1961 United States Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Innes Ireland won a dramatic first championship Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, giving Team Lotus its first World Championship victory. Dan Gurney finished second and Tony Brooks took third in his final Grand Prix.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Jack Brabham	Cooper
Pole time	1:17.0
Fastest lap	Jack Brabham	Cooper
Fastest-lap time	1:18.200 on lap 28
First	Innes Ireland	Lotus
Second	Dan Gurney	Porsche
Third	Tony Brooks	BRM

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
6 October 1961	Friday timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
7 October 1961	Saturday final qualifying	Start time unconfirmed
8 October 1961	Race	Start time unconfirmed

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

Championship background

Phil Hill arrived at round 8 leading the 1961 F1 World Championship on 34 points, with Wolfgang von Trips on 33. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 40 points.

Race entries

Ferrari stayed in Italy after the tragedy at Monza and its championship successes. Several North American drivers joined the field, including newcomers Roger Penske, Hap Sharp and Peter Ryan. Brabham and Moss had experimental Climax V8 cars available alongside the established four-cylinder machinery.

Friday timed practice

Brabham’s developing V8 Cooper set the pace, while Moss and McLaren were closely matched behind him. Ireland’s preparation was disrupted when a steering failure sent his Lotus towards the woods at the South Loop. The visiting North American entrants used the session to establish themselves against the regular championship field.

Saturday final qualifying

Brabham improved to secure pole. Moss went faster in his V8-powered Lotus than in the four-cylinder car, but chose the older car for its handling and took the corresponding grid position. Ireland suffered gearbox trouble, limiting his chance to improve. Graham Hill earned a front-row place alongside Brabham.

Qualifying Classification

Two timed practice days determined the grid. Moss’s quicker V8 lap was not used for the four-cylinder car he chose to race; his eligible time placed him third. The reversed engine description in the Wikipedia table footnote is corrected here using the article’s main account.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Timed session 1	Timed session 2	Best Time
1	1	Jack Brabham	Cooper	1:17.3	1:17.0	1:17.0
2	4	Graham Hill	BRM	1:18.8	1:18.1	1:18.1
3	7	Stirling Moss	Lotus	1:18.7	1:18.2	1:18.2
4	2	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	1:18.7	1:18.2	1:18.2
5	5	Tony Brooks	BRM	1:19.4	1:18.3	1:18.3
6	14	Jim Clark	Lotus	1:20.6	1:18.3	1:18.3
7	12	Dan Gurney	Porsche	1:19.0	1:18.6	1:18.6
8	15	Innes Ireland	Lotus	1:20.0	1:18.8	1:18.8
9	18	John Surtees	Cooper	1:19.0	1:18.9	1:18.9
10	11	Jo Bonnier	Porsche	1:19.4	1:18.9	1:18.9
11	22	Masten Gregory	Lotus	1:19.1	1:20.5	1:19.1
12	19	Roy Salvadori	Cooper	1:19.6	1:19.2	1:19.2
13	16	Peter Ryan	Lotus	1:26.0	1:20.0	1:20.0
14	60	Walt Hansgen	Cooper	1:22.9	1:20.4	1:20.4
15	21	Olivier Gendebien	Lotus	1:22.7	1:20.5	1:20.5
16	6	Roger Penske	Cooper	1:22.6	1:20.6	1:20.6
17	3	Hap Sharp	Cooper	No time	1:21.0	1:21.0
18	17	Jim Hall	Lotus	1:22.3	1:21.8	1:21.8
19	26	Lloyd Ruby	Lotus	1:22.5	1:21.8	1:21.8

What happened in the 1961 United States Grand Prix?

Moss and Brabham exchanged the lead while Ireland recovered from an early spin. Brabham’s V8 eventually lost water and overheated, leaving Moss comfortably ahead until falling oil pressure ended his race too.

Ireland inherited the lead but still faced pressure. Graham Hill lost time with an ignition problem, and Salvadori closed rapidly before his engine failed near the finish. Ireland also had fuel-pressure concerns in the closing laps.

Ireland held on ahead of Gurney and Brooks, with McLaren, Graham Hill and Bonnier completing the points. It was Ireland’s only championship victory and a landmark for the works Lotus team. Moss had also made what proved to be his final World Championship start.

After the race, Phil Hill headed the drivers’ standings with 34 points, followed by Wolfgang von Trips on 33. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 40, with Lotus – Climax on 32.

