1961 German Grand Prix

 1961 German Grand Prix

Racing data
6th of 8 races in the 1961 World Automobile Championship
Surname:	XXIII Grand Prix of Germany
Date:	August 6, 1961
Place:	Nuerburg , Germany
Course:	Nürburgring
Length:	342.15 km in 15 laps of 22.81 km
Weather:	wet, rain
Pole position
Driver:	Phil Hill	Ferrari
Time:	8: 55.2 min
Fastest lap
Driver:	Phil Hill (Round 10)	Ferrari
Time:	8: 57.8 min
Podium
First:	Stirling Moss	Lotus Climax
Second:	Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips	Ferrari
Third:	Phil Hill	Ferrari

The 1961 German Grand Prix took place on August 6, 1961 at the Nürburgring near Nürburg and was the sixth race of the 1961 World Cup . The Grand Prix also had the FIA ​​honorary title of European Grand Prix .

Reports

background

Stirling Moss 1961 on the Nürburgring

After Cooper had dominated the previous two seasons, but only drove in the midfield in the first races in 1961 and scored few points, the team used the new FWMV engine from Coventry Climax for the first time at the German Grand Prix . This V8 engine was in the last three races of the season in the Cooper T58 of Jack Brabham installed. However, the new vehicle was only used for testing purposes and never crossed the finish line. The Climax engine, on the other hand, became one of the most successful units in the following years. Cooper reported a Cooper T55 for Brabham in addition to the Cooper T58 , which Brabham did not drive. His teammate Bruce McLaren drove a Cooper T55 for the rest of the season. Ferrari increased the number of its cars to four. In addition to the regular drivers Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips , Phil Hill and Richie Ginther , Willy Mairesse received a cockpit. The German Grand Prix was his only race of the season for Ferrari. However, he had already contested a few races for this team a year earlier and became a regular driver from 1962. Another personnel change in the works teams was noted at Porsche . In addition to Joakim Bonnier and Dan Gurney , Hans Herrmann drove the second race of the season for the racing team. Herrmann then withdrew from the automobile world championship; In 1966 he came back for one more race.

Many teams entered the Grand Prix with private cars, in most cases a Lotus 18 or a Cooper T53 . Stirling Moss drove for the Rob Walker Racing Team , Maurice Trintignant again for the Scuderia Serenissima after a break from racing . Camoradi International registered one last time for a Grand Prix of the automobile world championship and then concentrated again on North American racing series. Ian Burgess was registered for the team , for whom the season ended with the withdrawal of Camoradi International. However, he continued to drive private Cooper the following year. The Scuderia Colonia announced two Lotus 18 for Michael May and Wolfgang Seidel . It was the last race in May's career. In addition, Tony Marsh drove for the last time in the automobile world championship. It was the last race of the season for Bernard Collomb and Tony Maggs .

In the drivers' championship, Graf Berghe von Trips was two points ahead of his teammate Phil Hill and eleven points ahead of Ginther. All drivers still had theoretical chances of becoming world champions, while the constructors' championship had already been decided in favor of Ferrari. A few weeks before the race, Innes Ireland won the Solitude Grand Prix on Lotus , an indication that Lotus had bridged the gap with Ferrari and had a chance to end the dominance of Ferrari, who have won the last four races.

With Tony Brooks , a former winner in the race participated, he won the Grand Prix of Germany in 1958 at the Nürburgring and the Grand Prix of Germany in 1959 on the AVUS in Berlin. In 1960 the race took place as part of Formula 2 , the winner was Bonnier. Among the designers, only Ferrari was previously victorious several times. The 1961 German Grand Prix was the 100th race in the automobile world championship that had been held since 1950.

training

Since driving talent was more decisive than the performance of the car at the Nürburgring at the time, the duel for pole position became a battle between different teams and drivers, in which five different designers qualified for the first six places on the grid. Phil Hill continued his series of first starting positions and secured this position for the fifth time in a row, but also for the last time in his career. Phil Hill was the only driver with a time under nine minutes, he was more than six seconds ahead of the runner-up Brabham. With second place on the grid, the new Cooper from Brabham proved that it is more competitive than its predecessor, as his team-mate McLaren only qualified in twelfth place with the old Cooper. Behind Brabham, Moss came third in front of Bonnier, Graf Berghe von Trips and Graham Hill . Graf Berghe von Trips had technical problems with his car during training and was unable to get a place on the front row. Gurney started in midfield ahead of Jim Clark , Brooks and John Surtees .

