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 The 1961 German Grand Prix was the sixth round of the 1961 Formula One World Championship, held at the Nürburgring in West Germany.[1] The XXIII Grosser Preis von Deutschland would also be the 100th World Championship race in the history of Formula One and was expected to see the Constructors' Championship decided in favour of Ferrari.[1]

Phil Hill set a stunning lap in qualifying to take pole, but it was Stirling Moss who claimed victory in his Lotus 18, with Hill also beaten by team mate and title rival Wolfgang von Trips.[1] Jack Brabham had managed to lead the race with the new Climax V8 engine, but retired on the opening lap after a throttle jam.[1]

Background[]

Climax were keen to close the gap to Ferrari at the front of the field, and so brought their developmental V8 engine to West Germany, intending to replace their ageing L4 unit.[1] They only had one, however, and it was handed to Jack Brabham in the works Cooper for the weekend to attempt to defeat the scarlet quartet at the front of the field.[1] The familiar trio of Phil Hill, Wolfgang von Trips and Richie Ginther were joined by Belgian racer Willy Mairesse, although the latter would race with an older engine.[1]

Porsche were another team to bring a quartet of cars to their home race, adding Edgar Barth to their rooster of drivers containing Jo Bonnier, Dan Gurney and Hans Herrmann.[1] Elsewhere, the entry list was swelled by the familiar flitter of Privateers with their older equipment, as well as the semi-works efforts that attended most of the rounds.[1]

The Championship was looking like an increasingly red affair, as von Trips led Hill by two points at the head of the field. They were a further nine points ahead of the driver in third, team mate Richie Ginther, although the American was in a tussle with several other drivers. Stirling Moss was the closest non-Ferrari driver in fourth, four behind Ginther, while Dan Gurney completed the top five.

Like the Championship, the Intercontinental Cup for Constructors was an all Italian affair, with Ferrari on target to wrap up the title with two rounds to go. A 22 point lead ensured that the Scarlet cars only had to muster a handful of points before the end of the season, although dropped scores almost made it impossible for Lotus-Climax to catch them. Defending Champions Cooper-Climax were down in fourth, out of the fight and behind Porsche, while BRM were the only other constructor to have scored.

Entry List[]

The full entry list for the 1961 German Grand Prix is outlined below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 Australia Jack Brabham United Kingdom Cooper Car Company Cooper T58 Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 D
2 New Zealand Bruce McLaren United Kingdom Cooper Car Company Cooper T55 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 D
3 United States Phil Hill Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 156 Ferrari 178 1.5 V6 D
4 West Germany Wolfgang von Trips Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 156 Ferrari 178 1.5 V6 D
5 United States Richie Ginther Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 156 Ferrari 178 1.5 V6 D
6 Belgium Willy Mairesse Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 156 Ferrari 178 1.5 V6 D
7 United Kingdom Stirling Moss United Kingdom R.R.C. Walker Racing Team Lotus 18 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 D
8 Sweden Jo Bonnier West Germany Porsche System Engineering Porsche 718 Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4 D
9 United States Dan Gurney West Germany Porsche System Engineering Porsche 718 Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4 D
10 West Germany Edgar Barth West Germany Dr Ing F. Porsche KG Porsche 718 Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4 D
11 West Germany Hans Herrmann West Germany Porsche System Engineering Porsche 718 Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4 D
12 United States Masten Gregory United States Camoradi International Cooper T53 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 D
14 United Kingdom Jim Clark United Kingdom Team Lotus Lotus 21 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 D
15 United Kingdom Innes Ireland United Kingdom Team Lotus Lotus 18/21 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 D
16 United Kingdom Tony Brooks United Kingdom Owen Racing Organisation BRM P48/57 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 D
17 United Kingdom Graham Hill United Kingdom Owen Racing Organisation BRM P48/57 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 D
18 United Kingdom John Surtees United Kingdom Yeoman Credit Racing Team Cooper T53 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 D
19 United Kingdom Roy Salvadori United Kingdom Yeoman Credit Racing Team Cooper T53 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 D
20 France Maurice Trintignant Italy Scuderia Serenissima Cooper T51 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 D
21 Italy Giorgio Scarlatti Italy Scuderia Serenissima De Tomaso F1 Alfa Romeo Giulietta 1.5 L4 D
25 Switzerland Michael May West Germany Scuderia Colonia Lotus 18 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 D
26 West Germany Wolfgang Seidel West Germany Scuderia Colonia Lotus 18 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 D
27 United Kingdom Gerry Ashmore United Kingdom Privateer Lotus 18 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 D
28 United Kingdom Jackie Lewis United Kingdom H&L Motors Cooper T53 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 D
29 Switzerland Peter Monteverdi Switzerland Privateer MBM FJ Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4 D
30 United Kingdom Ian Burgess United States Camoradi International Lotus 18 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 D
31 Netherlands Carel Godin de Beaufort Netherlands Ecurie Maarsbergen Porsche 718 Porsche 547/3 1.5 F4 D
32 Italy Lorenzo Bandini Italy Scuderia Centro Sud Cooper T53 Maserati 6-1500 1.5 L4 D
33 South Africa Tony Maggs United States Louise Bryden-Brown Lotus 18 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 D
34 Italy Renato Pirocchi Italy Pescara Racing Team Cooper T45 Maserati 6-1500 1.5 L4 D
35 United Kingdom Geoff Duke United Kingdom Fred Tuck Cars Cooper T45 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 D
37 United Kingdom Tony Marsh United Kingdom Privateer Lotus 18 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 D
38 France Bernard Collomb France Privateer Cooper T53 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 D
39 United Kingdom John Campbell-Jones United Kingdom Privateer Cooper T51 Climax FPF 1.5 L4 D

