One of the greatest feats in the history of Formula 1 races took place on the 12th of December, 1959 at the USA Grand Prix in Sebring, Florida.  On that day sixty years ago, Australian driver Jack Brabham gave a unique and epic performance.

The Aussi driver, however, did not win the decisive race of the season. That honour went to New Zealander Bruce McLaren instead, for whom this was his maiden F1 win. Brabham didn’t even make it to the top three. 

What he did, however, moved the public present to their very core, and as such, it responded with a resounding ovation at the end of the race? But, what had Brabham done to be hailed as a hero by the crowd?

Everything started after the last bend of the race. At this point, the Cooper-Climax of the Australian driver, who was leading the race, came to a halt after running out of fuel. Jack Brabham just saw the title slipping away from his fingers. 

His bad fortune had denied him of the win when there was just the final stretch to go. In such a cruel way, his title chances seemed to have vanished. The stand went silent, aware of the sporting tragedy that they were witnessing. 

A heroic gesture that changed the course of things

Reacting as only heroes do under extreme circumstances, Jack Brabham decided he was not ready to accept his fate. Giving up was not an option. He got out of his car and started to push it towards the chequered flag. 

With passionate determination, he started on his herculean task. The public, realising what he was trying to do, started to cheer him on. In the beginning, however, he could hardly get the vehicle to move. 

His face showed the strain in his body, which was being pushed to the very limit of its strength. Initially, he managed to move the car a few millimetres, then some centimetres, and finally he got it rolling forward metre by metre. 

It was an agonising fight against the clock and against his rivals. The growling of the other cars was getting increasingly closer, approaching as they were to steal a win which seemed to be his just a few moments before. Jack Braham needed to finish within the top five in order to secure the points that would grant him his first F1 crown. 

Overtaken on the finish line 

In his harrowing situation, he was first passed by the Cooper-Climax #9 of Bruce McLaren. With the luck on his side, the New Zealander sealed his first F1 victory. 0,6 seconds after that he was also overtaken by Maurice Trintignant.

By this point, Jack Brabham could hardly stand on his own two feet. To make things even more dramatic, he was overtaken once again just on the edge of the finish line, by Tonny Brooks, his Ferrari rival for the crown. 

A few thousands of a second later, Jack Brabham crossed the finish line in fourth place, enough to take his first, apotheotic World Champion Title. Exhausted both physically and emotionally, Brabham collapsed just after receiving the checkered flag. Surrounded by a frantic crowd, this contemporary Ulysses could not utter a word. His Odyssey had nothing to envy to that of the character in the Homer epic novel. 

A brilliant career 

Demonstrating that this title had not been a strike of luck, Jack Brabham won again on the following year and a third and final time in 1966, although those other two titles he achieved in a way less dramatic manner. 

During his thirteen seasons in Formula 1, Jack Brabham took part in 123 Grand Prix, taking a total of 14 victories, 31 podiums, 13 poles and 12 fastest laps. But his skills went beyond those needed to be a fantastic race driver. An excellent mechanic, he founded his very own Scuderia with which he won six titles, two constructor ones (1966 and 1967) and four driver ones (1966,1967,1981 and 1983).