May had an accident in training and could not take part in the race.

run

The new V8 from Climax showed a significant improvement over the previous engine in the first race and Brabham took the lead at the start. However, the track was still a bit wet, as it had rained heavily an hour before the start of the race. Brabham spun off the track on the first lap and broke through one of the hedges that were still in place at the time. Jack Brabham was unharmed. One of the reasons for his accident was that he had wet tires on the front and dry tires on the rear. Due to this failure, Moss then led Bonnier and Gurney. Phil Hill caught up with these three drivers and overtook them, but Moss countered and came out of the first lap as the leader. He drove with rain tires, the competition behind him on dry tires. In the further course of the first lap, Innes Ireland came off the track in the Schwalbenschwanz section and his Lotus caught fire. Ireland got out of the car unharmed.

While Moss extended the lead over the two Ferraris owned by Phil Hill and Graf Berghe von Trips, Graham Hill had an accident with his BRM when he collided with Gurney. Gurney then continued the race with damaged cars, Graham Hill retired. Ireland had to give up the race due to a fire in his car. In the middle of the straight his lotus caught fire and he had to brake hard to stop, his right arm caught fire. Ireland survived this incident unharmed, but his car burned out completely. After Seidel retired with a defective steering system, engine damage was the main reason for various drivers to fail in the further course of the race. Bonnier, Brooks, Bandini, Collomb and Trintignant were affected, so none of the BRM reached the goal. Two laps before the end of the race, Mairesse also had an accident with his Ferrari when it started to rain again.

In the lead, Moss gained a lead of several seconds, while behind him Phil Hill and Graf Berghe von Trips dueled hard and over several laps for second place. On lap eight, Graf Berghe von Trips overtook his team-mate and both Ferrari drivers caught up with Moss, who was still driving with rain tires when the track dried out. The rain started again three laps before the end of the race and Moss benefited from it. The tire advantage gave him a 20-second lead and won the race that Juan Manuel Fangio waved off. This was Moss' last win in the automobile world championship. With a total of 16 victories, he is still the most successful driver who never became world champion. This victory is also considered to be one of his best, as it kept the superior Ferraris behind on a drivingly demanding track with wet tires on a dry track. After the race, Graf Berghe von Trips commented on Moss' victory by saying that he had taken 15 corners correctly in a few laps, but Moss had taken all corners on all laps. This was also the last point placement and finish in Moss' career. Graf Berghe von Trips took second place ahead of Phil Hill, increasing his lead in the drivers' world championship to four points. Moss improved to third from Ginther. Only these four drivers had a theoretical chance of winning the world championship. For Graf Berghe von Trips it was also the last finish in his career, he had a fatal accident at the following Grand Prix, the Italian Grand Prix . Clark crossed the finish line in fourth, Surtees in fifth. McLaren received the last point for sixth place. Gurney missed the points in seventh place. He finished ahead of Ginther, Lewis and Salvadori.

The fastest race lap was set by Phil Hill, who also set a new lap record, this was his last fastest race lap in the automobile world championship.

