1966 Monaco Grand Prix
| Racing data | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1st of 9 races of the 1966 World Automobile Championship | ||
|
||
| Surname: | XXIV Grand Prix Automobile de Monaco | |
| Date: | May 22, 1966 | |
| Place: | Monte Carlo , Monaco | |
| Course: | Circuit de Monaco | |
| Length: | 314.5 km in 100 laps of 3.145 km
|
|
| Weather: | cloudy, dry | |
| Pole position | ||
| Driver: |
 Jim Clark
|
Lotus Climax
|
| Time: | 1: 29.9 min | |
| Fastest lap | ||
| Driver: |
 Lorenzo Bandini
|
Ferrari
|
| Time: | 1: 29.8 min (lap 90) | |
| Podium | ||
| First: |
Jackie Stewart
|
BRM
|
| Second: |
Lorenzo Bandini
|
Ferrari
|
| Third: |
Graham Hill
|
BRM
|
The 1966 Monaco Grand Prix took place on May 22, 1966 on the Circuit de Monaco near Monte Carlo and was the first race of the 1966 World Automobile Championship .
Reports
background
At the beginning of the 1966 season, new engine regulations came into force that allowed designers to use units with a maximum displacement of 3 liters. Climax announced that it would no longer develop its engines and also no longer build a new 3-liter engine. Some teams continued to use the existing Climax engines and drove with a 2-liter displacement variant, while other teams changed the engine supplier or built their own new units.
Bruce McLaren , who had previously driven for the Cooper Car Company for eight years , competed for the first time with his own team, which he founded in 1964. McLaren developed into one of the most successful designers in the following decades and is still involved in Formula 1 today. The first car to be used was the McLaren M2B , designed by Robin Herd . The vehicle was monocoque and powered by a Ford 3.0 liter V8 engine. Before McLaren used the familiar orange paint scheme, the vehicle was painted silver in 1965 with a green stripe in the middle. This paint scheme was created on the basis of a financial agreement with the producers of the film Grand Prix , McLaren represented the Japanese "Yamura" team in this. In addition to Bruce McLaren, Chris Amon was also supposed to drive for his team, however, due to technical problems, it was not possible for two vehicles to be ready at the same time throughout the season. The McLaren M2B used Firestone tires . Firestone was, along with Goodyear and Dunlop, one of three tire manufacturers who supplied the teams with tires in 1966.
Lotus also only drove one vehicle at the season opener. The Lotus 33 of the previous year with a 2-liter Climax engine from Jim Clark down. After Mike Spence moved to Reg Parnell Racing , Peter Arundell returned to Lotus, but not until the second race of the season. Lotus also switched to Firestone for tires. With Brabham , there was also a change in the driver line-up, alongside Jack Brabham was Denny Hulme new ordinary driver. Hulme drove individual races for Brabham as early as 1965, replacing Dan Gurney . Hulme drove an old Brabham BT11 with a 2.5 liter Climax engine. Brabham, on the other hand, drove the new Brabham BT19 for the first time . The Brabham BT19 was developed by Ron Tauranac and continued to rely on the construction principle of a lattice tube frame. In contrast to his team mate, Brabham already had the new Repco engine, which had a displacement of 3 liters. For Repco it was the first race in the automobile world championship. Brabham continued to work with Goodyear tires.
Cooper drove with Jochen Rindt and Richie Ginther , both drivers already received the new Cooper T81 at the Monaco Grand Prix . This car was Cooper's first with a monocoque. The Cooper T81 was powered by a Maserati 3.0 V12, tires from Dunlop were used. Maserati thus returned to the automobile world championship after a three-year break as an engine supplier. BRM stayed with its driver pairing Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart , the cars were also used unchanged from the previous year, only the displacement of the engine was increased slightly. The new BRM P83 was also registered for Hill , but it was not yet used in the race. BRM stayed with Dunlop tires even though the new car was already fitted with Goodyear tires.
At Ferrari, John Surtees returned to the team after his injury break and drove alongside Lorenzo Bandini . The new Ferrari 312/66 was registered for both drivers, but Bandini drove a Ferrari 246 Tasman instead . This car was originally intended to be used in the Tasman series and served as a replacement car for Ferrari in 1966. It corresponded to the Ferrari 1512 from the previous year, had a 2.4-liter V6 engine and Firestone tires. The Ferrari 312, on the other hand, had a V12 engine with a displacement of 3 liters and was used in various stages of development until 1980 . Ferrari also relied on a mixture of monocoque and tubular space frames.
In addition to the factory teams, some teams with customer vehicles were also registered. Spence and Joakim Bonnier were registered for Reg Parnell Racing , but instead Bonnier competed with his own team and a Cooper T81. Spence drove an old Lotus 25 with a BRM engine. Joseph Siffert was registered for the Rob Walker Racing Team and drove a Brabham-BRM for the last time in his career. Bob Bondurant was also signed up for Team Chamaco Collect and Guy Ligier drove his own Cooper T81 in his debut race.
