| Type: | F1 |
| Country: | Monaco |
| Grand Prix: | Monaco |
| Date: | 14 May |
| Year: | 1961 |
| Race No: | 1 |
| Season No: | 8 |
| Next Round: | 1961 Dutch Grand Prix |
| Official Name: | XIX Grand Prix de Monaco |
| Location: | Circuit de Monaco Monte Carlo/La Condamine, Monaco |
| Course: | Street circuit |
| Course Mi: | 1.954 |
| Course Km: | 3.145 |
| Distance Laps: | 100 |
| Distance Mi: | 195.4 |
| Distance Km: | 314.5 |
| Weather: | Sunny |
| Pole Driver: | Stirling Moss |
| Pole Country: | UK |
| Pole Team: | Lotus-Climax |
| Pole Time: | 1.39.1 |
| Fast Driver: | Richie Ginther |
| Fast Team: | Ferrari |
| Fast Time: | 1.36.3 |
| Fast Lap: | 84 |
| Fast Country: | US |
| Fast Driver2: | Stirling Moss |
| Fast Team2: | Lotus-Climax |
| Fast Country2: | UK |
| Fast Lap2: | 85 |
| First Driver: | Stirling Moss |
| First Country: | UK |
| First Team: | Lotus-Climax |
| Second Driver: | Richie Ginther |
| Second Country: | USA |
| Second Team: | Ferrari |
| Third Driver: | Phil Hill |
| Third Country: | USA |
| Third Team: | Ferrari |
The 1961 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 14 May 1961 on the Circuit de Monaco in Monte Carlo, Monaco. It was race 1 of 8 in both the 1961 World Championship of Drivers and the 1961 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. It was also the first World Championship race under the new 1.5 litre engine regulations.[1]
The erratic yearly variations in Monaco's qualifying regulations saw grid places guaranteed for works teams and past winners in 1961.[2] Therefore, the five works teams were awarded two places each on the grid, while Stirling Moss and Maurice Trintignant earned spots. This left nine drivers to fight over four remaining slots. A fifth opened up when Innes Ireland crashed during the final practice session, breaking his leg. Moss took pole position from Richie Ginther and Jim Clark, with Graham Hill and Phil Hill on the second row.
Ginther led Clark and Moss into the first corner but Clark quickly ran into trouble with a faulty fuel pump. Ginther dropped to third on lap 14, when Moss and Bonnier passed him in quick succession.[2] At quarter distance, Moss had an impressive 10 second lead (in the underpowered Lotus 18-Climax)[3] but the Ferraris of Hill and then Ginther found their way around Bonnier and began to close the gap. At half distance, Moss' lead was 8 seconds, and down to 3 seconds on lap 60. Ginther moved into second on lap 75 and tried to close the gap, but Moss proved able to match his lap times, despite the 156's horsepower advantage.[4]
| No | Driver | Constructor | Gap | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | ||||||
| 1 | 20 |  Stirling Moss | Lotus-Climax | 1:41.1 | 1:41.4 | 1:39.1 | — | |
| 2 | 36 |  Richie Ginther | Ferrari | 1:41.0 | 1:39.3 | 1:41.7 | +0.2 | |
| 3 | 28 | Jim Clark | Lotus-Climax | 1:39.6 | No time | No time | +0.5 | |
| 4 | 18 | Graham Hill | BRM-Climax | 1:42.8 | 1:40.0 | 1:39.6 | +0.5 | |
| 5 | 38 | Phil Hill | Ferrari | 1:41.0 | 1:39.8 | 1:40.2 | +0.7 | |
| 6 | 40 |  Wolfgang von Trips | Ferrari | 1:41.7 | 1:40.3 | 1:39.8 | +0.7 | |
