1961 Italian Grand Prix
The 1961 Italian Grand Prix: tragedy and triumph at Monza.
The 1961 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 10 September 1961 at Monza. It was race 7 of 8 in both the 1961 World Championship of Drivers and the 1961 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.
Quick Facts
- Event date
- September 10, 1961
- Circuit
- Autodromo Nazionale Monza
- Winning driver
- Phil Hill (USA)
- Team status
- Constructors' Champions (clinched)
- Key drivers
- Phil Hill
- Wolfgang von Trips
- Richie Ginther
- Significance
- First American F1 World Champion; Tragic loss of Wolfgang von Trips
Lore & Background
The race was marked by an accident with the highest death toll 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 of Jim Clark and crashed into a fence line of spectators, killing 15 and himself. The race was not stopped, allegedly to avoid the spectators 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.
Reader's Guide
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, becoming the first American driver to win the Formula One World Championship. Hill's Monza win also assured Ferrari of the Constructors' Championship for 1961.
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