 Although Hill and Allison did manage to nurse the 16 to the finish on a few occasions, most often they had completed too few laps to justify an official finishing classification.For the 1959 Formula One season the works cars were finally upgraded to the full 2.5-litre specification, and mechanical upgrades had been made to improve reliability.In addition to the works team, Lotus 16s had also been sold to a number of privateer entrants.