Nicknamed the “racing dentist”, driver Tony Brooks died at 90.
A pioneer of motorsport in the UK, he won six Formula 1 Grands Prix in the 1950s and the last surviving Formula 1 race winner of the 1950s.
“He was part of a special group of drivers who were pioneers and who pushed the limits in a time of great risk,” said F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali. He will be missed and our thoughts are with his family at this time.”
A student of dentistry, which earned him his nickname, he won the 1955 Syracuse GP when he signed up at the last minute and was not yet part of the professional circuit. The Briton took his first world championship victory two years later at the British GP at Aintree in 1957, where he shared the wheel with Stirling Moss for the Vanwall team.
He was never world champion
Brooks is widely regarded as the best British driver to never win an F1 world championship. He could have won the title in 1959 with Ferrari but was slammed in the final race, losing time and crossing the line in third, seven points adrift of Jack Brabham.
The British driver holds the record among his team’s drivers for having finished on the podium ten times during his 38-race career.
Brooks was an extraordinary driver, the greatest ‘unknown’ racing driver that ever existed,” said Moss, who died two years ago at the age of 90, of his former teammate and friend. “He was much better than many people who won the world championship.”