1961 Monaco Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Stirling Moss opened the new 1.5-litre championship era with a superb Monaco victory. His privately entered Lotus resisted the faster Ferraris of Richie Ginther and Phil Hill through a relentless afternoon.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Stirling Moss	Lotus
Pole time	1:39.1
Fastest lap	Richie Ginther	Ferrari
Fastest-lap time	1:36.300 on lap 84
First	Stirling Moss	Lotus
Second	Richie Ginther	Ferrari
Third	Phil Hill	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
11 May 1961	Thursday timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
12 May 1961	Friday timed practice	07:15
13 May 1961	Saturday final qualifying	14:00
14 May 1961	Pre-race preparations	Morning; start unconfirmed
14 May 1961	Race	14:45

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

Championship background

The 1961 F1 World Championship began with a fresh points table and the first opportunity to measure the teams in race conditions. Circuit de Monaco hosted the opening contest, where qualifying pace, tyre management and reliability would all shape the result.

Race entries

Ferrari arrived with its new rear-engined cars, including a wider-angle V6 for Ginther. The British teams largely relied on four-cylinder Climax engines. Jack Brabham divided his time between Monaco and Indianapolis, while private entrants competed for a handful of available places.

Thursday timed practice

Porsche’s cars had not arrived, leaving its drivers watching the opening session. Ferrari immediately showed its strength, but Clark eventually went fastest before crashing heavily at Sainte Devote. He escaped injury, although the new Lotus required a major rebuild. Moss worked through fuel-feed problems, while Surtees struggled with his gear selector.

Friday timed practice

Porsche joined the running, but its four-speed transmission proved restrictive. Ginther demonstrated the new Ferrari’s speed and reliability, while Michael May used a tow to strengthen his qualifying chances. Clark’s car remained under repair and Brabham had returned to Indianapolis. Ireland damaged his Lotus nose in contact with Gendebien, whose Emeryson later suffered a suspension failure.

Saturday final qualifying

Moss’s repaired fuel system allowed him to attack, and he secured pole ahead of Ginther. Clark still could not run, while McLaren checked Brabham’s car. Ireland crashed in the tunnel and was injured, ending his weekend. The long interruption left little effective running afterwards and opened a place for Cliff Allison.

Qualifying Classification

Twelve places were guaranteed to works-team nominees and former winners, with the remaining places decided on speed. Ireland’s withdrawal admitted an additional qualifier. The grid therefore cannot be explained by selecting the sixteen fastest laps alone.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Timed session 1	Timed session 2	Timed session 3	Best Time
1	20	Stirling Moss	Lotus	1:41.1	1:41.4	1:39.1	1:39.1
2	36	Richie Ginther	Ferrari	1:41.0	1:39.3	1:41.7	1:39.3
3	28	Jim Clark	Lotus	1:39.6	No time	No time	1:39.6
4	18	Graham Hill	BRM	1:42.8	1:40.0	1:39.6	1:39.6
5	38	Phil Hill	Ferrari	1:41.0	1:39.8	1:40.2	1:39.8
6	40	Wolfgang von Trips	Ferrari	1:41.7	1:40.3	1:39.8	1:39.8
7	26	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	1:44.7	1:41.3	1:39.8	1:39.8
8	16	Tony Brooks	BRM	1:44.6	1:42.1	1:40.1	1:40.1
9	2	Jo Bonnier	Porsche	No time	1:41.9	1:40.3	1:40.3
10	30	Innes Ireland	Lotus	1:41.5	1:40.5	1:40.7	1:40.5
11	4	Dan Gurney	Porsche	No time	1:42.7	1:40.6	1:40.6
12	22	John Surtees	Cooper	1:44.3	1:41.1	2:09.1	1:41.1
13	6	Hans Herrmann	Porsche	No time	1:42.4	1:41.1	1:41.1
14	8	Michael May	Lotus	1:45.4	1:42.0	1:43.8	1:42.0
15	32	Cliff Allison	Lotus	1:56.7	1:42.3	1:43.2	1:42.3
16	42	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper	1:47.6	1:43.2	1:42.4	1:42.4
17	34	Henry Taylor	Lotus	1:45.5	1:43.7	1:42.6	1:42.6
18	14	Masten Gregory	Cooper	1:45.7	1:42.7	1:42.7	1:42.7
19	10	Lucien Bianchi	Emeryson	1:44.0	1:42.9	1:44.5	1:42.9
20	12	Olivier Gendebien	Emeryson	1:45.4	1:43.7	1:45.0	1:43.7
21	24	Jack Brabham	Cooper	1:44.0	No time	No time	1:44.0

Pre-race preparations

Brabham returned from Indianapolis shortly before the race. Moss removed the cockpit side panels to improve ventilation, while Lotus worked on Clark’s smoky engine as the cars prepared to start.

