1961 Monaco Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One World Championship race; 1961)

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Revision as of 20:40, 21 September 2022 by SpaceManiac888 (talk | contribs) (Stirling Moss with a masterclass of a performance, holding off three Ferraris to claim his third Monaco Grand Prix victory! The race was also the first to be televised by CBS, with its taped coverage being available on YouTube! That said, there's more to be found, particularly the full live coverage from RAI and ORTF.)
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1961monacograndprix1.jpg

Stirling Moss on route to victory.

Status: Partially Found

The 1961 Monaco Grand Prix was the inaugural race of the 1961 Formula One Season. Occurring on 14th May at the Circuit de Monaco, the race was ultimately won by Stirling Moss in a Rob Walker-owned Lotus-Climax, after fending off the Ferraris in the first World Championship event that mandated engines be of 1.5 litres. The event was also the first to be televised by CBS.

Background

The 1961 Monaco Grand Prix was the eighth running of the event as part of Formula One following its debut on the calendar in 1950.[1] It was also the 19th in Grand Prix history.[2][1] Lasting 100 laps,[3] the Monaco Grand Prix remains an integral event of the Formula One calendar, including being prestigious enough to be classified as part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, alongside the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Indianapolis 500.[1][4]

The race was to mark the first of the 1.5 litre engine era.[5][6][7][8] Some, including many of the British teams, were unhappy with the reduction from 2.5 to 1.5 litres, deeming the change to have been abrupt and potentially reducing the sport's entertainment value.[5][6][8] Whereas the British teams were combatting the change, Ferrari were embracing it, developing the "shark-nose" 156 with a V6 engine fine-tuned for the new regulations.[5][6][8] With an unchanged line-up consisting of Phil Hill, Wolfgang von Trips, and Richie Ginther, Ferrari appeared the favourites to achieve pole position for the event.[5][8] However, after fine-tuning his less powerful Walker Lotus 18, it was Moss who took pole, with a time of 1:39.1.[8][5][3] Ginther took second, while Lotus-Climax's Jim Clark posted the third fastest time.[8][3] Most factory teams were given two automatic spots for the 16-car race, with Moss and Cooper-Maserati's Maurice Trintignant also granted automatic entry to the event.[8][3] Hence, the third drivers of factory teams and the remaining privateer entries battled it out to decide the final four spaces in the race, in addition to ensuring a good starting position for the race.[8][3] Among them was Ginther, whose second place easily ensured qualification, unlike the five drivers that ultimately failed to make the 20-car grid, including Lotus-Climax's Cliff Allison.[8][3]

Clark's time of 1:39.6 occurred during the first session, significantly faster than any other driver at the time.[8] However, he suffered a major accident after losing control at the Sainte Devote Corner.[8][7] While he escaped injury, the young Scot was forced to wait until the race as his Lotus was rebuilt.[8] His teammate Innes Ireland suffered a more serious crash after a poor gear change caused him to spin in the tunnel.[8][5][7] The resulting impact at over 100 mph destroyed his Lotus, and ejected him from his car.[8][5][7] He suffered a broken leg, forcing him out of the event.[8][5][7][3] Years later, he recalled the accident, stating "Ah, yes, '61 - that was the year when I came out of the fucking tunnel without the fucking car."[5] As a spot was now available for the 16-car event, Allison was allowed to compete, having been the fastest of the original non-qualifiers.[8][3][7]

The Race

With the starting order decided, the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix commenced on 14th May.[3] Before the race began, Moss removed his Lotus' side panels and doused himself with water to ensure adequate cooling.[5][8] Both Ginther and Clark made strong starts, the pair running 1-2 as the cars exited the hairpin, Moss now down to third.[8][5][7][3] Moss moved ahead of Clark a lap later, as the Scot suffered issues with a trapped wire under his car's fuel tank, forcing a pitstop.[8][7] Moss was already five seconds behind Ginther by lap 3, but would reduce the gap to 1.5 by lap 8, while Porsche's Jo Bonnier was not far behind in third.[8] By lap 14, the Lotus and Porsche had closed up to the Ferrari, with Moss and Bonnier overtaking Ginther.[8][7][5][3] Moss built up a six second lead over Bonnier by lap 20, while Ginther was dropping back, facing challenges from his Ferrari teammates.[8] On lap 24, Hill passed Ginther, but all three Ferraris had caught up to Bonnier, Hill achieving an overtake two laps later while von Trips passed Ginther.[8][7] However, the American would re-pass the German on lap 32.[8] Moss remained ahead of Hill by 10 seconds, but unable to increase the gap.[8]