1961 United States Grand Prix race results

The 1961 United States Grand Prix was held on 8 October 1961.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	15	Innes Ireland	Lotus	100	2:13:45.8	9
2	12	Dan Gurney	Porsche	100	+4.3 secs	6
3	5	Tony Brooks	BRM	100	+49.0 secs	4
4	2	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	100	+58.0 secs	3
5	4	Graham Hill	BRM	99	+1 Lap	2
6	11	Jo Bonnier	Porsche	98	+2 Laps	1
7	14	Jim Clark	Lotus	96	+4 Laps	0
8	6	Roger Penske	Cooper	96	+4 Laps	0
9	16	Peter Ryan	Lotus	96	+4 Laps	0
10	3	Hap Sharp	Cooper	93	+7 Laps	0
11	21	Olivier Gendebien / Masten Gregory	Lotus	92	+8 Laps	0
Ret	19	Roy Salvadori	Cooper	96	Engine	0
Ret	17	Jim Hall	Lotus	76	Fuel Leak	0
Ret	26	Lloyd Ruby	Lotus	76	Magneto	0
Ret	7	Stirling Moss	Lotus	58	Engine	0
Ret	1	Jack Brabham	Cooper	57	Overheating	0
Ret	22	Masten Gregory	Lotus	23	Gearbox	0
Ret	60	Walt Hansgen	Cooper	14	Accident	0
Ret	18	John Surtees	Cooper	0	Engine	0
WD	8	Phil Hill	Ferrari		Team withdrew	0
WD	9	Richie Ginther	Ferrari		Team withdrew	0
WD	10	Pedro Rodríguez	Ferrari		Team withdrew	0
DNA	23	Ken Miles	Lotus		Not present	0

1961 United States Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	1	Jack Brabham	Cooper	28	1:18.200

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 United States Grand Prix.

1961 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Phil Hill	American	Ferrari	34
2	Wolfgang von Trips	German	Ferrari	33
3	Stirling Moss	British	Lotus / Ferguson	21
4	Dan Gurney	American	Porsche	21
5	Richie Ginther	American	Ferrari	16
6	Innes Ireland	British	Lotus	12
7	Jim Clark	British	Lotus	11
8	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	Cooper	11
9	Giancarlo Baghetti	Italian	Ferrari	9
10	Tony Brooks	British	BRM	6
11	Jack Brabham	Australian	Cooper	4
12	John Surtees	British	Cooper	4
13	Jackie Lewis	British	Cooper	3
14	Olivier Gendebien	Belgian	Emeryson / Ferrari / Lotus	3
15	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	Porsche	3
16	Graham Hill	British	BRM	3
17	Roy Salvadori	British	Cooper	2
–	Maurice Trintignant	French	Cooper	0
–	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Dutch	Porsche	0
–	Lorenzo Bandini	Italian	Cooper	0
–	Cliff Allison	British	Lotus	0
–	Roger Penske	American	Cooper	0
–	Hans Herrmann	German	Porsche	0
–	Peter Ryan	Canadian	Lotus	0
–	Masten Gregory	American	Cooper / Lotus	0
–	Henry Taylor	British	Lotus	0
–	Tim Parnell	British	Lotus	0
–	Hap Sharp	American	Cooper	0
–	Tony Maggs	South African	Lotus	0
–	Michael May	Swiss	Lotus	0
–	Ian Burgess	British	Lotus / Cooper	0
–	Renato Pirocchi	Italian	Cooper / Cooper	0
–	Trevor Taylor	British	Lotus	0
–	Tony Marsh	British	Lotus	0
–	Keith Greene	British	Gilby	0
–	Gerry Ashmore	British	Lotus	0
–	Wolfgang Seidel	German	Lotus	0
–	Jim Hall	American	Lotus	0
–	Lloyd Ruby	American	Lotus	0
–	Gaetano Starrabba	Italian	Lotus	0
–	Willy Mairesse	Belgian	Lotus / Ferrari	0
–	Ricardo Rodríguez	Mexican	Ferrari	0
–	Walt Hansgen	American	Cooper	0
–	Lucien Bianchi	Belgian	Emeryson / Lotus	0
–	Bernard Collomb	French	Cooper	0
–	Jack Fairman	British	Ferguson / Cooper	0
–	Nino Vaccarella	Italian	De Tomaso	0
–	Ken Miles	British	Lotus	0
–	Giorgio Scarlatti	Italian	De Tomaso	0
–	Brian Naylor	British	JBW	0
–	Edgar Barth	German	Porsche	0
–	Juan Manuel Bordeu	Argentine	Lotus	0
–	Roberto Bussinello	Italian	De Tomaso	0
–	Massimo Natili	Italian	Cooper	0
–	Peter Monteverdi	Swiss	MBM	0
–	Roberto Lippi	Italian	De Tomaso	0
–	Geoff Duke	British	Cooper	0
–	John Campbell-Jones	British	Cooper	0
–	Alfonso Thiele	Italian	Cooper	0
–	Ernesto Prinoth	Italian	Lotus	0
–	Menato Boffa	Italian	Cooper	0

1961 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Ferrari	40
2	Lotus – Climax	32
3	Porsche	22
4	Cooper – Climax	14
5	BRM – Climax	7
—	Cooper – Maserati	0
—	Gilby – Climax	0
—	Emeryson – Maserati	0
—	De Tomaso – OSCA	0
—	JBW – Climax	0
—	Ferguson – Climax	0
—	De Tomaso – Alfa Romeo	0
—	Lotus – Maserati	0
—	Emeryson – Climax	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