1960 Monaco Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Stirling Moss gave Lotus its first World Championship victory with a skilful performance in Monaco’s changing conditions. Bruce McLaren and Phil Hill completed the podium after an eventful, attritional race.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Stirling Moss	Lotus
Pole time	1:36.3
Fastest lap	Bruce McLaren	Lotus
Fastest-lap time	1:36.200 on lap 11
First	Stirling Moss	Lotus
Second	Bruce McLaren	Cooper
Third	Phil Hill	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
26 May 1960	Thursday practice — times cancelled	Start time unconfirmed
27 May 1960	Friday timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
28 May 1960	Saturday final qualifying	Start time unconfirmed
29 May 1960	Race	Start time unconfirmed

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Bruce McLaren arrived at round 2 leading the 1960 F1 World Championship on 8 points, with Cliff Allison on 6. Cooper – Climax headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 8 points.

Race entries

Moss switched to Rob Walker’s new Lotus, while Ferrari brought a rear-engined car for Richie Ginther. John Surtees joined the works Lotus line-up. Lance Reventlow and Chuck Daigh arrived with the American Scarabs, and Cooper introduced its revised works cars.

Thursday practice — times cancelled

The opening session descended into timing confusion as increasingly implausible laps appeared. A fault in the official clock was discovered and the session’s times were annulled. Bonnier and Stacey had mechanical trouble, while Ginther struggled to select gears in the new Ferrari; none could use the afternoon to secure a valid grid time.

Friday timed practice

Moss established the decisive pace, but the session also brought serious setbacks. Allison crashed at the chicane and was injured, von Trips suffered chassis trouble, and Burgess damaged his engine. Moss briefly tried a Scarab to help assess its problems, while the unfamiliar American cars remained well off the leading pace.

Saturday final qualifying

Moss’s Friday lap remained unbeaten as the battle for the final places intensified. The Scarabs improved after suspension and tyre changes but still missed out. Ginther looked increasingly comfortable in the rear-engined Ferrari. Ireland and Trintignant displaced Halford from the qualifying sixteen late in the session.

Qualifying Classification

Only sixteen cars could start. Thursday’s times were cancelled because of the timing fault, so the grid came from Friday and Saturday. Equal times were ordered by which driver had recorded the lap first.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	28	Stirling Moss	Lotus	1:36.3
2	8	Jack Brabham	Cooper	1:37.3
3	18	Tony Brooks	Cooper	1:37.7
4	16	Chris Bristow	Cooper	1:37.7
5	2	Jo Bonnier	BRM	1:37.7
6	6	Graham Hill	BRM	1:38.0
7	22	Innes Ireland	Lotus	1:38.2
8	38	Wolfgang von Trips	Ferrari	1:38.3
9	34	Richie Ginther	Ferrari	1:38.6
10	36	Phil Hill	Ferrari	1:38.6
11	10	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	1:38.6
12	14	Roy Salvadori	Cooper	1:38.7
13	24	Alan Stacey	Lotus	1:38.9
14	4	Dan Gurney	BRM	1:38.9
15	26	John Surtees	Lotus	1:39.0
16	44	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper	1:39.1
DNQ	12	Bruce Halford	Cooper	1:39.6
DNQ	32	Cliff Allison	Ferrari	1:39.7
DNQ	20	Brian Naylor	JBW	1:40.3
DNQ	40	Masten Gregory	Cooper	1:41.6
DNQ	46	Chuck Daigh	Scarab	1:47.0
DNQ	30	Giorgio Scarlatti	Cooper	1:47.4
DNQ	48	Lance Reventlow	Scarab	1:48.5
DNQ	42	Ian Burgess	Cooper	1:49.1

What happened in the 1960 Monaco Grand Prix?

Bonnier led initially before Moss moved ahead. Rain then transformed the race: Brabham took the lead but crashed at Sainte Devote, handing the advantage back to the Lotus.

A loose plug lead briefly delayed Moss and allowed Bonnier back in front. Moss recovered, while BRM’s challenge unravelled through suspension trouble and Graham Hill’s accident. McLaren and Phil Hill fought closely behind.

Moss won ahead of McLaren and Phil Hill, with Brooks fourth. The remaining points went to Bonnier and Ginther despite their late mechanical problems, reflecting the event’s classification. Lotus had achieved its first championship victory through the private Walker team.

