Died

Tony Brooks

British

  • Dukinfield, Cheshire, England Place of Birth
  • 25 February 1932 Date of Birth
  • 1956 Monaco Grand Prix F1 Debut
  • BRM Current/Last Team

Also known as the “Racing Dentist,” Tony Brooks participated in 39 Formula 1 World Championship races, making his debut on 14 July 1956, and achieving six wins during his career. Until his death in 2022, Brooks was the last surviving Grand Prix winner from the 1950s.

NationalityBritish
BornCharles Anthony Standish Brooks
25 February 1932
Dukinfield, Cheshire, England
Died3 May 2022 (aged 90)
Ottershaw, Surrey, England

The son of a dental surgeon, Charles Anthony Standish Brooks, known as Tony Brooks, studied dentistry and began racing in 1952 with a Healey. He primarily raced in club events for the next three seasons. In 1955, he got the opportunity to drive a Formula 2 Connaught at Crystal Palace, finishing an impressive fourth behind three F1 cars. That same year, he was offered a factory drive with Aston Martin, and his strong performances led to a chance to drive an F1 Connaught in the non-championship 1955 Syracuse Grand Prix in Sicily. Despite studying for his final examinations, he flew to Sicily and won the race, becoming the first British driver to win in a British car on the Continent since Sir Henry Seagrave’s victory at the 1924 San Sebastian Grand Prix.

Upon returning to Britain, BRM signed Brooks for the 1956 season and made his World Championship debut at Silverstone. Unfortunately, a stuck throttle caused a heavy crash, resulting in a fractured jaw. At the end of the season, he left BRM to join the Vanwall F1 team, while continuing to race for Aston Martin in sports cars. He finished second at Monaco and shared victory at the 1957 British Grand Prix at Aintree, handing his car over to Stirling Moss after Moss’s car had broken down. In 1958, Brooks won the Belgian, German, and Italian GPs, finishing third in the 1958 World Championship behind Mike Hawthorn and Stirling Moss.

When Vanwall withdrew from racing at the end of 1958, Brooks signed with Ferrari for the 1959 season. He won the French and German GPs, but the Italian cars were outpaced by the rear-engined Coopers driven by Jack Brabham, and Brooks finished runner-up in the World Championship.

In 1960, Brooks returned to Britain to join the Yeoman Credit Cooper team. He scored points on three occasions but increasingly focused on his garage business in Weybridge. The following year, he went back to BRM, but it was another disappointing season, and he retired from the sport at the end of that year.

Brooks passed away at the age of 90 on 3 May 2022. Following the death of Stirling Moss in April 2020, Brooks had been the last surviving Grand Prix winner from the 1950s. After Brooks’s death, three-time World Champion Jackie Stewart, who began racing in the 1960s, became the oldest living Formula One Grand Prix winner.

Tony Brooks Formula One World Championship career

F1 Career1956–1961
TeamsBRM, Vanwall, Ferrari

Non-works: Cooper
Entries39 (38 starts)
Championships0
Wins6
Podiums10
Career points75
Pole positions3
Fastest laps3
First entry1956 Monaco Grand Prix
First win1957 British Grand Prix
Last win1959 German Grand Prix
Last entry1961 United States Grand Prix

Tony Brooks Teammates

13 TeammatesInvolvementFirst YearLast Year
Mike Hawthorn31956
Ron Flockhart11956
Stirling Moss1419571958
Stuart Lewis-Evans1319571958
Cliff Allison51959
Jean Behra31959
Phil Hill819591960
Dan Gurney41959
Olivier Gendebien619591960
Wolfgang von Trips11959
Chris Bristow31960
Henry Taylor31960
Graham Hill81961

Formula One Record

YearEntrantTeamWDC PointsWDC Position
1956Owen Racing OrganisationBRM0NC
1957Vandervell Products LtdVanwall115th
1958Vandervell Products LtdVanwall243rd
1959Scuderia FerrariFerrari272nd
Vandervell Products LtdVanwall
1960Yeoman Credit Racing TeamCooper-Climax711th
Vandervell Products LtdVanwall
1961Owen Racing OrganisationBRM610th

Race Wins

No.Grand PrixConstructorNotes
11957 British Grand PrixVanwallShared with Stirling Moss
21958 Belgian Grand PrixVanwall
31958 German Grand PrixVanwall
41958 Italian Grand PrixVanwall
51959 French Grand PrixFerrari
61959 Italian Grand PrixFerrari

Complete Formula One Results

Year1234567891011PtsWDC
1956ARGMON
DNS
500BELFRAGRB
Ret
GERITA0NC
1957ARGMON500FRAGBR
1st*
GER
9th
PES
Ret
ITA
7th
115th
1958ARGMON
Ret
NED
Ret
500BEL
1st
FRA
Ret
GBR
7th
GER
1st
POR
Ret
ITA
1st
MOR
Ret
243rd
1959MON
2nd
500NED
Ret
FRA
1st
GBR
Ret
GER
1st
POR
9th
ITA
Ret
USA
3rd
272nd
1960ARGMON
4th
500NED
Ret
BEL
Ret
FRA
Ret
GBR
5th
POR
5th
ITAUSA
Ret
711th
1961MON
13th
NED
9th
BEL
13th
FRA
Ret
GBR
9th
GER
Ret
ITA
5th
USA
3rd
610th

Sources: Wikipedia.com, fandom.com, statsf1.com and historicracing.com

Teammates

Driver Nationality Current/Last Team F1 Debut Status
British Ferrari 1952 Belgian Grand Prix Died, F1 Legend
British Team Lotus 1951 Swiss Grand Prix Died, F1 Legend
American Eagle 1971 Austrian Grand Prix Died, F1 Legend
American McLaren 1959 French Grand Prix Died
German Ferrari 1956 British Grand Prix Died
British Brabham 1958 Monaco Grand Prix Died, F1 Legend

Teams

Team Nationality Debut Season Status
BRM British 1951 Historic
Vanwall British 1954 Historic
Ferrari Italian 1950 Current