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.
| Nationality | British |
|---|---|
| Born | Charles Anthony Standish Brooks 25 February 1932 Dukinfield, Cheshire, England |
| Died | 3 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 Career | 1956–1961 |
|---|---|
| Teams | BRM, Vanwall, Ferrari Non-works: Cooper |
| Entries | 39 (38 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 6 |
| Podiums | 10 |
| Career points | 75 |
| Pole positions | 3 |
| Fastest laps | 3 |
| First entry | 1956 Monaco Grand Prix |
| First win | 1957 British Grand Prix |
| Last win | 1959 German Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1961 United States Grand Prix |
Tony Brooks Teammates
| 13 Teammates | Involvement | First Year | Last Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Hawthorn | 3 | 1956 | |
| Ron Flockhart | 1 | 1956 | |
| Stirling Moss | 14 | 1957 | 1958 |
| Stuart Lewis-Evans | 13 | 1957 | 1958 |
| Cliff Allison | 5 | 1959 | |
| Jean Behra | 3 | 1959 | |
| Phil Hill | 8 | 1959 | 1960 |
| Dan Gurney | 4 | 1959 | |
| Olivier Gendebien | 6 | 1959 | 1960 |
| Wolfgang von Trips | 1 | 1959 | |
| Chris Bristow | 3 | 1960 | |
| Henry Taylor | 3 | 1960 | |
| Graham Hill | 8 | 1961 |
Formula One Record
| Year | Entrant | Team | WDC Points | WDC Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Owen Racing Organisation | BRM | 0 | NC |
| 1957 | Vandervell Products Ltd | Vanwall | 11 | 5th |
| 1958 | Vandervell Products Ltd | Vanwall | 24 | 3rd |
| 1959 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | 27 | 2nd |
| Vandervell Products Ltd | Vanwall | |||
| 1960 | Yeoman Credit Racing Team | Cooper-Climax | 7 | 11th |
| Vandervell Products Ltd | Vanwall | |||
| 1961 | Owen Racing Organisation | BRM | 6 | 10th |
Race Wins
| No. | Grand Prix | Constructor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1957 British Grand Prix | Vanwall | Shared with Stirling Moss |
| 2 | 1958 Belgian Grand Prix | Vanwall | |
| 3 | 1958 German Grand Prix | Vanwall | |
| 4 | 1958 Italian Grand Prix | Vanwall | |
| 5 | 1959 French Grand Prix | Ferrari | |
| 6 | 1959 Italian Grand Prix | Ferrari |
Complete Formula One Results
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Pts | WDC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | ARG | MON DNS | 500 | BEL | FRA | GRB Ret | GER | ITA | 0 | NC | |||
| 1957 | ARG | MON | 500 | FRA | GBR 1st* | GER 9th | PES Ret | ITA 7th | 11 | 5th | |||
| 1958 | ARG | MON Ret | NED Ret | 500 | BEL 1st | FRA Ret | GBR 7th | GER 1st | POR Ret | ITA 1st | MOR Ret | 24 | 3rd |
| 1959 | MON 2nd | 500 | NED Ret | FRA 1st | GBR Ret | GER 1st | POR 9th | ITA Ret | USA 3rd | 27 | 2nd | ||
| 1960 | ARG | MON 4th | 500 | NED Ret | BEL Ret | FRA Ret | GBR 5th | POR 5th | ITA | USA Ret | 7 | 11th | |
| 1961 | MON 13th | NED 9th | BEL 13th | FRA Ret | GBR 9th | GER Ret | ITA 5th | USA 3rd | 6 | 10th |
Sources: Wikipedia.com, fandom.com, statsf1.com and historicracing.com
