris’s face as he sees the lead Cooper slow down and then stop just metres from the line…

Bianchi jumps out and pushes the car, with Gregory gaining second by second…metre by metre…before over the line it is…BIANCHI who takes the victory by a mere 1.6 seconds over Gregory in 2nd. Bonnier crosses the line in 3rd, with all of the top three looking like Championship contenders for the final race (even if only mathematically!).

Phil Hill comes home in 4th for the 2nd time in 2 races, with Trintignant across in 5th to keep his own chances of becoming champion alive until the Championship finale. Von Trips does finish 6th after a strategic misstep by Ferrari, with Ireland equalling his PB of 7th here today. Gurney comes home 8th from Gendebien 9th and Flockhart 10th overall.

Naylor is a solid 11th for JBW, from Behra 12th, Brooks 13th after a last lap pass on d’Orey compounds Ferrari’s misery – with the Brazilian finishing 14th and Brabham 15th on track. De Filippis is 16th with McLaren 17th after a last lap pass on Graham Hill restores some pride to the Maserati. De Beaufort finishes 19th from Allison 20th and Burgess 21st just outside the Top 20.

*1 LAP DOWN* – Salvadori finishes 22nd, from Scarlatti 23rd, Moss 24th and the accident prone Testut 25th.

*2 LAPS DOWN* – Piper completes a solid debut in 26th position and will be one of Connaught’s 3 counting finishers this race, as he manages to finish ahead of team-mate Shelby thanks to the latter’s early collision. The luckless Fairman was the only other starter – and one wonders if we will see several of the talented drivers that are not scoring as many points as they hope for switching teams next season to improve their chances…!!!

Watch this space for the next race of the season, which will be the final race of the season; the inaugural US Grand Prix at Sebring…

## Milestones

* Salvadori moves up to 2nd for Most Race Entries Ever (only 5 behind the all-time record held by Bob Gerard)
* 50th race entry for Trintignant
* 40th race entry for Schell
* Moss’s 40th ever race start
* Fairman is up to 6th for Most Races without a Win, at the expense of Carlos Menditeguy
* De Beaufort is up to 4th for Most Races without Points, at the expense of Louis Rosier
* Lucien Bianchi’s 1st ever victory in his 7th race makes it into the Top 10 for Fewest Races before the 1st win (at the expense of Franco Rol’s victory his 8th race ever at the 1952 Belgian GP). It is also the 1st ever victory for a Belgian driver in F1R.
* Winning from 12th place on the grid makes it into the Top 10 (in 5th) for Wins from the Furthest back on the Start Grid!
* Previous winners in Italy are von Trips (’56 and ‘58) and Salvadori (’53); other winners are Gerard (’50, ’51 and ’57 – retired), Farina (’55 – retired), Lang (’54 – retired), Pietsch (’52 – retired)
* Bonnier finishes in the points, so moves into the Top 10 for Most Races Finished in Points, at the expense of Brabham
* 2nd place for Gregory moves him into the Top 10 for Most Points without a Win, at the expense of Chico Landi – in fact up to 9th at the expense of Georges Grignard also
* Points finish for Bonnier is his 3rd points finish in a row
* Points finish for Phil Hill is his 2nd points finish in a row
* FL for Bianchi moves him into the Top 10 for Most Fastest Laps at the expense of Élie Bayol
* FL for Bianchi is his 2nd Consecutive Fastest Lap (only 8 drivers have ever achieved this before)
* Fastest Lap at the Italian GP before has been taken by Salvadori (’53); other FLs were taken by Gerard (’50, ’52, ’56 and ’57), Collins (’58 – retired), Farina (’55 – retired), Lang (’54 – retired) and Whitehead (’51)
* Pole for Bonnier moves him into 5th for Most Poles ever, at the expense of Élie Bayol, Giuseppe Farina, Ken Wharton and Peter Whitehead
* Pole at the Italian GP before has been taken by Salvadori (’53) and Behra (’58); other Pole-Sitters are Gerard (’50, ’51 and ’57), de Graffenried (’56 – retired), Farina (’55 – retired), Villoresi (’54 – retired) and Whitehead (’52 – retired)
* Podium for Bonnier moves him up to 10th for Most Podiums of all time, at the expense of Brabham
* Podium for Bonnier is his 2nd Consecutive Podium!