Registration list

team	No.	driver	chassis	engine	tires
Cooper Car Company	01	Jack Brabham	Cooper T58	Climax 1.5 V8	D.
			Cooper T55	Climax 1.5 L4
	02	Bruce McLaren	Cooper T55	Climax 1.5 L4
Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	03	Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips	Ferrari 156	Ferrari 1.5 V6	D.
	04th	Phil Hill
	05	Richie Ginther
	06th	Willy Mairesse
Rob Walker Racing Team	07th	Stirling Moss	Lotus 18/21	Climax 1.5 L4	D.
Porsche System Engineering	08th	Joakim Bonnier	Porsche 718	Porsche 1.5 B4	D.
	09	Dan Gurney
	10	Hans Herrmann
Team Lotus	14th	Jim Clark	Lotus 21	Climax 1.5 L4	D.
	15th	Innes Ireland
Owen Racing Organization	16	Tony Brooks	BRM P48 / 57	Climax 1.5 L4	D.
	17th	Graham Hill
Yeoman Credit Racing Team	18th	John Surtees	Cooper T53	Climax 1.5 L4	D.
	19th	Roy Salvadori
Scuderia Serenissima	20th	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper T51	Maserati 1.5 L4	D.
Scuderia Colonia	25th	Michael May	Lotus 18	Climax 1.5 L4	D.
	26th	Wolfgang Seidel
Gerry Ashmore	27	Gerry Ashmore	Lotus 18	Climax 1.5 L4	D.
H&L Motors	28	Jackie Lewis	Cooper T53	Climax 1.5 L4	D.
Camoradi International	30th	Ian Burgess	Cooper T53	Climax 1.5 L4	D.
Ecurie Maarsbergen	31	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche 718	Porsche 1.5 B4	D.
Scuderia Centro Sud	32	Lorenzo Bandini	Cooper T53	Maserati 1.5 L4	D.
Louise Bryden-Brown	33	Tony Maggs	Lotus 18	Climax 1.5 L4	D.
Tony Marsh	37	Tony Marsh	Lotus 18	Climax 1.5 L4	D.
Bernard Collomb	38	Bernard Collomb	Cooper T53	Climax 1.5 L4	D.

Classifications

Starting grid

Item	driver	constructor	time	Ø speed	begin
01	Phil Hill	Ferrari	8: 55.2	153.43 km / h	01
02	Jack Brabham	Cooper-Climax	9: 01.4	151.67 km / h	02
03	Stirling Moss	Lotus Climax	9: 01.7	151.59 km / h	03
04th	Joakim Bonnier	Porsche	9: 04.8	150.73 km / h	04th
05	Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips	Ferrari	9: 05.5	150.53 km / h	05
06th	Graham Hill	BRM-Climax	9: 06.4	150.29 km / h	06th
07th	Dan Gurney	Porsche	9: 06.6	150.23 km / h	07th
08th	Jim Clark	Lotus Climax	9: 08.1	149.82 km / h	08th
09	Tony Brooks	BRM-Climax	9: 09.3	149.49 km / h	09
10	John Surtees	Cooper-Climax	9: 11.2	148.98 km / h	10
11	Hans Herrmann	Porsche	9: 12.7	148.57 km / h	11
12	Bruce McLaren	Cooper-Climax	9: 13.0	148.49 km / h	12
13	Willy Mairesse	Ferrari	9: 15.9	147.72 km / h	13
14th	Richie Ginther	Ferrari	9: 16.6	147.53 km / h	14th
15th	Roy Salvadori	Cooper-Climax	9: 22.0	146.11 km / h	15th
16	Innes Ireland	Lotus Climax	9: 22.9	145.88 km / h	16
17th	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	9: 28.4	144.47 km / h	17th
18th	Jackie Lewis	Cooper-Climax	9: 31.4	143.71 km / h	18th
19th	Lorenzo Bandini	Cooper Maserati	9: 35.4	142.71 km / h	19th
20th	Tony Marsh	Lotus Climax	9: 37.7	142.14 km / h	20th
21st	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper Maserati	9: 38.5	141.95 km / h	21st
22nd	Tony Maggs	Lotus Climax	9: 45.5	140.25 km / h	22nd
23	Wolfgang Seidel	Lotus Climax	9: 59.9	136.88 km / h	23
24	Ian Burgess	Cooper-Climax	10: 01.4	136.54 km / h	24
25th	Gerry Ashmore	Lotus Climax	10: 06.0	135.50 km / h	25th
26th	Bernard Collomb	Cooper-Climax	10: 23.0	131.81 km / h	26th