| 7 | 26 |  Bruce McLaren | Cooper-Climax | 1:44.7 | 1:41.3 | 1:39.8 | +0.7 | |
| 8 | 16 | Tony Brooks | BRM-Climax | 1:44.6 | 1:42.1 | 1:40.1 | +1.0 | |
| 9 | 2 |  Jo Bonnier | Porsche | No time | 1:41.9 | 1:40.3 | +1.2 | |
| 10 | 30 | Innes Ireland | Lotus-Climax | 1:41.5 | 1:40.5 | 1:40.7 | +1.4 | |
| 11 | 4 | Dan Gurney | Porsche | No time | 1:42.7 | 1:40.6 | +1.5 | |
| 12 | 22 | John Surtees | Cooper-Climax | 1:44.3 | 1:41.1 | 2:09.1 | +2.0 | |
| 13 | 6 | Hans Herrmann | Porsche | No time | 1:42.4 | 1:41.1 | +2.0 | |
| 14 | 8 |  Michael May | Lotus-Climax | 1:45.4 | 1:42.0 | 1:43.8 | +2.9 | |
| 15 | 32 | Cliff Allison | Lotus-Climax | 1:56.7 | 1:42.3 | 1:43.2 | +3.2 | |
| 16 | 42 |  Maurice Trintignant | Cooper-Maserati | 1:47.6 | 1:43.2 | 1:42.4 | +3.3 | |
| 17 | 34 | Henry Taylor | Lotus-Climax | 1:45.5 | 1:43.7 | 1:42.6 | +3.5 | |
| 18 | 14 | Masten Gregory | Cooper-Climax | 1:45.7 | 1:42.7 | 1:42.7 | +3.6 | |
| 19 | 10 |  Lucien Bianchi | Emeryson-Maserati | 1:44.0 | 1:42.9 | 1:44.5 | +3.8 | |
| 20 | 12 | Olivier Gendebien | Emeryson-Maserati | 1:45.4 | 1:43.7 | 1:45.0 | +4.6 | |
| 21 | 24 |  Jack Brabham | Cooper-Climax | 1:44.0 | No time | No time | +4.9 | |
| Source:[5] | ||||||||
Drivers that had to qualify on speed: only the five fastest (four before Ireland's injury) would race.
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Stirling Moss | Lotus-Climax | 100 | 2:45:50.1 | 1 | 9 | |
| 2 | 36 | Richie Ginther | Ferrari | 100 | +3.6 secs | 2 | 6 | |
| 3 | 38 | Phil Hill | Ferrari | 100 | +41.3 secs | 5 | 4 | |
| 4 | 40 | Wolfgang von Trips | Ferrari | 98 | Accident | 6 | 3 | |
| 5 | 4 | Dan Gurney | Porsche | 98 | +2 Laps | 10 | 2 | |
| 6 | 26 | Bruce McLaren | Cooper-Climax | 95 | +5 Laps | 7 | 1 | |
| 7 | 42 | Maurice Trintignant | Cooper-Maserati | 95 | +5 Laps | 15 | ||
| 8 | 32 | Cliff Allison | Lotus-Climax | 93 | +7 Laps | 14 | ||
| 9 | 6 | Hans Herrmann | Porsche | 91 | +9 Laps | 12 | ||
| 10 | 28 | Jim Clark | Lotus-Climax | 89 | +11 Laps | 3 | ||
| 11 | 22 | John Surtees | Cooper-Climax | 68 | Engine | 11 | ||
| 12 | 2 | Jo Bonnier | Porsche | 59 | Injection | 9 | ||
| 13 | 16 | Tony Brooks | BRM-Climax | 54 | Engine | 8 | ||
| Ret | 8 | Michael May | Lotus-Climax | 42 | Oil Pipe | 13 | ||
| Ret | 24 | Jack Brabham | Cooper-Climax | 38 | Ignition | 16 | ||
| Ret | 18 | Graham Hill | BRM-Climax | 11 | Fuel Pump | 4 | ||
| DNS | 30 | Innes Ireland | Lotus-Climax | Injury in Practice | ||||
| DNQ | 34 | Henry Taylor | Lotus-Climax | |||||
| DNQ | 14 | Masten Gregory | Cooper-Climax | |||||
| DNQ | 10 | Lucien Bianchi | Emeryson-Maserati | |||||
| DNQ | 12 | Olivier Gendebien | Emeryson-Maserati | |||||
| Pos | Driver | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stirling Moss | 9 | ||
| 2 | Richie Ginther | 6 | ||
| 3 | Phil Hill | 4 | ||
| 4 | Wolfgang von Trips | 3 | ||
| 5 | Dan Gurney | 2 | ||
| Source: [6] | ||||
| Pos | Constructor | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lotus-Climax | 8 | ||
| 2 |  Ferrari | 6 | ||
| 3 | Porsche | 2 | ||
| 4 | Cooper-Climax | 1 | ||
| Source: | ||||