1961 Monaco Grand Prix

The 1961 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 14 May 1961 on the Circuit de Monaco in Monte Carlo, Monaco. It was race 1 of 8 in both the 1961 World Championship of Drivers and the 1961 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. It was also the first World Championship race under the new 1.5 litre engine regulations.[1]

1961 Monaco Grand Prix
Race 1 of 8 in the 1961 Formula One season
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Race details
Date 14 May 1961
Official name XIX Grand Prix de Monaco
Location Circuit de Monaco
Monte Carlo/La Condamine, Monaco
Course Street circuit
Course length 3.145 km (1.954 mi)
Distance 100 laps, 314.5 km (195.4 mi)
Weather Sunny
Pole position
Driver Lotus-Climax
Time 1.39.1
Fastest lap
Drivers Richie Ginther (lap 84) Ferrari
Fastest lap Stirling Moss (lap 85) Lotus-Climax
Time 1.36.3
Podium
First Lotus-Climax
Second Ferrari
Third Ferrari
The Rob Walker Racing Lotus 18 which Stirling Moss drove to victory in the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix.

Report

Qualifying

The erratic yearly variations in Monaco's qualifying regulations saw grid places guaranteed for works teams and past winners in 1961.[2] Therefore, the five works teams were awarded two places each on the grid, while Stirling Moss and Maurice Trintignant earned spots. This left nine drivers to fight over four remaining slots. A fifth opened up when Innes Ireland crashed during the final practice session, breaking his leg. Moss took pole position from Richie Ginther and Jim Clark, with Graham Hill and Phil Hill on the second row.

Race

Ginther led Clark and Moss into the first corner but Clark quickly ran into trouble with a faulty fuel pump. Ginther dropped to third on lap 14, when Moss and Bonnier passed him in quick succession.[2] At quarter distance, Moss had an impressive 10 second lead (in the underpowered Lotus 18-Climax)[3] but the Ferraris of Hill and then Ginther found their way around Bonnier and began to close the gap. At half distance, Moss' lead was 8 seconds, and down to 3 seconds on lap 60. Ginther moved into second on lap 75 and tried to close the gap, but Moss proved able to match his lap times, despite the 156's horsepower advantage.[4]

Classification

Qualifying

Pos No Driver Constructor Q1 Q2 Q3 Gap
1 20 Stirling Moss Lotus-Climax 1:41.1 1:41.4 1:39.1
2 36 Richie Ginther Ferrari 1:41.0 1:39.3 1:41.7 +0.2
3 28 Jim Clark Lotus-Climax 1:39.6 No time No time +0.5
4 18 Graham Hill BRM-Climax 1:42.8 1:40.0 1:39.6 +0.5
5 38 Phil Hill Ferrari 1:41.0 1:39.8 1:40.2 +0.7
6 40 Wolfgang von Trips Ferrari 1:41.7 1:40.3 1:39.8 +0.7
7 26 Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 1:44.7 1:41.3 1:39.8 +0.7
8 16 Tony Brooks BRM-Climax 1:44.6 1:42.1 1:40.1 +1.0
9 2 Jo Bonnier Porsche No time 1:41.9 1:40.3 +1.2
10 30 Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax 1:41.5 1:40.5 1:40.7 +1.4
11 4 Dan Gurney Porsche No time 1:42.7 1:40.6 +1.5
12 22 John Surtees Cooper-Climax 1:44.3 1:41.1 2:09.1 +2.0
13 6 Hans Herrmann Porsche No time 1:42.4 1:41.1 +2.0
14 8 Michael May Lotus-Climax 1:45.4 1:42.0 1:43.8 +2.9
15 32 Cliff Allison Lotus-Climax 1:56.7 1:42.3 1:43.2 +3.2
16 42 Maurice Trintignant Cooper-Maserati 1:47.6 1:43.2 1:42.4 +3.3
17 34 Henry Taylor Lotus-Climax 1:45.5 1:43.7 1:42.6 +3.5
18 14 Masten Gregory Cooper-Climax 1:45.7 1:42.7 1:42.7 +3.6
19 10 Lucien Bianchi Emeryson-Maserati 1:44.0 1:42.9 1:44.5 +3.8
20 12 Olivier Gendebien Emeryson-Maserati 1:45.4 1:43.7 1:45.0 +4.6
21 24 Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax 1:44.0 No time No time +4.9
Source:[5]
  Drivers that had to qualify on speed: only the five fastest (four before Ireland's injury) would race.

Race

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
1 20 Stirling Moss Lotus-Climax 100 2:45:50.1 1 9
2 36 Richie Ginther Ferrari 100 +3.6 secs 2 6
3 38 Phil Hill Ferrari 100 +41.3 secs 5 4
4 40 Wolfgang von Trips Ferrari 98 Accident 6 3
5 4 Dan Gurney Porsche 98 +2 Laps 10 2
6 26 Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 95 +5 Laps 7 1
7 42 Maurice Trintignant Cooper-Maserati 95 +5 Laps 15
8 32 Cliff Allison Lotus-Climax 93 +7 Laps 14
9 6 Hans Herrmann Porsche 91 +9 Laps 12
10 28 Jim Clark Lotus-Climax 89 +11 Laps 3
11 22 John Surtees Cooper-Climax 68 Engine 11
12 2 Jo Bonnier Porsche 59 Injection 9
13 16 Tony Brooks BRM-Climax 54 Engine 8
Ret 8 Michael May Lotus-Climax 42 Oil Pipe 13
Ret 24 Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax 38 Ignition 16
Ret 18 Graham Hill BRM-Climax 11 Fuel Pump 4
DNS 30 Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax Injury in Practice
DNQ 34 Henry Taylor Lotus-Climax
DNQ 14 Masten Gregory Cooper-Climax
DNQ 10 Lucien Bianchi Emeryson-Maserati
DNQ 12 Olivier Gendebien Emeryson-Maserati
Source:[6]

Notes

  • Stirling Moss had removed the side panels of his near obsolete Lotus 18 to keep him cool

Championship standings after the race

  • Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

  1. "Grand Prix Results, Monaco GP, 1961". grandprix.com. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  2. Lang, Mike (1981). Grand Prix! Vol 1. Haynes Publishing Group. p. 180. ISBN 0-85429-276-4.
  3. Kettlewell, Mike. "Monaco: Road Racing on the Riviera", in Northey, Tom, editor. World of Automobiles (London: Orbis, 1974), Volume 12, p.1384.
  4. Kettlewell, p.1384.
  5. "1961 Monaco GP Qualification". www.chicanef1.com. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  6. "1961 Monaco Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  7. "Monaco 1961 - Championship". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
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1960 United States Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
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1961 Dutch Grand Prix
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