1961 British Grand Prix

Summary

The 1961 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race, held on 15 July 1961 at the Aintree Circuit, near Liverpool. It was race 5 of 8 in both the 1961 World Championship of Drivers and the 1961 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.

1961 British Grand Prix
Race details
Date 15 July 1961
Official name 14th RAC British Grand Prix
Location Aintree Circuit, Liverpool, England
Course Permanent road course
Course length 4.828 km (3.000 miles)
Distance 75 laps, 362.10 km (225.00 miles)
Weather Torrential rain, drying later
Pole position
Driver Ferrari
Time 1:58.8
Fastest lap
Driver United Kingdom Tony Brooks BRM-Climax
Time 1:57.8 on lap 72
Podium
First Ferrari
Second Ferrari
Third Ferrari
Lap leaders

Following a wet weekend, with torrential rain affecting both qualifying and the race start, the Grand Prix was ultimately dominated by Scuderia Ferrari, with their drivers taking all three podium positions. The race was won by German Wolfgang von Trips, who had led for much of the race after starting from fourth place on the grid. This was von Trips's second but also his final Grand Prix victory as two races later he was killed in an accident during the 1961 Italian Grand Prix; it was also the last full-length Grand Prix won by a German until Michael Schumacher achieved his first of 91 wins at the 1992 Belgian Grand Prix. Pole position winner Phil Hill drove to second place on his way to winning the World Drivers' Championship at the end of the season, and third place was taken by Hill's American compatriot Richie Ginther.

The 1961 British Grand Prix is also notable as being the first occasion on which a four-wheel drive car, and the last at which a front engined car was entered for a World Championship race. These two accomplishments were achieved by the same vehicle: the experimental Ferguson P99-Climax run by the Rob Walker Racing Team. Although the car was disqualified for receiving assistance on the track, in the hands of Stirling Moss – who took over the car from first driver Jack Fairman after his own Lotus's brakes failed – it showed some promise. The 1961 British Grand Prix also marked the last occasion on which Moss contested a Grand Prix race on home soil, as his career was ended by an accident during a non-championship race prior to the 1962 season.

Classification edit

Qualifying edit

Pos No Driver Constructor Qualifying times Gap
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
1 2   Phil Hill Ferrari 2:00.8 1:58.8 2:15.8 2:05.8
2 6   Richie Ginther Ferrari 2:00.8 1:58.8 2:08.4 2:06.4 +0.0
3 8   Jo Bonnier Porsche 2:00.8 1:58.8 2:11.6 2:12.4 +0.0
4 4   Wolfgang von Trips Ferrari 2:01.4 1:58.8 2:06.0 2:06.2 +0.0
5 28   Stirling Moss Lotus-Climax No time 1:59.0 2:01.6 2:08.0 +0.2
6 22   Tony Brooks BRM-Climax 2:02.2 1:59.0 2:18.0 2:09.4 +0.2
7 16   Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax 2:01.2 1:59.2 2:42.2 2:13.8 +0.4
8 18   Jim Clark Lotus-Climax 2:03.8 1:59.2 2:11.0 2:11.6 +0.4
9 12   Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax No time 1:59.4 2:25.0 2:07.6 +0.6
10 34   John Surtees Cooper-Climax 2:01.2 1:59.6 2:10.2 2:07.4 +0.8
11 20   Graham Hill BRM-Climax 2:01.4 2:00.0 2:12.0 2:11.2 +1.2
12 10   Dan Gurney Porsche 2:01.6 2:00.2 2:18.8 2:10.0 +1.4
13 36   Roy Salvadori Cooper-Climax 2:02.0 2:00.8 2:05.6 2:07.0 +2.0
14 14   Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax No time 2:01.0 2:15.4 2:09.2 +2.2
15 46   Jackie Lewis Cooper-Climax 2:03.8 2:01.0 2:29.2 No time +2.2
16 42   Masten Gregory Cooper-Climax 2:02.8 2:01.4 2:30.2 2:29.8 +2.6
17 30   Henry Taylor Lotus-Climax 2:03.2 2:01.8 2:25.6 2:13.6 +3.0
18 56   Carel Godin de Beaufort Porsche 2:06.2 2:02.0 2:27.0 2:13.0 +3.2
19 58   Giancarlo Baghetti Ferrari 2:06.0 2:02.0 2:18.6 2:12.8 +3.2
20 26   Jack Fairman Ferguson-Climax 2:05.8 2:03.4 2:14.6 No time +4.6
21 60   Lorenzo Bandini Cooper-Maserati 2:05.6 2:03.6 2:23.0 2:12.4 +4.8
22 52   Wolfgang Seidel Lotus-Climax 2:06.4 2:04.2 No time 2:15.2 +5.4
23 54   Keith Greene Gilby-Climax 2:07.4 2:06.0 No time No time +7.2
24 50   Tony Maggs Lotus-Climax 2:28.8 2:06.4 2:15.8 2:17.2 +7.6
25 44   Ian Burgess Lotus-Climax No time 2:06.6 2:26.2 2:19.0 +7.8
26 40   Gerry Ashmore Lotus-Climax No time 2:08.2 2:30.2 No time +9.4
27 48   Tony Marsh Lotus-Climax No time No time 2:19.8 2:09.6 +10.8
28 62   Massimo Natili Cooper-Maserati 2:51.4 2:10.2 No time 2:38.8 +11.4
29 38   Tim Parnell Lotus-Climax 2:23.0 No time 2:59.6 2:16.8 +18.0
30 32   Lucien Bianchi Lotus-Climax No time No time 2:29.0 2:18.8 +20.0
Source:[1]

