1961 Formula One season

The 1961 Formula One season was the 12th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1961 World Championship of Drivers^[1] and the 1961 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers,^[2] which were contested concurrently from 14 May to 8 October over an eight race series. The season also included numerous non-championship races for Formula One cars.

Phil Hill of Ferrari won his only Drivers' Championship after his teammate and rival Wolfgang von Trips was killed at the Italian Grand Prix, the penultimate race of the season. Ferrari won its first F1 manufacturers' title.^[3]

Season summary

The first year of the 1.5-litre formula was dominated by a well-prepared Ferrari team. Only Stirling Moss, in an outdated Lotus, was able to beat the Ferraris on two tracks where his skills offset the Ferrari power advantage. Giancarlo Baghetti in a privately entered Ferrari won the French Grand Prix on his championship debut, the only driver to have done so other than Nino Farina, winner of the first F1 World Championship race. Baghetti had also won his only two previous Formula One races, the non-championship events at Syracuse and Naples, but the French race was his only win in the World Championship. The contest for the championship between Ferrari's leading drivers, Phil Hill and Wolfgang von Trips, ended in tragedy when von Trips collided with Jim Clark at Monza, killing the Ferrari driver and 14 spectators. Hill went on to win the championship, the first American to do so. With the change of formula and the introduction of the United States Grand Prix, the Indianapolis 500 was dropped from the championship.

The number of points awarded to a race winner was increased to nine for the World Championship of Drivers.

Besides von Trips, two other drivers died during this season: Briton Shane Summers during the non-championship Silver City Trophy event at Brands Hatch, and Italian Giulio Cabianca during a test at the Modena Autodrome.

Season review

The following eight races counted towards the World Championship of Drivers and the International Cup for F1 Manufacturers.

Rnd	Race	Circuit	Date	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Constructor	Tyre	Report
1	Monaco Grand Prix	Monaco	14 May	Stirling Moss	Richie Ginther Stirling Moss	Stirling Moss	Lotus-Climax	D	Report
2	Dutch Grand Prix	Zandvoort	22 May	Phil Hill	Jim Clark	Wolfgang von Trips	Ferrari	D	Report
3	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps	18 June	Phil Hill	Richie Ginther	Phil Hill	Ferrari	D	Report
4	French Grand Prix	Reims	2 July	Phil Hill	Phil Hill	Giancarlo Baghetti	Ferrari	D	Report
5	British Grand Prix	Aintree	15 July	Phil Hill	Tony Brooks	Wolfgang von Trips	Ferrari	D	Report
6	German Grand Prix	Nürburgring	6 August	Phil Hill	Phil Hill	Stirling Moss	Lotus-Climax	D	Report
7	Italian Grand Prix	Monza	10 September	Wolfgang von Trips	Giancarlo Baghetti	Phil Hill	Ferrari	D	Report
8	United States Grand Prix	Watkins Glen	8 October	Jack Brabham	Jack Brabham	Innes Ireland	Lotus-Climax	D	Report

The Moroccan Grand Prix, originally supposed to be run on 29 October as the last race of the year, was cancelled for the third year in a row for monetary reasons.^[4]

Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1961 FIA World Championship.

American Phil Hill (pictured in 1991) won the Drivers' Championship, driving for Ferrari

Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Tyre	Driver	Rounds
Porsche System Engineering	Porsche	787 718/2	Porsche 547/6 1.5 F4	D	Jo Bonnier	All
					Dan Gurney	All
					Hans Herrmann	1, 6
Scuderia Colonia	Lotus-Climax	18	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	D	Michael May	1, 4, 6
					Wolfgang Seidel	3, 5–7
Equipe Nationale Belge	Emeryson-Maserati	61	Maserati Tipo 6 1.5 L4	D	Olivier Gendebien	1
					Lucien Bianchi	1
	Lotus-Climax	18	Climax FPF 1.5 L4			3
					Willy Mairesse	3
	Emeryson-Climax	61			André Pilette	7
Camoradi International	Cooper-Climax	T53	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	D	Masten Gregory	1–5
					Ian Burgess	6
	Lotus-Climax	18				2–5
Owen Racing Organisation	BRM-Climax	P48/57	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	D	Tony Brooks	All
					Graham Hill	All
R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Lotus-Climax	18 18/21 21	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	D	Stirling Moss	All
	Ferguson-Climax	P99				5
					Jack Fairman	5
Yeoman Credit Racing Team	Cooper-Climax	T53	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	D	John Surtees	All
					Roy Salvadori	4–8
Cooper Car Company	Cooper-Climax	T55 T58	Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Climax FWMV 1.5 V8	D	Jack Brabham	All
					Bruce McLaren	All
Team Lotus	Lotus-Climax	21 18 18/21	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	D	Jim Clark	All
					Innes Ireland	1, 3–8
					Trevor Taylor	2
					Willy Mairesse	4
UDT Laystall Racing Team	Lotus-Climax	18 18/21	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	D	Cliff Allison	1, 3
					Henry Taylor	1, 3–5, 7
					Lucien Bianchi	4–5
					Juan Manuel Bordeu	4
					Masten Gregory	7–8
					Olivier Gendebien	8
Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari	156	Ferrari 178 1.5 V6 Ferrari 188 1.5 V6	D	Richie Ginther	1–7
					Phil Hill	1–7
					Wolfgang von Trips	1–7
					Olivier Gendebien	3
					Willy Mairesse	6
					Ricardo Rodríguez	7
Scuderia Serenissima	Cooper-Maserati	T51	Maserati Tipo 6 1.5 L4	D	Maurice Trintignant	1, 3–4, 6–7
	De Tomaso-OSCA	F1	OSCA 372 1.5 L4		Giorgio Scarlatti	4
	De Tomaso-Alfa Romeo		Alfa Romeo Giulietta 1.5 L4		Nino Vaccarella	7
Ecurie Maarsbergen	Porsche	718	Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4	D	Carel Godin de Beaufort	2–7
					Hans Herrmann	2
H&L Motors	Cooper-Climax	T53	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	D	Jackie Lewis	3–7
Tony Marsh	Lotus-Climax	18	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	D	Tony Marsh	3, 5–6
Scuderia Centro Sud	Cooper-Maserati	T53 T51	Maserati Tipo 6 1.5 L4	D	Lorenzo Bandini	3, 5–7
					Massimo Natili	5, 7
Bernard Collomb	Cooper-Climax	T53	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	D	Bernard Collomb	4, 6
Tim Parnell	Lotus-Climax	18	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	D	Tim Parnell	5, 7
Gerry Ashmore	Lotus-Climax	18	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	D	Gerry Ashmore	5–7
Louise Bryden-Brown[5]	Lotus-Climax	18	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	D	Tony Maggs	5–6
Gilby Engineering	Gilby-Climax	61	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	D	Keith Greene	5
Scuderia Sant'Ambroeus FISA	Ferrari	156	Ferrari 178 1.5 V6	D	Giancarlo Baghetti	4–5, 7
J.B. Naylor	JBW-Climax	59	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	D	Brian Naylor	7
Fred Tuck Cars	Cooper-Climax	T45	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	D	Jack Fairman	7
Scuderia Settecolli	De Tomaso-OSCA	F1	OSCA 372 1.5 L4	D	Roberto Lippi	7
Isobele de Tomaso	De Tomaso-Alfa Romeo	F1	Alfa Romeo Giulietta 1.5 L4	D	Roberto Bussinello	7
Pescara Racing Team	Cooper-Maserati	T45	Maserati Tipo 6 1.5 L4	D	Renato Pirocchi	7
Gaetano Starrabba	Lotus-Maserati	18	Maserati Tipo 6 1.5 L4	D	Gaetano Starrabba	7
Hap Sharp	Cooper-Climax	T53	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	D	Hap Sharp	8
John M. Wyatt III	Cooper-Climax	T53	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	D	Roger Penske	8
J. Wheeler Autosport	Lotus-Climax	18/21	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	D	Peter Ryan	8
Jim Hall	Lotus-Climax	18	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	D	Jim Hall	8
J. Frank Harrison	Lotus-Climax	18	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	D	Lloyd Ruby	8
Momo Corporation	Cooper-Climax	T53	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	D	Walt Hansgen	8

1961 World Championship of Drivers – final standings

Points were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis to the first six finishers at each race.^[6][7] However, only the best five results from the eight races were retained.

Pos. Driver MON NED BEL FRA GBR GER ITA USA Pts[7] 1 Phil Hill* 3 2 1 9 2 (3) 1 34 (38) 2 Wolfgang von Trips 4 1 2 Ret 1 2 Ret 33 3 Stirling Moss 1 4 8 Ret Ret 1 Ret Ret 21 4 Dan Gurney 5 10 6 2 7 7 2 2 21 5 Richie Ginther 2 5 3 15 3 8 Ret 16 6 Innes Ireland DNS Ret 4 10 Ret Ret 1 12 7 Jim Clark 10 3 12 3 Ret 4 Ret 7 11 8 Bruce McLaren 6 12 Ret 5 8 6 3 4 11 9 Giancarlo Baghetti 1 Ret Ret 9 10 Tony Brooks 13 9 13 Ret 9 Ret 5 3 6 11 Jack Brabham Ret 6 Ret Ret 4 Ret Ret Ret 4 12 John Surtees 11 7 5 Ret Ret 5 Ret Ret 4 13 Olivier Gendebien DNQ 4 11 3 14 Jackie Lewis 9 Ret Ret 9 4 3 15 Joakim Bonnier 12 11 7 7 5 Ret Ret 6 3 16 Graham Hill Ret 8 Ret 6 Ret Ret Ret 5 3 17 Roy Salvadori 8 6 10 6 Ret 2 — Maurice Trintignant 7 Ret 13 Ret 9 0 — Carel Godin de Beaufort 14 11 Ret 16 14 7 0 — Lorenzo Bandini Ret 12 Ret 8 0 — Cliff Allison 8 DNS 0 — Roger Penske 8 0 — Hans Herrmann 9 15 13 0 — Peter Ryan 9 0 — Masten Gregory DNQ DNS 10 12 11 Ret Ret 0 — Henry Taylor DNQ DNS 10 Ret 11 0 — Tim Parnell Ret 10 0 — Hap Sharp 10 0 — Tony Maggs 13 11 0 — Michael May Ret 11 DNS 0 — Ian Burgess DNS DNS 14 14 12 0 — Renato Pirocchi 12 0 — Trevor Taylor 13 0 — Tony Marsh DNS Ret 15 0 — Keith Greene 15 0 — Gerry Ashmore Ret 16 Ret 0 — Wolfgang Seidel DNS 17 Ret Ret 0 — Bernard Collomb Ret NC 0 — Lucien Bianchi DNQ Ret Ret Ret 0 — Willy Mairesse Ret Ret Ret 0 — Jack Fairman DSQ Ret 0 — Giorgio Scarlatti Ret 0 — Massimo Natili Ret 0 — Ricardo Rodríguez Ret 0 — Gaetano Starrabba Ret 0 — Nino Vaccarella Ret 0 — Roberto Bussinello Ret 0 — Brian Naylor Ret 0 — Roberto Lippi Ret 0 — Jim Hall Ret 0 — Lloyd Ruby Ret 0 — Walt Hansgen Ret 0 — André Pilette DNQ 0 Pos. Driver MON NED BEL FRA GBR GER ITA USA Pts

Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Did not finish (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Excluded (EX) Did not arrive (DNA) Withdrawn (WD)

• * Hill's 3rd-place finish (4 points) at Nürburgring was excluded from the final standings because only the best 5 results counted towards the Championship this year. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points actually scored.
• Italics indicate fastest lap
• Bold indicates pole position

1961 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers – final standings

Points were awarded on an 8–6–4–3–2–1 basis to the first six finishers at each race.^[6][7] However, a manufacturer only received points for its highest placed car and only the best five results from the eight races were retained.

Pos.	Manufacturer	MON	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA	USA	Pts[6][7]
1	Ferrari	(2)	1	1	1	1	(2)	1	WD	40 (52)
2	Lotus-Climax	1	3	8	3	10	1	10	1	32
3	Porsche	5	10	(6)	2	5	7	2	2	22 (23)
4	Cooper-Climax	(6)	(6)	5	5	4	(5)	3	4	14 (18)
5	BRM-Climax	13	8	13	6	9	Ret	5	3	7
—	Cooper-Maserati	7		Ret	13	12	Ret	8		0
—	Gilby-Climax					15				0
—	Ferguson-Climax					DSQ				0
—	De Tomaso-OSCA				Ret			Ret		0
—	Lotus-Maserati							Ret		0
—	De Tomaso-Alfa Romeo						WD	Ret		0
—	JBW-Climax				WD			Ret		0
—	Emeryson-Maserati	DNQ				WD		DNQ		0
Pos.	Manufacturer	MON	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA	USA	Pts

• Only the best 5 results counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.
• Bold results counted to Championship totals.

Non-Championship races review

Other Formula One races also held in 1961, which did not count towards the World Championship.

Race Name	Circuit	Date	Winning driver	Constructor	Report
II Lombank Trophy	Snetterton	26 March	Jack Brabham	Cooper-Climax	Report
IX Glover Trophy	Goodwood	3 April	John Surtees	Cooper-Climax	Report
XXI Pau Grand Prix	Pau	3 April	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax	Report
III Brussels Grand Prix	Heysel	9 April	Jack Brabham	Cooper-Climax	Report
II Vienna Grand Prix	Aspern Aerodrome	16 April	Stirling Moss	Lotus-Climax	Report
VI Aintree 200	Aintree	22 April	Jack Brabham	Cooper-Climax	Report
XI Syracuse Grand Prix	Syracuse	25 April	Giancarlo Baghetti	Ferrari	Report
XIX Naples Grand Prix	Posillipo	14 May	Giancarlo Baghetti	Ferrari	Report
IX London Trophy	Crystal Palace	23 May	Roy Salvadori	Cooper-Climax	Report
VI Silver City Trophy	Brands Hatch	3 June	Stirling Moss	Lotus-Climax	Report
Solitude Grand Prix	Solitudering	23 July	Innes Ireland	Lotus-Climax	Report
VII Kanonloppet	Karlskoga	20 August	Stirling Moss	Lotus-Climax	Report
II Danish Grand Prix	Roskilde Ring	26–27 August	Stirling Moss	Lotus-Climax	Report
XV Modena Grand Prix	Modena	3 September	Stirling Moss	Lotus-Climax	Report
III Flugplatzrennen	Zeltweg Airfield	17 September	Innes Ireland	Lotus-Climax	Report
VIII Gold Cup	Oulton Park	23 September	Stirling Moss	Ferguson-Climax	Report
V Lewis-Evans Trophy	Brands Hatch	1 October	Tony Marsh	BRM-Climax	Report
I Coppa Italia	Vallelunga	12 October	Giancarlo Baghetti	Porsche	Report
V Rand Grand Prix	Kyalami	9 December	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax	Report
I Natal Grand Prix	Westmead	17 December	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax	Report
VIII South African Grand Prix	East London	26 December	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax	Report

Notes and references

External links

• 1961 images at the Cahier Archive