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

A dry couple of days in West Germany greeted the Formula One field for the combined practice and qualifying sessions, which some were hoping to see lap records broken, despite the downsized engines.

Report[]

Jack Brabham was flying with the new Climax V8 engine in the back of his Cooper, but his time was flattened by the American Phil Hill.[1] An incredible lap put the leading Ferrari six seconds clear of the Australian, with the pair sharing the front row with Stirling Moss, Championship outsider, and Jo Bonnier as the best of the Porsches.[1] Row two consisted of Wolfgang von Trips and Graham Hill, (the latter ensuring all five point scoring constructors were in the first two rows), while Dan Gurney completed the second row in the second Porsche.

Jim Clark, Tony Brooks, John Surtees and Hans Herrmann shared the third row, with Bruce McLaren the only other driver to set a time within twenty seconds of Phil Hill. Willy Mairesse was next, having beaten more experienced team mate Richie Ginther, before Roy Salvadori led the fifth row. A total of 27 drivers qualified, Edgar Barth the only man to be denied a grid slot due to his poor overall pace.[2] Michael May was slowest, but crashed heavily during one of his final laps, ending the session with a written off Lotus 18.[1]

Qualifying Results[]

The full qualifying results for the 1961 German Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Time[2] Gap
1 3 United States Phil Hill Ferrari 8:55.2
2 1 Australia Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax 9:01.4 +6.2s
3 7 United Kingdom Stirling Moss Lotus-Climax 9:01.7 +6.5s
4 8 Sweden Jo Bonnier Porsche 9:04.8 +9.6s
5 4 West Germany Wolfgang von Trips Ferrari 9:05.5 +10.3s
6 17 United Kingdom Graham Hill BRM-Climax 9:06.4 +11.2s
7 9 United States Dan Gurney Porsche 9:06.6 +11.4s
8 14 United Kingdom Jim Clark Lotus-Climax 9:08.1 +12.9s
9 16 United Kingdom Tony Brooks BRM-Climax 9:09.3 +14.1s
10 18 United Kingdom John Surtees Cooper-Climax 9:11.2 +16.0s
11 11 West Germany Hans Herrmann Porsche 9:12.7 +17.5s
12 2 New Zealand Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 9:13.0 +17.8s
13 6 Belgium Willy Mairesse Ferrari 9:15.9 +20.7s
14 5 United States Richie Ginther Ferrari 9:16.6 +21.4s
15 19 United Kingdom Roy Salvadori Cooper-Climax 9:22.0 +26.8s
16 15 United Kingdom Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax 9:22.9 +27.7s
17 31 Netherlands Carel Godin de Beaufort Porsche 9:28.4 +33.2s
18 28 United Kingdom Jackie Lewis Cooper-Climax 9:31.4 +36.2s
19 32 Italy Lorenzo Bandini Cooper-Maserati 9:35.4 +40.2s
20 37 United Kingdom Tony Marsh Lotus-Climax 9:37.7 +42.5s
21 20 France Maurice Trintignant Cooper-Maserati 9:38.5 +43.3s
22 33 South Africa Tony Maggs Lotus-Climax 9:45.5 +50.3s
23 26 West Germany Wolfgang Seidel Lotus-Climax 9:59.9 +1:04.7s
24 30 United Kingdom Ian Burgess Lotus-Climax 10:01.4 +1:06.2s
25 27 United Kingdom Gerry Ashmore Lotus-Climax 10:06.0 +1:10.8s
26 38 France Bernard Collomb Cooper-Climax 10:23.0 +1:27.8s
27 25 Switzerland Michael May Lotus-Climax 10:37.5 +1:40.3s
DNQ 10 West Germany Edgar Barth Porsche Too slow
WD 12 United States Masten Gregory Cooper-Climax Withdrawn
WD 21 Italy Giorgio Scarlatti De Tomaso-Alfa Romeo Withdrawn
WD 29 Switzerland Peter Monteverdi MBM-Porsche Withdrawn
WD 34 Italy Renato Pirocchi Cooper-Maserati Withdrawn
DNA 35 United Kingdom Geoff Duke Cooper-Climax Did not arrive
DNA 39 United Kingdom John Campbell-Jones Cooper-Climax Did not arrive

