The 1961 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 2 July 1961 at Reims. It was race 4 of 8 in both the 1961 World Championship of Drivers and the 1961 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.

By winning the race, Giancarlo Baghetti became only the third driver to win his first World Championship race, the other two being Nino Farina, who won the first World Championship race (the 1950 British Grand Prix) and Johnnie Parsons, who won the 1950 Indianapolis 500 (the Indianapolis 500 was part of the World Championship from 1950 to 1960), though both Farina and Parsons had competed at future World Championship races before the creation of the championship, while this was Baghetti's first start at a major Grand Prix. This was Baghetti's only World Championship race win. He would never finish in the top 3 again.

Classification Qualifying +PosNoDriverConstructorGapQ1Q2Q31 16 Phil Hill Ferrari 2:24.9No time2:30.0—2 20 Wolfgang von Trips Ferrari 2:26.4No time2:28.7 +1.53 18 Richie Ginther Ferrari 2:27.42:27.02:26.8 +1.94 26 Stirling Moss Lotus-Climax 2:27.62:31.02:32.3 +2.75 8 Jim Clark Lotus-Climax 2:30.32:33.72:29.0 +4.16 22 Graham Hill BRM-Climax 2:29.12:30.42:32.0 +4.27 40 John Surtees Cooper-Climax 2:33.32:32.22:29.1 +4.28 4 Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 2:31.32:30.42:29.4 +4.59 12 Dan Gurney Porsche No time2:31.12:29.6 +4.710 6 Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax 2:30.22:30.52:29.8 +4.911 24 Tony Brooks BRM-Climax 2:32.32:31.62:29.9 +5.012 50 Giancarlo Baghetti Ferrari 2:30.92:30.92:30.5 +5.613 10 Jo Bonnier Porsche No timeNo time2:30.5 +5.614 2 Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax 2:31.02:33.12:33.0 +6.115 42 Roy Salvadori Cooper-Climax 2:31.22:31.32:35.3 +6.316 36 Masten Gregory Cooper-Climax 2:31.92:31.32:33.0 +6.417 14 Carel Godin de Beaufort Porsche No time2:33.22:31.8 +6.918 44 Jackie Lewis Cooper-Climax 2:33.02:32.0No time +7.119 28 Lucien Bianchi Lotus-Climax 2:33.8†2:33.42:34.2 +8.520 48 Willy Mairesse Lotus-Climax No timeNo time2:35.8 +10.921 52 Bernard Collomb Cooper-Climax 2:39.1No time2:36.8 +11.922 46 Michael May Lotus-Climax No time2:40.22:37.9 +13.023 32 Maurice Trintignant Cooper-Maserati No time2:38.8No time +13.924 38 Ian Burgess Lotus-Climax 2:44.72:40.92:39.7 +14.825 30 Henry Taylor Lotus-Climax No time†3:14.22:40.3 +15.426 34 Giorgio Scarlatti De Tomaso-Osca No time2:47.32:47.1 +22.2 Source: † Bianchi was absent for the first day of qualifying. Taylor qualified on Day 1 with Bianchi's car, but French timekeepers only tied the laptimes of a given car to the driver listed alongside in the programme, and his laptime was attributed to Bianchi.

Race Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 50 Giancarlo Baghetti Ferrari 52 2:14:17.5 12 9 2 12 Dan Gurney Porsche 52 +0.1 5 6 3 8 Jim Clark Lotus-Climax 52 +1:01.0 9 4 4 6 Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax 52 +1:10.3 10 3 5 4 Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 52 +1:41.8 8 2 6 22 Graham Hill BRM-Climax 52 +1:41.9 6 1 7 10 Jo Bonnier Porsche 52 +3:15.4 13 8 42 Roy Salvadori Cooper-Climax 51 +1 Lap 15 9 16 Phil Hill Ferrari 50 +2 Laps 1 10 30 Henry Taylor Lotus-Climax 49 +3 Laps 25 11 46 Michael May Lotus-Climax 48 +4 Laps 22 12 36 Masten Gregory Cooper-Climax 43 +9 Laps 16 13 32 Maurice Trintignant Cooper-Maserati 42 +10 Laps 23 14 38 Ian Burgess Lotus-Climax 42 +10 Laps 24 15 18 Richie Ginther Ferrari 40 Oil Pressure 3 26 Stirling Moss Lotus-Climax 31 Brakes 4 48 Willy Mairesse Lotus-Climax 27 Engine 20 14 Carel Godin de Beaufort Porsche 23 Overheating 17 28 Lucien Bianchi Lotus-Climax 21 Overheating 19 20 Wolfgang von Trips Ferrari 18 Engine 2 34 Giorgio Scarlatti De Tomaso-Osca 15 Engine 26 2 Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax 14 Oil Pressure 14 52 Bernard Collomb Cooper-Climax 6 Engine 21 40 John Surtees Cooper-Climax 4 Accident 7 24 Tony Brooks BRM-Climax 4 Overheating 11 44 Jackie Lewis Cooper-Climax 4 Overheating 18 46 Wolfgang Seidel Lotus-Climax Practice only - May's car 28 Juan Manuel Bordeu Lotus-Climax Practice only - UDT Laystall T-car 46 Olivier GendebienEmeryson-Maserati Entry taken by May 14 Hans Herrmann Porsche Car taken by de Beaufort 54 Brian Naylor JBW-Climax Car not ready

Notes

This was the first Formula One World Championship podium for Porsche as a constructor and engine supplier.

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings PosDriverPoints 1 Phil Hill 19 2 Wolfgang von Trips 18 3 Stirling Moss 12 4 Richie Ginther 12 25 5 Giancarlo Baghetti 9Source:

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Ferrari 30 2 Lotus-Climax 16 1 3 Porsche 9 1 4 Cooper-Climax 6 1 5 BRM-Climax 1Source:

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

References