1961 British Grand Prix

  1961 British Grand Prix

Race details
Race 5 of 8 in the 1961 Formula One season
Date	15 July 1961
Official name	XIV RAC British Grand Prix
Location	Aintree Circuit, Liverpool, England
Course	Permanent road course
Course length	4.828 km (3.000 mi)
Distance	75 laps, 362.10 km (225.00 mi)
Weather	Torrential rain, drying later
Pole position
Driver	Phil Hill	Ferrari
Time	1:58.8
Fastest lap
Driver	Tony Brooks	BRM-Climax
Time	1:57.8 on lap 72
Podium
First	Wolfgang von Trips	Ferrari
Second	Phil Hill	Ferrari
Third	Richie Ginther	Ferrari

The 1961 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race, held on 15 July 1961 at the Aintree Circuit, near Liverpool. It was the fifth race of eight in the 1961 World Championship season. 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. This was von Trips's second and last Grand Prix victory, as two races later he was killed in an accident during the 1961 Italian 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. Unfortunately for Moss, the 1961 British Grand Prix also marked the last occasion on which the local hero would contest 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

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 secs	1	6
3	6	Richie Ginther	Ferrari	75	+46.8 secs	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	26
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	Disqualified	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
WD	24	Olivier Gendebien	Emeryson-Maserati		Car not ready
Source:

Notes

• Lap Leaders: Phil Hill 6 laps (1–6); Wolfgang von Trips 69 laps (7–75).
• Ferrari won the Constructors' Championship with 3 races left.
• World Championship Formula One debut for Gerry Ashmore
• The #26 car, being driven by Jack Fairman, was disqualified for having been push started in the pits.
• The circuit diagram names Sefton Straight wrongly. It is actually located between points 2 & 3, not 6 & 7 as shown

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Wolfgang von Trips	27
	2	Phil Hill	25
1	3	Richie Ginther	16
1	4	Stirling Moss	12
	5	Giancarlo Baghetti	9

Constructors' Championship standings

	Pos	Constructor	Points
	1	Ferrari	38
	2	Lotus-Climax	16
	3	Porsche	11
	4	Cooper-Climax	9
	5	BRM-Climax	1

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

References

Previous race: 1961 French Grand Prix	FIA Formula One World Championship 1961 season	Next race: 1961 German Grand Prix
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