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.
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 Qualifying +PosNoDriverConstructorGapQ1Q2Q3Q41 2 Phil Hill Ferrari2:00.8 1:58.82:15.82:05.8—2 6 Richie Ginther Ferrari2:00.8 1:58.82:08.42:06.4 +0.03 8 Jo Bonnier Porsche2:00.8 1:58.82:11.62:12.4 +0.04 4 Wolfgang von Trips Ferrari2:01.4 1:58.82:06.02:06.2 +0.05 28 Stirling Moss Lotus-ClimaxNo time 1:59.02:01.62:08.0 +0.26 22 Tony Brooks BRM-Climax2:02.2 1:59.02:18.02:09.4 +0.27 16 Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax2:01.2 1:59.22:42.22:13.8 +0.48 18 Jim Clark Lotus-Climax2:03.8 1:59.22:11.02:11.6 +0.49 12 Jack Brabham Cooper-ClimaxNo time 1:59.42:25.02:07.6 +0.610 34 John Surtees Cooper-Climax2:01.2 1:59.62:10.22:07.4 +0.811 20 Graham Hill BRM-Climax2:01.4 2:00.02:12.02:11.2 +1.212 10 Dan Gurney Porsche2:01.6 2:00.22:18.82:10.0 +1.413 36 Roy Salvadori Cooper-Climax2:02.0 2:00.82:05.62:07.0 +2.014 14 Bruce McLaren Cooper-ClimaxNo time 2:01.02:15.42:09.2 +2.215 46 Jackie Lewis Cooper-Climax2:03.8 2:01.02:29.2No time +2.216 42 Masten Gregory Cooper-Climax2:02.8 2:01.42:30.22:29.8 +2.617 30 Henry Taylor Lotus-Climax2:03.2 2:01.82:25.62:13.6 +3.018 56 Carel Godin de Beaufort Porsche2:06.2 2:02.02:27.02:13.0 +3.219 58 Giancarlo Baghetti Ferrari2:06.0 2:02.02:18.62:12.8 +3.220 26 Jack Fairman Ferguson-Climax2:05.8 2:03.42:14.6No time +4.621 60 Lorenzo Bandini Cooper-Maserati2:05.6 2:03.62:23.02:12.4 +4.822 52 Wolfgang Seidel Lotus-Climax2:06.4 2:04.2No time2:15.2 +5.423 54 Keith Greene Gilby-Climax2:07.4 2:06.0No timeNo time +7.224 50 Tony Maggs Lotus-Climax2:28.8 2:06.42:15.82:17.2 +7.625 44 Ian Burgess Lotus-ClimaxNo time 2:06.62:26.22:19.0 +7.826 40 Gerry Ashmore Lotus-ClimaxNo time 2:08.22:30.2No time +9.427 48 Tony Marsh Lotus-ClimaxNo time No time2:19.82:09.6 +10.828 62 Massimo Natili Cooper-Maserati2:51.4 2:10.2No time2:38.8 +11.429 38 Tim Parnell Lotus-Climax2:23.0 No time2:59.62:16.8 +18.030 32 Lucien Bianchi Lotus-ClimaxNo time No time2:29.02:18.8 +20.0 Source:
Race
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 18 Jim Clark Lotus-Climax 62 Oil Leak 8 26 Jack Fairman Stirling Moss Ferguson-Climax 56 Push Start In Pits 20 32 Lucien Bianchi Lotus-Climax 45 Gearbox 30 28 Stirling Moss Lotus-Climax 44 Brakes 5 20 Graham Hill BRM-Climax 43 Engine 11 58 Giancarlo Baghetti Ferrari 27 Accident 19 48 Tony Marsh Lotus-Climax 25 Ignition 27 34 John Surtees Cooper-Climax 23 Differential 10 38 Tim Parnell Lotus-Climax 12 Clutch 29 46 Jackie Lewis Cooper-Climax 7 Handling 15 40 Gerry Ashmore Lotus-Climax 7 Ignition 26 30 Henry Taylor Lotus-Climax 5 Accident 17 62 Massimo Natili Cooper-Maserati 0 Gearbox 28 24 Olivier Gendebien Emeryson-Maserati Left the team
Notes
This was the Formula One World Championship debut for South African driver Tony Maggs, also the first for a South African driver. This was the Formula One World Championship debut for British driver Gerry Ashmore.
Championship standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings PosDriverPoints 1 1 Wolfgang von Trips 27 1 2 Phil Hill 25 1 3 Richie Ginther 16 1 4 Stirling Moss 12 5 Giancarlo Baghetti 9Source:
Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Ferrari 38 2 Lotus-Climax 16 3 Porsche 11 4 Cooper-Climax 9 5 BRM-Climax 1Source:
Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References