1966 Monaco Grand Prix

  1966 Monaco Grand Prix

Race details
Race 1 of 9 in the 1966 Formula One season
Date	May 22, 1966
Official name	XXIV Grand Prix Automobile de Monaco
Location	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco
Course	Street Circuit
Course length	3.145 km (1.954 mi)
Distance	100 laps, 314.500 km (195.400 mi)
Weather	Overcast, Mild, Dry
Pole position
Driver	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax
Time	1:29.9
Fastest lap
Driver	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari
Time	1:29.8
Podium
First	Jackie Stewart	BRM
Second	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari
Third	Graham Hill	BRM

The 1966 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Circuit de Monaco on May 22, 1966. It was the opening round of the 1966 World Championship of Drivers, the first of a new era for Formula One, the 'return to power' as engine regulations were altered from 1.5 litres of maximum engine displacement to 3.0 litres. It was the 24th Monaco Grand Prix.

The race was won by British driver Jackie Stewart driving a BRM P261. He took a forty-second victory over the Ferrari 246 of Italian driver Lorenzo Bandini. It was Stewart's second Grand Prix victory after winning the Italian Grand Prix the previous year. Stewart's team mate, fellow Briton Graham Hill finished a lap down in third position in his BRM P261. The only other driver to be classified as a finisher was American driver Bob Bondurant driving a BRM P261 entered privately by Team Chamaco Collect.

Race report

The first race of the new 3-litre engine series began in Monaco. Few teams were ready for the new regulations with several teams starting the race with 1965 engines still in place, or had adapted heavier sports car racing engines to suit.

Some sessions were filmed for the movie Grand Prix. It was the debut race of the McLaren racing team, and the Repco V8 in the back of Brabhams new 1966 BT19 chassis. John Surtees, still recovering from a crash at Mosport Park led for 14 laps from Jackie Stewart, Jochen Rindt and Denny Hulme until his differential broke, handing the lead to Stewart. Hulme retired whilst Graham Hill and Jim Clark disputed third place before Clark's suspension gave out. Meanwhile, Lorenzo Bandini was smashing the lap record before having to ease off to prevent the front brakes wearing out. Stewart won from Bandini with Graham Hill third and Bob Bondurant fourth the only other car past the line in a race of extreme attrition. New rules meant that cars had to complete 90% of the race distance to be classified and eligible for points, meaning that whilst Guy Ligier and Jo Bonnier were still racing, they were considered far enough behind to have actually retired. To this day, this race holds the record for having the fewest classified finishers in a single race in Formula One history.

Classification

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	12	Jackie Stewart	BRM	100	2:33:10.5	3	9
2	16	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	100	+ 40.2	5	6
3	11	Graham Hill	BRM	99	+ 1 lap	4	4
4	19	Bob Bondurant	BRM	95	+ 5 laps	16	3
Ret	9	Richie Ginther	Cooper-Maserati	80	Transmission	9
NC	21	Guy Ligier	Cooper-Maserati	75	Not Classified	15
NC	18	Jo Bonnier	Cooper-Maserati	73	Not Classified	14
Ret	4	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax	60	Suspension	1
Ret	10	Jochen Rindt	Cooper-Maserati	56	Engine	7
Ret	14	Jo Siffert	Brabham-BRM	35	Clutch	13
Ret	6	Mike Spence	Lotus-BRM	34	Suspension	12
Ret	7	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Repco	17	Gearbox	11
Ret	17	John Surtees	Ferrari	16	Transmission	2
Ret	8	Denny Hulme	Brabham-Climax	15	Transmission	6
Ret	2	Bruce McLaren	McLaren-Ford	9	Oil Leak	10
Ret	15	Bob Anderson	Brabham-Climax	3	Engine	8
Source:

Lap leaders

John Surtees (laps 1–14), Jackie Stewart (15–100)

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Jackie Stewart	9
2	Lorenzo Bandini	6
3	Graham Hill	4
4	Bob Bondurant	3

Constructors' Championship standings

Pos	Constructor	Points
1	BRM	9
2	Ferrari	6

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

References

Previous race: 1965 Mexican Grand Prix	FIA Formula One World Championship 1966 season	Next race: 1966 Belgian Grand Prix
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