Race edit

 
Dan Gurney in his Porsche passing Anchor Crossing
Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 4   Wolfgang von Trips Ferrari 75 2:40:53.6 4 9
2 2   Phil Hill Ferrari 75 +46.0 1 6
3 6   Richie Ginther Ferrari 75 +46.8 2 4
4 12   Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax 75 +1:08.6 9 3
5 8   Jo Bonnier Porsche 75 +1:16.2 3 2
6 36   Roy Salvadori Cooper-Climax 75 +1:26.2 13 1
7 10   Dan Gurney Porsche 74 +1 Lap 12
8 14   Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 74 +1 Lap 14
9 22   Tony Brooks BRM-Climax 73 +2 Laps 6
10 16   Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax 72 +3 Laps 7
11 42   Masten Gregory Cooper-Climax 71 +4 Laps 16
12 60   Lorenzo Bandini Cooper-Maserati 71 +4 Laps 21
13 50   Tony Maggs Lotus-Climax 69 +6 Laps 24
14 44   Ian Burgess Lotus-Climax 69 +6 Laps 25
15 54   Keith Greene Gilby-Climax 69 +6 Laps 23
16 56   Carel Godin de Beaufort Porsche 69 +6 Laps 18
17 52   Wolfgang Seidel Lotus-Climax 58 +17 Laps 22
Ret 18   Jim Clark Lotus-Climax 62 Oil Leak 8
DSQ 26   Jack Fairman
  Stirling Moss
Ferguson-Climax 56 Push Start In Pits 20
Ret 32   Lucien Bianchi Lotus-Climax 45 Gearbox 30
Ret 28   Stirling Moss Lotus-Climax 44 Brakes 5
Ret 20   Graham Hill BRM-Climax 43 Engine 11
Ret 58   Giancarlo Baghetti Ferrari 27 Accident 19
Ret 48   Tony Marsh Lotus-Climax 25 Ignition 27
Ret 34   John Surtees Cooper-Climax 23 Differential 10
Ret 38   Tim Parnell Lotus-Climax 12 Clutch 29
Ret 46   Jackie Lewis Cooper-Climax 7 Handling 15
Ret 40   Gerry Ashmore Lotus-Climax 7 Ignition 26
Ret 30   Henry Taylor Lotus-Climax 5 Accident 17
Ret 62   Massimo Natili Cooper-Maserati 0 Gearbox 28
DNA 24   Olivier Gendebien Emeryson-Maserati Left the team
Source:[2]

Championship standings after the race edit

  • Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References edit

  1. ^ "1961 British GP Qualification". chicanef1.com. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  2. ^ "1961 British Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Britain 1961 - Championship". statsf1.com. Retrieved 13 March 2019.


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1961 French Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1961 season
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1961 German Grand Prix
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1960 British Grand Prix
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