The 1961 Formula One season was the 15th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 12th World Championship of Drivers, the 4th International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, and numerous non-championship Formula One races. The World Championship was contested over eight races between 14 May and 8 October 1961.
Phil Hill driving for Ferrari won his first and only Drivers' Championship after his teammate and rival Wolfgang von Trips was killed during the Italian Grand Prix, the penultimate race of the season. Hill was the first American-born champion (and, so far, the only one, because champion Mario Andretti was born in Italy). Ferrari won its first Manufacturers' Championship.
New regulations only allowed naturally aspirated engines with a maximum capacity of , effectively adopting the Formula Two engine rules as used from 1957 to 1960. The English teams threatened to boycott, because the change was communicated only shortly before the season started, but the protests subsided. Although Enzo Ferrari was opposed as well, the manufacturer got it right by designing their first mid-engined car, the legendary 156 "Sharknose", and won five out of the eight championship races.
Besides Wolfgang von Trips, two other F1 drivers died this year: Italian Giulio Cabianca during a test at the Aerautodromo di Modena and Briton Shane Summers during the non-championship Silver City Trophy.
Teams and drivers The following teams and drivers competed in the 1961 FIA World Championship. All teams competed with tyres supplied by Dunlop.
Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Driver Rounds Porsche System Engineering Porsche 787718/2 Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4 Jo Bonnier All Dan Gurney All Hans Herrmann 1, 6 Scuderia Colonia Lotus-Climax 18 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Michael May 1, 4, 6 Wolfgang Seidel 3, 5–7 Equipe Nationale Belge Emeryson-Maserati 61 Maserati Tipo 6 1.5 L4 Olivier Gendebien 1 Lucien Bianchi 1 Lotus-Climax 18 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 3 Willy Mairesse 3 Emeryson-Climax 61 André Pilette 7 Camoradi International Cooper-Climax T53 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Masten Gregory 1–5 Ian Burgess 6 Lotus-Climax 18 2–5 Owen Racing Organisation BRM-Climax P48/57 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Tony Brooks All Graham Hill All R.R.C. Walker Racing Team Lotus-Climax 1818/2121 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Stirling Moss All Ferguson-Climax P99 5 Jack Fairman 5 Yeoman Credit Racing Team Cooper-Climax T53 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 John Surtees All Roy Salvadori 4–8 Cooper Car Company Cooper-Climax T55T58 Climax FPF 1.5 L4Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 Jack Brabham All Bruce McLaren All Team Lotus Lotus-Climax 211818/21 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Jim Clark All Innes Ireland 1, 3–8 Trevor Taylor 2 Willy Mairesse 4 UDT Laystall Racing Team Lotus-Climax 1818/21 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Cliff Allison 1, 3 Henry Taylor 1, 3–5, 7 Lucien Bianchi 4–5 Juan Manuel Bordeu 4 Masten Gregory 7–8 Olivier Gendebien 8 Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 156 Ferrari 178 1.5 V6Ferrari 188 1.5 V6 Richie Ginther 1–7 Phil Hill 1–7 Wolfgang von Trips 1–7 Olivier Gendebien 3 Willy Mairesse 6 Ricardo Rodríguez 7 Scuderia Serenissima Cooper-Maserati T51 Maserati Tipo 6 1.5 L4 Maurice Trintignant 1, 3–4, 6–7 De Tomaso-OSCA F1 OSCA 372 1.5 L4 Giorgio Scarlatti 4 De Tomaso-Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Giulietta 1.5 L4 Nino Vaccarella 7 Ecurie Maarsbergen Porsche 718 Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4 Carel Godin de Beaufort 2–7 Hans Herrmann 2 H&L Motors Cooper-Climax T53 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Jackie Lewis 3–7 Tony Marsh Lotus-Climax 18 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Tony