This gap remained by lap 40, with Ginther suddenly becoming more competitive by overtaking Bonnier on lap 41 thanks to superior acceleration, before closing in on Hill.[8][7] As he chased his teammate, he began to dictate the pace between Hill, himself, and Bonnier, reducing Moss' lead to around seven seconds.[8] On lap 55, Moss saw his lead distance cut by more than half, forcing him to find ways of maintaining his lead.[8][5] On lap 60, Bonnier retired following a seeming injection pump failure, although neither the Swede nor his team discovered until later that the issue was resolvable by simply cooling the system.[8][5][3] Elsewhere, Moss continued to lead by five seconds, primarily by lapping slower cars that forced the Ferraris to waste time and distance to do the same.[8] Hill by contrast was struggling with the intense heat, and his slow pace enabled Moss to increase the gap by 1.4 seconds.[8][5][7] Ginther, frustrated with his teammate's slow speed, roughly overtook his fellow American on lap 75, and by lap 82, had reduced the gap to Moss to four seconds.[8][5][7][3]

Both drivers were setting lap times below 1:37, with their performance praised by the crowd and publications like Motor Sport.[8] On lap 91, after seeing Moss maintain a five-second lead, Ginther attempted one last push.[8][5][7] This was not necessarily to overtake the Brit, but to try and force a mistake or mechanical failure.[8] Despite reducing the gap to 3.6 seconds, Ginther was unable to trouble Moss, who crossed the line to take his third Monaco Grand Prix victory and eight points in the Drivers' Championship.[8][5][7][3] Considering how Moss held off a trio of new Ferraris in an older Lotus, it led to ESPN and Grand Prix deeming the race as one of Moss' greatest ever drives.[5][7] Ginther finished second, while Hill took third.[8][7][5][3] Hill would drive von Trips back to the pits after the latter crashed out on the final lap, although the German was still classified in fourth.[8][7][5][3] Porsche's Dan Gurney and Cooper-Climax's Bruce McLaren claimed the final points positions of fifth and sixth respectively.[7][3][8]

Availability

The race was the first Formula One event to receive television coverage from CBS.[9][10] On 15th June 1961, CBS aired a one hour report on the event, hosted by Budd Palmer.[9][10] The CBS coverage is publicly available on YouTube, along with a BP-sponsored colour documentary called "Two Laps of Honour". However, other television broadcasts remain missing.[10] Among these include full live coverage of the event by RAI and ORTF, with the BBC providing partial live coverage.[11][10] According to Issue 1,957 of Radio Times, 35 minutes of BBC coverage was dedicated to the race start, while some live footage of the final laps was also aired following a 1962 FIFA World Cup qualifying match between Czechoslovakia and Scotland.[11]

Gallery

Videos

Remastered CBS coverage of the race.

Remastered colour footage of the race from a documentary.

"Two Laps of Honour" film.

Silent amateur footage of the event.

Images

See Also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 F1 Chronicle detailing the history of the Monaco Grand Prix. Retrieved 21st Sep '22
  2. Ultimate Car Page providing a list of Monaco Grand Prix. Retrieved 21st Sep '22
  3. 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 Racing-Reference detailing the qualifying and race results of the event. Retrieved 21st Sep '22
  4. Topend Sports detailing the Triple Crown of Motorsport. Retrieved 21st Sep '22
  5. 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 5.20 ESPN summarising the race. Retrieved 21st Sep '22
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 The Parc Ferme detailing the change from 2.5 to 1.5 litre engines, and the resistance against this regulation change. Retrieved 21st Sep '22
  7. 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 7.17 7.18 Grand Prix summarising the event. Retrieved 21st Sep '22
  8. 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 8.11 8.12 8.13 8.14 8.15 8.16 8.17 8.18 8.19 8.20 8.21 8.22 8.23 8.24 8.25 8.26 8.27 8.28 8.29 8.30 8.31 8.32 8.33 8.34 8.35 8.36 8.37 8.38 Motor Sport providing a detailed race report. Retrieved 21st Sep '22
  9. 9.0 9.1 TIME listing the CBS broadcast of the race. Retrieved 21st Sep '22
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 List of Formula One television broadcasts noting several organisations provided live coverage of the race, in addition to CBS' taped broadcast. Retrieved 21st Sep '22
  11. 11.0 11.1 BBC Genome archive of Radio Times issues detailing the BBC's coverage of the race. Retrieved 21st Sep '22