With Brabham, McLaren and Hill three former winners took part in the race, Hill won in the previous three years. BRM and Cooper were three times victorious among the designers, Lotus and Ferrari twice each. The new cars have already been tested in three non-World Championship races that took place before the start of the season. Spence won the Grand Prix of South Africa , Surtees the Gran Premio di Siracusa and Brabham the BRDC International Trophy .
training
The first practice session started on Thursday in wet conditions, but the track dried out in the first few minutes. Ferrari and Brabham were absent on arrival due to traffic jams. The first best time was set by Stewart, who was faster than the fastest training times of the previous year thanks to the larger engines. Former world champion Phil Hill drove a camera truck around the track during practice sessions to shoot the film "Grand Prix". He often avoided the other drivers so as not to hinder them.
The second training session took place on Friday, which Ferrari and Brabham also attended. Both BRMs were again the fastest vehicles, but Surtees in Ferrari also kept up with the leaders. Towards the end, Clark drove a few fast laps and set a new best time despite the weaker engine. Hill improved to second ahead of Bandini and Hulme. On Saturday in the third practice session, all drivers improved again except for Rindt, who had engine problems. The times at the top were continuously improved and Clark set the absolute best time on the last lap of the training. He was the only driver who drove a time under 1:30 minutes and secured the first pole position of the season.
Surtees qualified in second place, two tenths of a second behind Clark. Stewart was third ahead of his teammate Hill. Bandini completed the top group in fifth. Brabham and Cooper qualified in midfield, Hulme finished sixth, Brabham eleventh. In between were Rindt and Ginther, as well as Anderson as the best driver with a customer vehicle. McLaren qualified tenth in his team's debut race.
run
Clark got off badly at the start because he couldn't shift from first to second gear. Then the entire field overtook him and he fell back to last place. Surtees took the lead before the first corner, with Stewart behind. These two drivers built a lead over the field of pursuers. Hill, Hulme, Rindt and Anderson took the other points in the first laps of the race. Since Clark's transmission problem was limited to first gear, he caught up with the rest of the field after the start and drove identical lap times to the top. After just ten laps, he had improved back to seventh place.
On the third lap, Anderson retired with engine failure, McLaren finished the race on lap nine because of an oil leak. Siffert also came to the pits for repairs, he continued the Grand Prix. In the battle for third place, Hill was first overtaken by Rindt and then by Hulme. Hill was having engine problems at this point. On lap 15, Hulme retired with a defect and there was a change in leadership at the front, as Surtees' Ferrari also had a problem with power transmission. Surtees pitted to find the cause, but after one more lap he parked the car. There was another retirement on lap 17, Brabham retired with a gearbox damage.
After Surtees retired, Stewart led the race from Rindt, Hill and Bandini. Bandini caught up on Hill and then took third place. Clark profited from the failures of the competition and improved to fifth, the three drivers in front of him in sight. Behind him, Ginther was in sixth place. Another series of failures began on lap 34. Spence's suspension broke, one lap later Siffert retired with a damaged clutch. So there were only nine vehicles left in the race. Bonnier pitted and continued the race several laps behind.
While Stewart managed his lead at the front, Bandini overtook Rindt and was the new runner-up. Hill and Clark also overtook Rindt, whose engine no longer produced full power. Clark attacked Hill but couldn't get past him. It was only several laps later that Clark started a risky overtaking maneuver in the “Saint Devote” curve, which only succeeded because Hill gave him enough space. Clark had improved from the bottom of the field to second place. But in the same lap his suspension broke and he was eliminated after Rindt had parked his car. Hill spun shortly afterwards and stalled the engine, but continued the Grand Prix. Only seven vehicles remained in the race. Bandini continuously reduced the gap to Stewart and came within twelve seconds of him. He drove his first fastest race lap in the automobile world championship. Then Stewart managed to expand the lead on Bandini again. Several drivers came to the pits for repairs until the end of the race, the last retirement was Ginther on lap 80, only six cars made it to the finish.
Stewart won the race 40 seconds ahead of Bandini and Hill. For him it was the second victory of his career, having previously won the Italian Grand Prix in 1965 . It wasn't until 1968 that Stewart won more victories, and he won again in Monaco in 1971 . For BRM it was the fourth victory in a row in Monaco, another followed in 1972 . Bondurant was ranked fourth, five laps behind, and scored the only points of his career. Ligier and Bonnier also reached the finish line, but were not counted due to a new rule. From the Monaco Grand Prix, each driver had to have covered at least 90% of the race distance to be classified. In previous years, this minimum race distance was significantly lower and was handled differently by each race organizer. With only four drivers taking the points, the 1966 Monaco Grand Prix set a record that still stands.
In the drivers' championship, Stewart was leading ahead of Bandini and Hill. In the constructors' championship, BRM was ahead of Ferrari, only these two received points. Stewart led the drivers 'championship for the first time in his career and BRM led the constructors' championship for the last time.
Registration list
- Remarks
- ↑ a b Joakim Bonnier drove the Lotus-Climax with the number 18 in the training sessions for Reg Parnell Racing. He drove the Cooper-Maserati with the number 18 in the practice sessions and in the race for his Anglo-Suisse Racing Team.
