1961 Monaco Grand Prix
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  1961 Monaco Grand Prix

Race details
Race 1 of 8 in the 1961 Formula One season.
Date	April 8 1961
Official name	XIXe Grand Prix de Monaco
Location	Circuit de Monaco Monte Carlo/La Condamine, Monaco
Course	Street circuit 3.145 km (1.954 mi)
Distance	100 laps, 314.5 km (195.4 mi)
Weather	Sunny
Pole position
Driver	Stirling Moss	Lotus-Climax
Time	1.39.1
Fastest lap
Drivers	Richie Ginther (lap 84) Stirling Moss (lap 85)	Ferrari Lotus-Climax
Time	1.36.3
Podium
First	Stirling Moss	Lotus-Climax
Second	Richie Ginther	Ferrari
Third	Phil Hill	Ferrari

The Rob Walker Racing Lotus 18 which Stirling Moss drove to victory in the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix.

The 1961 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on May 14, 1961 on the Circuit de Monaco in Monte Carlo, Monaco. It was the inaugural race of the 1961 Formula One season, and the first race under the new 1.5 litre engine regulations¹.

Report

Qualifying

The erratic yearly variations in Monaco's qualifying regulations saw grid places guaranteed for works teams and past winners in 1961². Therefore the five works teams were awarded two places each on the grid, and Stirling Moss and Maurice Trintignant qualified as the past winners. Leaving nine drivers to fight over four places, a fifth place opened up when Innes Ireland crashed during the final practice session, breaking his leg. Stirling 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 became a non-factor with a faulty fuel pump. Ginther fell to third on lap 14 when Moss and Bonnier passed him at almost the same time. At quarter distance Moss had an impressive 10 second lead but the Ferrari's of Hill and then Ginther found their way around Bonnier and began to close the gap. At half distance it was 8 seconds then 3 seconds at lap 60. Ginther moved into second on lap 75 and tried to close the gap but Moss was up to the challenge. They even set equal fast laps on consecutive laps: Ginther on lap 84, Moss on 85.

Classification

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	11	2
6	26	Bruce McLaren	Cooper-Climax	95	+5 Laps	7	1
7	42	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper-Maserati	95	+5 Laps	16
8	32	Cliff Allison	Lotus-Climax	93	+7 Laps	15
9	6	Hans Herrmann	Porsche	91	+9 Laps	13
10	28	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax	89	+11 Laps	3
11	22	John Surtees	Cooper-Climax	68	Engine	12
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	14
Ret	24	Jack Brabham	Cooper-Climax	38	Ignition	21
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

Notes

• Pole position: Stirling Moss - 1:39.1
• Fastest Lap: Richie Ginther and Stirling Moss – 1:36.3
• Lap Leaders: Richie Ginther 13 laps (1-13); Stirling Moss 87 laps (14-100).
• Stirling Moss had removed the side panels of his near obsolete Lotus 18 to keep him cool

References