Monsanto Park
Encyclopedia
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
which hosted the Portuguese Grand Prix
Portuguese Grand Prix
The Portuguese Grand Prix was a motorsports event held for several years, mostly in the 1950s and then in the 1980s and 90s. It was a Formula One race between and and between and ....
.
Built on parkland
Monsanto Forest Park
Monsanto Forest Park is a protected forest in Lisbon, Portugal, the largest green patch in the city, with almost 1000 ha . It offers a well diversified tree-covered area to the Portuguese capital....
s, the circuit was considered difficult to drive because it crossed so many different types of surfaces, including tramlines at one point. The track hosted numerous races from 1954 to 1959, but only one race qualified as a Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
event: the 1959 Portuguese Grand Prix
1959 Portuguese Grand Prix
The 1959 Portuguese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monsanto on August 23, 1959. It was the eighth Portuguese Grand Prix and the second to be held for the Formula One World Drivers' Championship. It was the third time the race was held at Monsanto and the first for Formula One...
, won by Stirling Moss
Stirling Moss
Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE FIE is a former racing driver from England...
. He won the race in the twilight hours, since the race was purposefully started late in the day to avoid the intense late summer sun.