After the race, Bruce McLaren headed the drivers’ standings with 14 points, followed by Stirling Moss on 8. Cooper – Climax led the constructors’ table on 14, with Ferrari on 10.

1960 Monaco Grand Prix race results

The 1960 Monaco Grand Prix was held on 29 May 1960.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	28	Stirling Moss	Lotus	100	2:53:45.5	8
2	10	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	100	+ 52.1	6
3	36	Phil Hill	Ferrari	100	+ 1:01.9	4
4	18	Tony Brooks	Cooper	99	+ 1 Lap	3
5	2	Jo Bonnier	BRM	83	+ 17 Laps	2
6	34	Richie Ginther	Ferrari	70	+ 30 Laps	1
7	6	Graham Hill	BRM	66	Spun Off	0
8	38	Wolfgang von Trips	Ferrari	61	Clutch	0
9	22	Innes Ireland	Lotus	56	+ 44 Laps	0
Ret	4	Dan Gurney	BRM	44	Suspension	0
DSQ	8	Jack Brabham	Cooper	40	Outside assistance	0
Ret	14	Roy Salvadori	Cooper	29	Overheating	0
Ret	24	Alan Stacey	Lotus	23	Chassis	0
Ret	16	Chris Bristow	Cooper	17	Gearbox	0
Ret	26	John Surtees	Lotus	17	Transmission	0
Ret	44	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper	4	Gearbox	0
DNQ	12	Bruce Halford	Cooper			0
DNQ	32	Cliff Allison	Ferrari			0
DNQ	20	Brian Naylor	JBW			0
DNQ	40	Masten Gregory	Cooper			0
DNQ	46	Chuck Daigh	Scarab			0
DNQ	30	Giorgio Scarlatti	Cooper			0
DNQ	48	Lance Reventlow	Scarab			0
DNQ	42	Ian Burgess	Cooper			0

1960 Monaco Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	10	Bruce McLaren	Lotus	11	1:36.200

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

1960 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1960 Monaco Grand Prix.

1960 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	Cooper	14
2	Stirling Moss	British	Cooper / Lotus	8
3	Cliff Allison	British	Ferrari	6
4	Phil Hill	American	Ferrari	4
5	Carlos Menditeguy	Argentine	Cooper	3
6	Tony Brooks	British	Cooper	3
7	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	BRM	2
8	Wolfgang von Trips	German	Ferrari	2
9	Innes Ireland	British	Lotus	1
10	Richie Ginther	American	Ferrari	1
–	Maurice Trintignant	French	Cooper / Cooper	0
–	Graham Hill	British	BRM	0
–	Alberto Rodriguez Larreta	Argentine	Lotus	0
–	José Froilán González	Argentine	Ferrari	0
–	Roberto Bonomi	Argentine	Cooper	0
–	Masten Gregory	American	Behra-Porsche / Cooper	0
–	Gino Munaron	Italian	Maserati	0
–	Nasif Estéfano	Argentine	Maserati	0
–	Dan Gurney	American	BRM	0
–	Jack Brabham	Australian	Cooper	0
–	Roy Salvadori	British	Cooper	0
–	Alan Stacey	British	Lotus	0
–	Chris Bristow	British	Cooper	0
–	Harry Schell	American	Cooper	0
–	John Surtees	British	Lotus	0
–	Ettore Chimeri	Venezuelan	Maserati	0
–	Antonio Creus	Spanish	Maserati	0
–	Giorgio Scarlatti	Italian	Maserati / Cooper	0

1960 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Cooper – Climax	14
2	Ferrari	10
3	Lotus – Climax	9
4	Cooper – Maserati	3
5	BRM	2
—	Behra-Porsche – Porsche	0
—	Maserati	0
—	JBW – Maserati	0
—	Scarab	0
—	Cooper – Castellotti	0

Drivers and constructors counted their best 6 results. Only the highest-placed eligible car for each constructor could score constructor points. Indianapolis counted towards the drivers’ championship only. Race winners scored eight points, and there was no fastest-lap bonus.

1960 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1960 Argentine Grand Prix	Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires	7 February
2	1960 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	29 May
3	1960 Indianapolis 500	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Indiana	30 May
4	1960 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	6 June
5	1960 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	19 June
6	1960 French Grand Prix	Reims-Gueux, Reims	3 July
7	1960 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	16 July
8	1960 Portuguese Grand Prix	Circuito da Boavista, Porto	14 August
9	1960 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	4 September
10	1960 United States Grand Prix	Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California	20 November