Marsh 3, 5–6 Scuderia Centro Sud Cooper-Maserati T53T51 Maserati Tipo 6 1.5 L4 Lorenzo Bandini 3, 5–7 Massimo Natili 5, 7 Bernard Collomb Cooper-Climax T53 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Bernard Collomb 4, 6 Tim Parnell Lotus-Climax 18 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Tim Parnell 5, 7 Gerry Ashmore Lotus-Climax 18 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Gerry Ashmore 5–7 Louise Bryden-Brown Lotus-Climax 18 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Tony Maggs 5–6 Gilby Engineering Gilby-Climax 61 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Keith Greene 5 FISA Ferrari 156 Ferrari 178 1.5 V6 Giancarlo Baghetti 4 Scuderia Sant'Ambroeus Ferrari 156 Ferrari 178 1.5 V6 Giancarlo Baghetti 5, 7 J.B. Naylor JBW-Climax 59 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Brian Naylor 7 Fred Tuck Cars Cooper-Climax T45 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Jack Fairman 7 Scuderia Settecolli De Tomaso-OSCA F1 OSCA 372 1.5 L4 Roberto Lippi 7 Isobele de Tomaso De Tomaso-Alfa Romeo F1 Alfa Romeo Giulietta 1.5 L4 Roberto Bussinello 7 Pescara Racing Team Cooper-Maserati T45 Maserati Tipo 6 1.5 L4 Renato Pirocchi 7 Gaetano Starrabba Lotus-Maserati 18 Maserati Tipo 6 1.5 L4 Gaetano Starrabba 7 Hap Sharp Cooper-Climax T53 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Hap Sharp 8 John M. Wyatt III Cooper-Climax T53 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Roger Penske 8 J. Wheeler Autosport Lotus-Climax 18/21 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Peter Ryan 8 Jim Hall Lotus-Climax 18 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Jim Hall 8 J. Frank Harrison Lotus-Climax 18 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Lloyd Ruby 8 Momo Corporation Cooper-Climax T53 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 Walt Hansgen 8
Team and driver changes
Porsche made their full-season debut, entering two cars driven by Jo Bonnier and Dan Gurney. Both of them had been driving for BRM, so the British signed Tony Brooks to partner future champion Graham Hill. BRM had been building their own engines in previous years but were not prepared for this year's rule changes, so they bought a Coventry Climax unit. It was the same engine as Team Lotus and Cooper were using, but results were merely reasonable. John Surtees moved from Lotus's works team to Reg Parnell's private entry to fill the seat of Brooks. Lotus did not replace Surtees and reduced their operations to two cars. Both Aston Martin and Vanwall had only competed in one race in and abandoned their F1 operations before this year. Maserati had withdrawn their works team after 1958, but private teams had still been using their legendary 250F chassis from 1948. From this year on, however, Maserati would only be supplying engines.
Mid-season changes Lotus driver Innes Ireland was badly injured in the Monaco Grand Prix, so Trevor Taylor filled in for him during the Dutch Grand Prix. Taylor would be hired instead of Ireland for the 1962 season. After getting injured in a crash in last year's Monaco Grand Prix, BRP driver Cliff Allison was taken to hospital again after practice for the Belgian Grand Prix. He broke both his knees and fractured his pelvis when his car careened off the course and overturned in a field.Sports Datelines, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 1961, Page A5. His seat was filled by Lucien Bianchi and Masten Gregory. Their teammate Henry Taylor suffered a serious accident in the British Grand Prix, after which he turned away from single-seater racing and took up rallying. He was replaced by Olivier Gendebien. Ferrari driver Wolfgang von Trips collided with Jim Clark during the Italian Grand Prix. His car went off the track, fatally throwing him out and killing fifteen spectators. Ferrari withdrew the team from the final race on the calendar, but still won both championships.
