The 1961 Italian Grand Prix was a

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

motor race held on 10 September 1961 at

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label= Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the Province of M ...

. It was race 7 of 8 in both the

1961 World Championship of Drivers The 1961 Formula One season was the 15th season of Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1961 World Championship of Drivers and the 1961 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, which were contested concurrently from 14 May to 8 October over a ...

and the

1961 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers The 1961 Formula One season was the 15th season of Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1961 World Championship of Drivers and the 1961 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, which were contested concurrently from 14 May to 8 October over ...

. The race was marked by one of the most terrible accidents in the history of Formula One, when on the end of lap 2, at the approach to the Parabolica, German driver Wolfgang von Trips lost control of his Ferrari after colliding with the

Lotus Lotus may refer to: Plants *Lotus (plant), various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly: ** ''Lotus'' (genus), a genus of terrestrial plants in the family Fabaceae **Lotus flower, a symbolically important aquatic Asian plant also ...

of Jim Clark and crashed into a fence line of spectators, killing 15 and himself. The race was not stopped, allegedly to avoid the audience going home ''en masse'' jamming the roads around the stadium and thus impeding the rescue work for the injured. This was also the last Formula One race ever to be held on the full Monza circuit, with the two banked corners and the straight between the bankings included. The race was won by von Trips's American teammate Phil Hill; since von Trips was the only one who could challenge him, Hill won the World Championship with one race to go. Hill's Monza win also assured Ferrari of the Constructors' Championship for 1961.''Daily Express'' pages 1, 2 & 7 Monday 11 September 1961

Background

Before the running of the 1961 Italian Grand Prix, four drivers were mathematically in contention for the year's Drivers' Championship: Wolfgang von Trips, Phil Hill, Stirling Moss, and

Richie Ginther Paul Richard "Richie" Ginther ( Hollywood,''Richie Ginther Enters Times Grand Prix'', Los Angeles Times, September 13, 1960, Page C1 California, August 5, 1930 – September 20, 1989 in France) was a racecar driver from the United States. During ...

. Realistically, however, the championship had come down to two Ferrari drivers, von Trips and Hill. In the Constructors' Championship, two teams were mathematically in contention: Ferrari, and

- Climax. In order for Lotus to overtake Ferrari at this point, one of their drivers had to win ''both'' this race and the final race of the season, the 1961 United States Grand Prix.

Qualifying

37 cars attempted to qualify for the Italian Grand Prix, and 32 had sufficiently fast times to make it to the race grid. Similar to the 107% rule of today, a rule was in place for the 1961 season enforcing a 115% cutoff against the time of the second fastest driver.

Classification

Qualifying

Race

Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Constructors' Championship standings * Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. Only the best 5 results counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

References

{{F1GP 60-69 Italian Grand Prix Italian Grand Prix 1961 in Italian motorsport