British GP 1961

British GP, 1961

With just a fortnight between the French and British Grands Prix the field at Aintree was not very different from that which had been seen at Reims, although Rob Walker ran a four-wheel-drive Ferguson for Jack Fairman, although this was also driven by Stirling Moss during practice. There were four Ferraris again, with the unbeaten Giancarlo Baghetti joining the works trio.

Qualifying saw Phil Hill, Ritchie Ginther, Jo Bonnier (Porsche) and Wolfgang Von Trips all set identical lap times, while Moss was alongside Von Trips on the second row in his Walker Lotus 18.

The race began in heavy rain with Hill, Von Trips and Ginther getting ahead at the start, chased by Moss and Bonnier. Von Trips took the lead after seven laps, passing Hill. Moss moved to third when Ginther ran wide at one point and then managed to get past Hill for second. He chased Von Trips but was never able to pass him. When the rain stopped Moss began to drop back and would retire with brake problems. This allowed the Ferraris to finish 1-2-3 with Von Trips beating Hill and Ginther. Jack Brabham, Bonnier and Roy Salvadori (Reg Parnell Cooper) completed the top six. The unbeaten Baghetti crashed out early in the race.

Moss took over Fairman's Ferguson after he had retired but was eventually called into the pits and disqualified for having received a push-start.

POSNODRIVERENTRANTLAPSTIME/RETIREMENTQUAL POS
Wolfgang von Trips Ferrari 156 75 2h40m53.600s  
Phil Hill Ferrari 156 75 2h41m39.600s  
Richie Ginther Ferrari 156 75 2h41m40.400s  
12 Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax T55 75 2h42m02.200s  
Jo Bonnier Porsche 718 75 2h42m09.800s  
36 Roy Salvadori Cooper-Climax T53 75 2h42m19.800s  13 
10 Dan Gurney Porsche 718 74  12 
14 Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax T55 74  14 
22 Tony Brooks BRM-Climax P48/57 73  
10 16 Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax 21 72  
11 42 Masten Gregory Cooper-Climax T53 71  16 
12 60 Lucien Bianchi Cooper-Maserati T53 71  21 
13 50 Tony Maggs Lotus-Climax 18 69  24 
14 44 Ian Burgess Lotus-Climax 18 69  25 
15 54 Keith Greene Gilby-Climax (61) 69  23 
16 56 Carel Godin de Beaufort Porsche 718 69  18 
18 Jim Clark Lotus-Climax 21 62 Mechanical 
17 52 Wolfgang Seidel Lotus-Climax 18 58  22 
dq= 26 Jack Fairman Ferguson-Climax P99   20 
dq= 26 Stirling Moss Ferguson-Climax P99 56 Push Start In Pits (fairman)  
32 Lucien Bianchi Lotus-Climax 18/21 45 Gearbox 30 
28 Stirling Moss Lotus-Climax 18/21 44 Brakes 
20 Graham Hill BRM-Climax P48/57 43 Engine 11 
58 Giancarlo Baghetti Ferrari 156 27 Spin 19 
25 Tony Marsh Lotus-Climax 18 25 Misfire 27 
34 John Surtees Cooper-Climax T53 23 Transmission 10 
38 Tim Parnell Lotus-Climax 18 12 Clutch 29 
46 Jack Lewis Cooper-Climax T53 Handling 15 
40 Gerry Ashmore Lotus-Climax 18 Misfire 26 
30 Henry Taylor Lotus-Climax 18/21 Accident 17 
62 Massimo Natili Cooper-Maserati T51 Engine 28