Motorsport pioneer and winner of six Formula 1 Grands Prix in the 1950s Tony Brooks has died aged 90. The Briton, nicknamed the ‘racing dentist’, was the last surviving Formula 1 race winner of the 1950s. of the championship. He had been registered at the last minute and had participated in it during his studies as a dentist.
“He was part of a special group of drivers who were pioneers and who pushed the limits in times of great risk,” said F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali. “He will be missed and our thoughts are with his family at this time.” Brooks recorded his first World Championship victory at the British GP at Aintree in 1957, where he shared the wheel with Stirling Moss for the Vanwall team.
The greatest “unknown pilot that ever existed”
The Dukinfield native is widely regarded, along with Moss, as the best British driver to ever win an F1 World Championship. Brooks could have been crowned world champion for Ferrari in 1959 if he had not been rammed on the first lap of the last race, at Sebring, in the United States, by teammate Wolfgang von Trips. He then lost two minutes in the pits to have the damage to his car checked and ended up crossing the finish line in third position, losing the championship seven points behind Jack Brabham.
Among the drivers of his time, Tony Brooks had a record, eclipsed only by the five-time Argentinian world champion Juan Manuel Fangio, the Italian double world champion Alberto Ascari and his compatriot Moss: he reached the podium 10 times during his 38-race career, also winning the Belgian, Italian, French and German Grands Prix. His great rival Stirling Moss, who died two years ago at the age of 90, had declared that Brooks was an extraordinary driver, the greatest “unknown racing driver that ever existed”. “He was much better than many people who won the World Championship.”