What happened in the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix?

Ginther led initially, while Clark soon lost ground with mechanical trouble. Moss moved into the lead and built an advantage as the Ferraris worked their way through the chasing group.

Phil Hill and then Ginther reduced the gap, exploiting Ferrari’s power wherever the narrow streets allowed. Moss answered with consistently fast laps, keeping the contest under control despite the pressure.

Ginther finished only a few seconds behind, with Phil Hill third and von Trips fourth. Gurney and McLaren completed the points. Moss had produced one of Monaco’s great drives, winning for the third time on the streets of the principality.

After the race, Stirling Moss headed the drivers’ standings with 9 points, followed by Richie Ginther on 6. Lotus – Climax led the constructors’ table on 8, with Ferrari on 6.

1961 Monaco Grand Prix race results

The 1961 Monaco Grand Prix was held on 14 May 1961, with a scheduled start of 14:45 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	20	Stirling Moss	Lotus	100	2:45:50.1	9
2	36	Richie Ginther	Ferrari	100	+3.6 secs	6
3	38	Phil Hill	Ferrari	100	+41.3 secs	4
4	40	Wolfgang von Trips	Ferrari	98	Accident	3
5	4	Dan Gurney	Porsche	98	+2 Laps	2
6	26	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	95	+5 Laps	1
7	42	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper	95	+5 Laps	0
8	32	Cliff Allison	Lotus	93	+7 Laps	0
9	6	Hans Herrmann	Porsche	91	+9 Laps	0
10	28	Jim Clark	Lotus	89	+11 Laps	0
11	22	John Surtees	Cooper	68	Engine	0
12	2	Jo Bonnier	Porsche	59	Injection	0
13	16	Tony Brooks	BRM	54	Engine	0
Ret	8	Michael May	Lotus	42	Oil Pipe	0
Ret	24	Jack Brabham	Cooper	38	Ignition	0
Ret	18	Graham Hill	BRM	11	Fuel Pump	0
DNS	30	Innes Ireland	Lotus		Injury in Practice	0
DNQ	34	Henry Taylor	Lotus			0
DNQ	14	Masten Gregory	Cooper			0
DNQ	10	Lucien Bianchi	Emeryson			0
DNQ	12	Olivier Gendebien	Emeryson			0

1961 Monaco Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	36	Richie Ginther	Ferrari	84	1:36.300
1	20	Stirling Moss	Lotus	85	1:36.300

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

1961 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix.

1961 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Stirling Moss	British	Lotus	9
2	Richie Ginther	American	Ferrari	6
3	Phil Hill	American	Ferrari	4
4	Wolfgang von Trips	German	Ferrari	3
5	Dan Gurney	American	Porsche	2
6	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	Cooper	1
–	Maurice Trintignant	French	Cooper	0
–	Cliff Allison	British	Lotus	0
–	Hans Herrmann	German	Porsche	0
–	Jim Clark	British	Lotus	0
–	John Surtees	British	Cooper	0
–	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	Porsche	0
–	Tony Brooks	British	BRM	0
–	Michael May	Swiss	Lotus	0
–	Jack Brabham	Australian	Cooper	0
–	Graham Hill	British	BRM	0
–	Innes Ireland	British	Lotus	0

1961 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Lotus – Climax	8
2	Ferrari	6
3	Porsche	2
4	Cooper – Climax	1
—	Cooper – Maserati	0
—	BRM – Climax	0
—	Emeryson – Maserati	0

Drivers and constructors counted their best 5 results. Only the highest-placed eligible car for each constructor could score constructor points. A victory earned nine driver points but eight constructor points.

1961 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1961 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	14 May
2	1961 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	22 May
3	1961 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	18 June
4	1961 French Grand Prix	Reims-Gueux, Reims	2 July
5	1961 British Grand Prix	Aintree Motor Racing Circuit, Liverpool	15 July
6	1961 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	6 August
7	1961 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	10 September
8	1961 United States Grand Prix	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York	8 October