- ↑ Graham Hill drove both cars in practice sessions. In the race he drove the BRM P261 with the number 11.
- ↑ Lorenzo Bandini drove both cars in the training sessions. In the race he drove the Ferrari 246 Tasman with the number 16.
Classifications
Starting grid
| Item | driver | constructor | time | Ø speed | begin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Jim Clark
|
Lotus Climax
|
1: 29.9 | 125.94 km / h | 1 |
| 2 |
John Surtees
|
Ferrari
|
1: 30.1 | 125.66 km / h | 2 |
| 3 |
Jackie Stewart
|
BRM
|
1: 30.3 | 125.38 km / h | 3 |
| 4th |
Graham Hill
|
BRM
|
1: 30.4 | 125.24 km / h | 4th |
| 5 |
Lorenzo Bandini
|
Ferrari
|
1: 30.5 | 125.10 km / h | 5 |
| 6th |
 Denis Hulme
|
Brabham-Climax
|
1: 31.1 | 124.28 km / h | 6th |
| 7th |
 Jochen Rindt
|
Cooper-Climax
|
1: 32.2 | 122.80 km / h | 7th |
| 8th |
Bob Anderson
|
Brabham-Climax
|
1: 32.5 | 122.40 km / h | 8th |
| 9 |
 Richie Ginther
|
Cooper Maserati
|
1: 32.6 | 122.27 km / h | 9 |
| 10 |
Bruce McLaren
|
McLaren-Ford
|
1: 32.8 | 122.00 km / h | 10 |
| 11 |
 Jack Brabham
|
Brabham-Repco
|
1: 32.8 | 122.00 km / h | 11 |
| 12 |
Mike Spence
|
Lotus BRM
|
1: 33.5 | 121.09 km / h | 12 |
| 13 |
 Joseph Siffert
|
Brabham-BRM
|
1: 34.4 | 119.94 km / h | 13 |
| 14th |
 Joakim Bonnier
|
Cooper Maserati
|
1: 35.0 | 119.18 km / h | 14th |
| 15th |
 Guy Ligier
|
Cooper Maserati
|
1: 35.2 | 118.93 km / h | 15th |
| 16 |
Bob Bondurant
|
BRM
|
1: 37.3 | 116.36 km / h | 16 |
run
| Item | driver | constructor | Round | Stops | time | begin | Fastest lap | Failure reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Jackie Stewart
|
BRM
|
100 | 0 | 2: 33: 10.5 | 3 | ||
| 2 |
Lorenzo Bandini
|
Ferrari
|
100 | 0 | + 40.2 | 5 | 1: 29.8 | |
| 3 |
Graham Hill
|
BRM
|
99 | 0 | + 1 lap | 4th | ||
| 4th |
Bob Bondurant
|
BRM
|
95 | 1 | + 5 rounds | 16 | ||
| - |
Richie Ginther
|
Cooper Maserati
|
80 | 1 | DNF | 9 | Power transmission | |
| - |
Guy Ligier
|
Cooper Maserati
|
75 | 1 | NC | 15th | unclassified | |
| - |
Joakim Bonnier
|
Cooper Maserati
|
73 | 2 | NC | 14th | unclassified | |
| - |
Jim Clark
|
Lotus Climax
|
60 | 0 | DNF | 1 | suspension | |
| - |
Jochen Rindt
|
Cooper Maserati
|
56 | 0 | DNF | 7th | Engine failure | |
| - |
Joseph Siffert
|
Brabham-BRM
|
35 | 1 | DNF | 13 | coupling | |
| - |
Mike Spence
|
Lotus BRM
|
34 | 0 | DNF | 12 | suspension | |
| - |
Jack Brabham
|
Brabham-Repco
|
17th | 0 | DNF | 11 | transmission | |
| - |
John Surtees
|
Ferrari
|
16 | 1 | DNF | 2 | Power transmission | |
| - |
Denis Hulme
|
Brabham-Climax
|
15th | 0 | DNF | 6th | Power transmission | |
| - |
Bruce McLaren
|
McLaren-Ford
|
9 | 0 | DNF | 10 | Oil leak | |
| - |
Bob Anderson
|
Brabham-Climax
|
3 | 0 | DNF | 8th | Engine failure |
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 nine races counted. In the constructors' championship, only the points of the best placed driver on a team counted.
Driver ranking
| Item | driver | constructor | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Jackie Stewart
|
BRM | 9 |
| 2 |
Lorenzo Bandini
|
Ferrari | 6th |
| 3 |
Graham Hill
|
BRM | 4th |
| 4th |
Bob Bondurant
|
BRM | 3 |
Constructors' championship
| Item | constructor | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
BRM
|
9 |
| 2 |
Ferrari
|
6th |
Individual evidence
- ↑ "The Colors of McLaren" (thebrucemclarenmovie.com on October 21, 2015)
Web links
- Results at motorsportarchiv.de
- Photos at f1-facts.com
- Grand Prix Results: Monaco GP, 1966 at grandprix.com
- Stewart opens with Monaco victory at en.espn.co.uk
- XXIV Monaco Grand Prix - The Wee Scot Wins at motorsportmagazine.com
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