Calendar Round Grand Prix Circuit Date 1 Monaco Grand Prix Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo 14 May 2 Dutch Grand Prix Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort 22 May 3 Belgian Grand Prix Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot 18 June 4 French Grand Prix Reims-Gueux, Gueux 2 July 5 British Grand Prix Aintree Motor Racing Circuit, Merseyside 15 July 6 German Grand Prix Nürburgring, Nürburg 6 August 7 Italian Grand Prix Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza 10 September 8 United States Grand Prix Watkins Glen International, New York 8 October
Calendar changes The Moroccan Grand Prix was originally scheduled to be held on 29 October as the season finale but was cancelled for the third year in a row due to monetary reasons. The Argentine Grand Prix was dropped from the calendar after the Argentinian fan base declined with the retirements of Juan Manuel Fangio in 1958 and José Froilán González in 1960, and the unstable government situation (since the exile of then President of Argentina Juan Peron in 1955) caused safety concerns. The Portuguese Grand Prix was dropped from the calendar. The British Grand Prix was moved from Silverstone to Aintree, in keeping with the event-sharing arrangement between the two circuits. The German Grand Prix returned to the Nürburgring after the 1959 round was run at the AVUS circuit and the 1960 round was run as a Formula Two race.David Hayhoe, Formula 1: The Knowledge records and trivia since 1950 – 2nd Edition, 2021, page 35. Six weeks before the race, it was decided the United States Grand Prix would move from Riverside International Raceway to Watkins Glen because of the lack of spectators attending and prize money being paid by the latter's organisers.David Hayhoe, Formula 1: The Knowledge records and trivia since 1950 – 2nd Edition, 2021, page 36. From this season onwards the Indianapolis 500 which had been included on the calendar since the inaugural World Championship season in 1950 but run to AAA rules was dropped from the official World Championship with the race now solely becoming a domestic American open-wheel championship event.
Regulation changes
Technical regulations Formula One effectively adopted the Formula Two engine regulations, as used from 1957 to 1960, by reducing the maximum engine capacity to and only allowing naturally aspirated engines. Furthermore: The minimum capacity was set at . The minimum weight was originally set at , but later lowered to . It was banned to add lubricants (oil or water) to a car during a race; Wheels could not be covered by bodywork.
Safety regulations Numerous technical innovations were made mandatory from the aspect of safety: Roll bars, which had to be wider than the driver's shoulders but could not extend higher or further forward than the driver's head; Automatic starter motors capable of being operated by the driver when seated at the steering wheel; An electrical master switch as fire precaution; A dual braking system with independent operation on the front wheels, so in case of a brake fail, the front brakes will still slow the car down; Seat belt attachments (although wearing the belt remained optional); Fuel tank fillers could not stick out of the body panels and had to be wide enough for air to espace during refueling.
Sporting regulations The number of championship points awarded to a race winner was increased to nine.Automobile Year 1961–1962, page 116
Championship report Pre-season non-championship races Before the 1961 Formula One season was to start in Monaco in mid-May, many non-championship races were held throughout Europe. The first was the Lombank Trophy, a joint Formula One and Intercontinental Formula race, at the fast 2.7-mile Snetterton circuit in eastern England. Most of the top drivers of the day, such as Stirling Moss, Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Phil Hill and Wolfgang von Trips were in the United States competing in the prestigious 12 Hours of Sebring sportscar race. Still, two top drivers—John Surtees and defending champion Jack Brabham—were in attendance. Brabham won the race in an Intercontinental Cooper while Surtees finished third, first of the Formula One entrants.
A week later, the Glover Trophy at the fast Goodwood circuit in southern England was held, with Surtees winning in a privately entered Cooper, ahead of Graham Hill in a works BRM, Surtees's teammate Roy Salvadori in a Cooper and Moss in a Rob Walker-entered Lotus. On the same day, the Pau Grand Prix in southwest France was won by Clark driving a works Lotus. Six days later, the Brussels Grand Prix at Heysel Park was won by Brabham in a works Cooper. Seven days after that, Moss won the Vienna Grand Prix in Austria, held at an aerodrome in Aspern, Vienna. Six days later, on a Friday, the Aintree 200 in Liverpool was won by Brabham in wet conditions, and three days later, the prestigious Syracuse Grand Prix in Sicily was won by Giancarlo Baghetti in a Ferrari – his first ever Formula One race.
Race 1: Monaco