Grid[]

Pos Pos Pos Pos
Driver Driver Driver Driver
______________
______________ 1
______________ 2 Phil Hill
______________ 3 Jack Brabham
4 Stirling Moss
Jo Bonnier
______________
______________ 5
______________ 6 Wolfgang von Trips
7 Graham Hill
Dan Gurney
______________
______________ 8
______________ 9 Jim Clark
______________ 10 Tony Brooks
11 John Surtees
Hans Herrmann
______________
______________ 12
______________ 13 Bruce McLaren
14 Willy Mairesse
Richie Ginther
______________
______________ 15
______________ 16 Roy Salvadori
______________ 17 Innes Ireland
18 Carel Godin de Beaufort
Jackie Lewis
______________
______________ 19
______________ 20 Lorenzo Bandini
21 Tony Marsh
Maurice Trintignant
______________
______________ 22
______________ 23 Tony Maggs
______________ 24 Wolfgang Seidel
25 Ian Burgess
Gerry Ashmore
______________
______________ 26
______________ 27 Bernard Collomb
28 Michael May


Race[]

After a dry start to the weekend, heavy rain on Sunday morning prompted the teams to switch to wet tyres for the start of the race, although the sky was brightening as the grid formed.[3] As for the race itself, the focus was on Jack Brabham with the new Climax V8 engine, the Australian World Champion hoping to take his first win of the season.[3]

Report[]

A stunning start for Brabham saw him snatch the lead from the four abreast front row of the grid, with Stirling Moss slotting in straight behind him.[3] Pole sitter Phil Hill went backwards, while a swarm of Porsches, led by Jo Bonnier, claimed third through to fifth in the opening stages of the first lap.[3] Graham Hill also made a good start, launching into the hunt for the lead from the middle of the second row, while Wolfgang von Trips tried to take team mate Phil Hill on the long run to the first corner.[3]

F1_1961_-_Nüburgring_-_Stirling_Moss_onboard

F1 1961 - Nüburgring - Stirling Moss onboard

Moss shows sublime skills as he swings around the Nüburgring.

A resurgent Phil Hill, however, would have Moss sticking to the back of his Ferrari 156 before the cars reached the Karussell with the pair now squabbling for the lead, Brabham having tumbled out of the race due to a sticking throttle.[3][1] Bonnier remained in third, swinging through the Karussell ahead of von Trips, who had moved past Dan Gurney and John Surtees just before.[3] Back up front, and Moss was leading as he and Hill flashed across the finish line at the end of the first lap, Brit taking American off camera.[3]

Casualties began to pile up after the end of the first lap, Graham Hill emerging unhurt from an accident off camera, while Innes Ireland pulled off with an engine fire.[1] Wolfgang Seidel would be next to drop out with a steering failure, with the rest of the fallers resulting from engine failures through the rest of the lap.[1] Out front, however, Moss seemed untouchable, as he continued to take a couple of seconds a lap out of Phil Hill, while von Trips gained on his team mate.[3]