run

Item	driver	constructor	Round	Stops	time	begin	Fastest lap	Failure reason
01	Stirling Moss	Lotus Climax	15th		2: 18: 12.4	03	9: 01.0
02	Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips	Ferrari	15th		+ 21.4	05	8: 59.9
03	Phil Hill	Ferrari	15th		+ 22.5	01	8: 57.8
04th	Jim Clark	Lotus Climax	15th		+1: 17.1	08th	9: 07.2
05	John Surtees	Cooper-Climax	15th		+1: 53.1	10	9: 06.1
06th	Bruce McLaren	Cooper-Climax	15th		+ 2: 41.4	12	9: 10.1
07th	Dan Gurney	Porsche	15th		+ 3: 23.1	07th	9: 10.0
08th	Richie Ginther	Ferrari	15th		+ 5: 23.7	14th	9: 18.1
09	Jackie Lewis	Cooper-Climax	15th		+ 5: 23.7	18th	9: 22.6
10	Roy Salvadori	Cooper-Climax	15th		+ 12: 11.5	15th	9: 18.3
11	Tony Maggs	Lotus Climax	14th		+ 1 lap	22nd	9: 44.5
12	Ian Burgess	Cooper-Climax	14th		+ 1 lap	24	9: 53.6
13	Hans Herrmann	Porsche	14th		+ 1 lap	11	9: 20.0
14th	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	14th		+ 1 lap	17th	9: 27.4
15th	Tony Marsh	Lotus Climax	13		+ 2 rounds	20th	9: 29.3
16	Gerry Ashmore	Lotus Climax	13		+ 2 rounds	25th	9: 46.1
-	Willy Mairesse	Ferrari	13		DNF	13	9: 04.1	accident
-	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper Maserati	12		DNF	21st	9: 41.9	Engine failure
-	Bernard Collomb	Cooper-Climax	11		DNF	26th	10: 54.5	Engine failure
-	Lorenzo Bandini	Cooper Maserati	10		DNF	19th	9: 40.5	Engine failure
-	Tony Brooks	BRM-Climax	06th		DNF	09	9: 24.3	Engine failure
-	Joakim Bonnier	Porsche	05		DNF	04th	9: 22.6	Engine failure
-	Wolfgang Seidel	Lotus Climax	03		DNF	23	10: 51.9	steering
-	Innes Ireland	Lotus Climax	01		DNF	16	9: 48.0	Fire
-	Graham Hill	BRM-Climax	01		DNF	06th	9: 41.6	accident
-	Jack Brabham	Cooper-Climax	00		DNF	02		accident
-	Michael May	Lotus Climax	00		DNS			Training accident

World Cup stands after the race

The first six of the race got 9, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1 points. Only the five best results from eight races counted. In the constructors' championship, the first six of the race got 8, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1 points, only the points of the best placed driver on a team counted.

Driver ranking

Item driver constructor Points 01  Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips Ferrari 33 02  Phil Hill Ferrari 29 03  Stirling Moss Lotus Climax 21st 04th  Richie Ginther Ferrari 16 05  Jim Clark Lotus Climax 11 06th  Giancarlo Baghetti Ferrari 9 07th  Dan Gurney Porsche 9 08th  Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax 4th

Item driver constructor Points 09  John Surtees Cooper-Climax 4th 10  Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 4th 11  Innes Ireland Lotus Climax 3 12  Olivier Gendebien Ferrari 3 13  Joakim Bonnier Porsche 2 14th  Roy Salvadori Cooper-Climax 1 15th  Graham Hill BRM-Climax 1

Constructors' championship

Item constructor Points 01  Ferrari 38 (44) 02  lotus 24 03  Porsche 11 04th  cooper 10 (11) 05  BRM 1

Web links

• Results at motorsportarchiv.de
• Photos at f1-facts.com
• Grand Prix Results: German GP, ​​1961 at grandprix.com
• Flashback: Germany '61 - Ferrari power no match for Moss at formula1.com
• Moss shows class to hold off Ferrari at espnf1.com