1961 Monaco Grand Prix

43°44′4.74″N 7°25′16.8″E / 43.7346500°N 7.421333°E / 43.7346500; 7.421333

1961 Monaco Grand Prix
Race 1 of 8 in the 1961 Formula One season Next race →
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 miles)
Distance	100 laps, 314.5 km (195.4 miles)
Weather	Sunny
Pole position
Driver	Stirling Moss	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	Stirling Moss	Lotus-Climax
Second	Richie Ginther	Ferrari
Third	Phil Hill	Ferrari
Lap leaders

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]

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.

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]

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Qualifying times			Gap
				Q1	Q2	Q3
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.

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
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]

• This was the third time Stirling Moss had won the Monaco Grand Prix, thereby breaking the old record of two Grand Prix wins set by Juan Manuel Fangio at the 1957 Monaco Grand Prix.
• This was the 50th race for Cooper.

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Stirling Moss 9 2 Richie Ginther 6 3 Phil Hill 4 4 Wolfgang von Trips 3 5 Dan Gurney 2 Source: [7]

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Lotus-Climax 8 2 Ferrari 6 3 Porsche 2 4 Cooper-Climax 1 Source: [7]

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