With the race heading increasingly in Moss' favour, attention turned to von Trips, who was closing in on his team mate in almost every corner as the end of the race approached.[3] Jim Clark, meanwhile, had made a series of moves to rise to fourth, ahead of a three way scrap for fifth between Surtees, Bruce McLaren and Richie Ginther.[3] The trio ran nose to tail through the Karussell, Ginther in front on lap ten, although he would soon be trailing the group as McLaren and Surtees took him before the end of the lap.[3] It would not be long before Surtees was through into fifth, but needed to find a minute on Clark to catch the Scotsman before the end of the race.[3]

The final laps saw rain, with Moss suddenly pulling 21 seconds clear on the final tour to claim victory.[3] Behind him, the two Ferraris of Hill and von Trips swapped places, the German sweeping home a little over a second ahead of his team mate at the finish line, with Clark and Surtees holding position.[3] McLaren claimed a lonely sixth after his mid-race engagements, while Gurney claimed compatriot Ginther for seventh in the closing stages.[3] Jackie Lewis and Roy Salvadori were the only other drivers to finish on the lead lap, in a race which saw sixteen finishers, with Bernard Collomb crossing the line but was unclassified.[1]

Results[]

The full results for the 1961 German Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 7 United Kingdom Stirling Moss Lotus-Climax 15 2:18:12.4 3 9
2 3 West Germany Wolfgang von Trips Ferrari 15 +21.3s 5 6
3 4 United States Phil Hill Ferrari 15 +22.5s 1 4
4 14 United Kingdom Jim Clark Lotus-Climax 15 +1:17.1s 8 3
5 18 United Kingdom John Surtees Cooper-Climax 15 +1:53.1s 10 2
6 2 New Zealand Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 15 +2:41.3s 12 1
7 9 United States Dan Gurney Porsche 15 +3:22.6s 7
8 5 United States Richie Ginther Ferrari 15 +5:23.1s 14
9 28 United Kingdom Jackie Lewis Cooper-Climax 15 +5:23.6s 18
10 19 United Kingdom Roy Salvadori Cooper-Climax 15 +12:11.5s 15
11 33 South Africa Tony Maggs Lotus-Climax 14 +1 lap 22
12 30 United Kingdom Ian Burgess Lotus-Climax 14 +1 lap 24
13 11 West Germany Hans Herrmann Porsche 14 +1 lap 11
14 31 Netherlands Carel Godin de Beaufort Porsche 14 +1 lap 17
15 37 United Kingdom Tony Marsh Lotus-Climax 13 +2 laps 20
16 27 United Kingdom Gerry Ashmore Lotus-Climax 13 +2 laps 25
Ret 6 Belgium Willy Mairesse Ferrari 13 Engine 13
Ret 20 France Maurice Trintignant Cooper-Maserati 12 Engine 21
NC* 38 France Bernard Collomb Cooper-Climax 11 Not Classified 26
Ret 32 Italy Lorenzo Bandini Cooper-Maserati 10 Engine 19
Ret 16 United Kingdom Tony Brooks BRM-Climax 6 Engine 9
Ret 8 Sweden Jo Bonnier Porsche 5 Engine 4
Ret 26 West Germany Wolfgang Seidel Lotus-Climax 3 Steering 23
Ret 15 United Kingdom Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax 1 Fire 16
Ret 17 United Kingdom Graham Hill BRM-Climax 1 Accident 5
Ret 1 Australia Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax 0 Throttle 2
DNS 25 Switzerland Michael May Lotus-Climax 0 Accident 27
DNQ 10 West Germany Edgar Barth Porsche
WD 12 United States Masten Gregory Cooper-Climax
WD 21 Italy Giorgio Scarlatti De Tomaso-Alfa Romeo
WD 29 Switzerland Peter Monteverdi MBM-Porsche
WD 34 Italy Renato Pirocchi Cooper-Maserati
DNA 35 United Kingdom Geoff Duke Cooper-Climax
DNA 39 United Kingdom John Campbell-Jones Cooper-Climax
  • * Collomb completed the final lap but had not covered enough of the race distance.

Milestones[]

Standings[]

Despite victory pushing Stirling Moss up to third, his title chances were remote once dropped scores were applied at the end of the season. The Brit would require two wins, and hope that Wolfgang von Trips (in first) and Phil Hill failed to score more than two points each. Richie Ginther was pushed down to fourth after his retirement, while Jim Clark forced Dan Gurney out of the top five.

Ferrari ensured that they would be Constructors' Champions, with the second place for von Trips enough to deny Lotus-Climax any chance of the title once dropped scores were applied. Porsche, meanwhile, were coming under pressure from Cooper-Climax, who closed the gap to a single point, while BRM remained the only other Constructor with points in 1961. 

Drivers' World Championship
Pos. Driver Pts +/-
1 West Germany Wolfgang von Trips 33
2 United States Phil Hill 29
3 United Kingdom Stirling Moss 21 ▲1
4 United States Richie Ginther 16 ▼1
5 United Kingdom Jim Clark 11 ▲2
6 Italy Giancarlo Baghetti 9 ▼1
7 United States Dan Gurney 9 ▼1
8 Australia Jack Brabham 4
9 United Kingdom John Surtees 4 ▲4
10 New Zealand Bruce McLaren 4
11 Belgium Olivier Gendebien 3 ▼2
12 United Kingdom Innes Ireland 3 ▼1
13 Sweden Jo Bonnier 2 ▼1
14 United Kingdom Roy Salvadori 1
15 United Kingdom Graham Hill 1
Constructors' World Championship
Pos. Team Pts +/-
1 Italy Ferrari 38
2 United Kingdom Lotus-Climax 24
3 Germany Porsche 11
4 United Kingdom Cooper-Climax 10
5 United Kingdom BRM-Climax 1

References[]

Images:

References:

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 'GRAND PRIX RESULTS: GERMAN GP, 1961', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2016), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr100.html, (Accessed 26/04/2016)
  2. 2.0 2.1 '1961 German Grand Prix: Qualifying', statsf1.com, (StatsF1, 2015), http://www.statsf1.com/en/1961/allemagne/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 16/01/2016)
  3. 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 TheAndrewf1, '1961 German Grand Prix BBC Highlights', youtube.com, (YouTube, 04/06/2012), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LijK0gZ4pv4, (Accessed 26/04/2016)
V T E Europe European Grand Prix
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Races 19501951195219531954195519561957195819591960196119621963196419651966196719681969–19711972197319741975197619771978–19821983198419851986–1992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013–20152016
Non-Championship Races 192319241925192619271928192919301931–1946194719481949
V T E Germany German Grand Prix
Circuits Nürburgring (1951–1954, 1956–1958, 1960–1969, 1971–1976, 1985, 2008–2013*), AVUS (1926, 1959), Hockenheimring (1970, 1977–1984, 1986–2006, 2008–2014*, 2016, 2018–2019)
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European Championship Races 19321933–193419351936193719381939
Non-Championship Races 1926 • 192719281929193019311932–19331934
* Nürburgring and Hockenheimring alternated between each other during these years.
V T E 1961 Formula One Season
Constructors BRM • Cooper • De Tomaso • Emeryson • Ferguson • Ferrari • Gilby • JBW • Lotus • Porsche
Engines Alfa Romeo • Climax • Ferrari • Maserati • OSCA • Porsche
Drivers Allison • Ashmore • Baghetti • Bandini • de Beaufort • Bianchi • Bonnier • Bordeu • Brabham • Brooks • Burgess • Bussinello • Clark • Collomb • Fairman • Gendebien • Ginther • Greene • Gregory • Gurney • Hall • Hansgen • Herrmann • G. Hill • P. Hill • Ireland • Lewis • Lippi • Maggs • Mairesse • Marsh • May • McLaren • Moss • Natili • Naylor • T. Parnell • Penske • Pilette • Pirocchi • R. Rodríguez • Ruby • Ryan • Salvadori • Scarlatti • Seidel • Sharp • Starrabba • Surtees • H. Taylor • T. Taylor • Trintignant • von Trips • Vaccarella
Cars BRM P48/57 • Cooper T45 • Cooper T51 • Cooper T53 • Cooper T55 • Cooper T58 • De Tomaso F1 • Emeryson 61 • Ferrari 156 • Ferguson P99 • Gilby 61 • Ferguson P99 • JBW 61 • Lotus 18 • Lotus 18/21 • Lotus 21 • Porsche 718 • Porsche 718/2 • Porsche 787
Tyres Dunlop
Races Monaco • Netherlands • Belgium • France • Britain • Germany • Italy • United States
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See also 1960 Formula One Season • 1962 Formula One Season • Category
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