1960 Monaco Grand Prix
The second round of the 1960 Formula 1 World Championship took place on May 29 in Monaco, on the legendary circuit winding through the narrow streets of the principality. Compared to the previous year, the track remained unchanged, still measuring 3.145 km in length, while the drivers faced the challenge of completing 100 laps.
Three and a half months after Formula One's opening round in Argentina, the Monaco Grand Prix marked the beginning of the European season, serving as a true showcase for the latest technical innovations and a new generation of drivers still waiting to make their mark on world motorsport. Having opened the season with victory in Buenos Aires, John Cooper's team arrived in Monaco with two brand-new T53s for reigning World Champion Jack Brabham and Argentine Grand Prix winner Bruce McLaren.
Compared with the previous year's T51s, the new cars featured a lower, sleeker profile — earning them the nickname "Lowline" —as well as a new five-speed gearbox and an improved rear suspension with coil springs.
Meanwhile, Scuderia Ferrari once again fielded the largest entry and also unveiled its latest creation in Monaco — the Ferrari 246P. Following the latest design trends, the new car featured a rear-engined layout with the previous year's Ferrari 246 V6 engine mounted longitudinally behind the driver, along with a redesigned gearbox and rear suspension.
The new car was entrusted to American rookie Richie Ginther, while Ferrari's other drivers — Phil Hill, Wolfgang von Trips, and Cliff Allison — remained with the proven front-engined Ferrari 246 Dinos, now fitted with a new independent rear suspension.
BRM also arrived in Monaco with new cars: replacing the P25s, the new P48s adopted a rear-engined layout while retaining most of their predecessors' mechanical components, including the engine, gearbox, and even the single rear brake disc. The new BRMs were entrusted to the familiar pairing of Jo Bonnier and Graham Hill, joined by newcomer Dan Gurney, who was making his debut for Alfred Owen's team.
Meanwhile, Colin Chapman's team, having already introduced the new rear-engined Lotus 18 at the opening round in Argentina, fielded three examples in Monaco for Innes Ireland, Alan Stacey, and Formula One debutant, multiple motorcycle World Champion John Surtees.
The biggest sensation among the spectators, however, was the arrival of the American Scarabs, which marked the Formula One debut of the first all-American team, founded by amateur racer and Woolworth heir Lance Reventlow.
Backed by Leo Goossen, chief design engineer at Meyer & Drake Engineering, and young aeronautical engineer Marshall Whitfield, Reventlow financed the construction of two front-engined cars built entirely from American components. Power came from a 2.5-litre Offenhauser-based four-cylinder engine featuring several innovative solutions, including Hilborn fuel injection and a desmodromic valvetrain. The transmission was a four-speed Chevrolet Corvette gearbox, while both the front and rear suspension featured independent double wishbones with coil springs. The striking new machines, widely regarded by spectators as the most eye-catching cars in the field, were driven by Reventlow himself and his former sports car teammate Chuck Daigh.
Meanwhile, there was no shortage of private entrants in Monaco, and the strongest of them by far remained Rob Walker's team with its star driver, Stirling Moss. Unlike at the opening round, Moss arrived in Monte Carlo behind the wheel of the new Lotus 18 — the same car fielded by the Lotus works team — as both he and Walker had been so impressed by Chapman's latest design that they chose it over the championship-winning Cooper T51.
Meanwhile, Maurice Trintignant, who had lost his place in Walker's reshuffled line-up, found a new home at Scuderia Centro Sud, where he joined Masten Gregory and Ian Burgess behind the wheel of Cooper T51-Maserati.
Another notable private entrant in Monaco was Alfred Moss and Ken Gregory's BRP team, which, following the arrival of a new sponsor, had changed its name and now competed under the banner of the Yeoman Credit Racing Team. The team ran the previous year's championship-winning Cooper T51s powered by Climax engines, while its lead driver was none other than Tony Brooks, the previous season's World Championship runner-up, who had agreed to continue his career with BRP after leaving Scuderia Ferrari.
Brooks was joined by one of the most promising young talents from the British club racing scene, Chris Bristow, while the team's third car remained vacant — it had been intended for Harry Schell, who had tragically lost his life shortly before during practice for the BRDC International Trophy.
A further Cooper T51 — the very car driven by Jack Brabham at the Argentine Grand Prix — was entered by privateer Roy Salvadori, while Bruce McLaren's victorious Cooper T43 from Buenos Aires found its way into the hands of another private entrant, Bruce Halford.
Meanwhile, the new Italian privateer team Scuderia Eugenio Castellotti prepared a unique Cooper T51 powered by a Ferrari four-cylinder engine and fitted with a five-speed Colotti gearbox, entrusting it to Giorgio Scarlatti.
Completing the entry list was Brian Naylor, driving a JBW of his own construction powered by a Maserati engine.
Qualification
As in previous years, the regulations for the Monaco Grand Prix allowed only 16 cars on the starting grid, which meant that a third of the drivers - eight out of the twenty-four entries - risked being eliminated already after qualifying. Naturally, this made the fight for a place on the grid particularly intense, and over the course of three practice days the spectators witnessed a fierce battle for every single position. There were complications as well: a malfunction of the official timing system effectively wiped out the first day of practice, making drivers even more determined to fight for every fraction of a second. At the same time, as at the opening round of the championship, the fastest man in qualifying was Stirling Moss, who set a time of 1'36.3 to beat his own lap record from the previous year by more than three seconds and secure Lotus its first-ever pole position.
The man closest to Moss was none other than reigning World Champion Jack Brabham, who qualified second in the new Cooper T53, exactly one second behind the Englishman's pole-winning time.
Meanwhile, third and fourth on the grid also went to Surbiton-built machinery, courtesy of Tony Brooks and Chris Bristow in their year-old Cooper T51s. The performance of the 22-year-old Bristow was especially remarkable: making his Formula One debut on one of the world's most demanding circuits, he matched the pace of the World Championship runner-up to the thousandth of a second!
As for Cooper's other works driver, Bruce McLaren, he once again failed to match the pace of his teammate in qualifying and could manage only 11th on the grid.
Meanwhile, BRM's new cars also acquitted themselves well, enabling Jo Bonnier and Graham Hill to secure fifth and sixth on the grid, while Dan Gurney, making his first appearance at Monaco, lagged well behind his teammates and had to settle for only 14th.
The works Lotus drivers were less convincing: Innes Ireland could manage only seventh, and even that owed much to Stirling Moss, who generously showed him the ideal racing line and braking points, while newcomers Alan Stacey and John Surtees could do no better than 13th and 15th respectively.
There was little cause for celebration at Ferrari either: despite their best efforts, Wolfgang von Trips and Phil Hill could manage only places at the tail end of the top ten, while Cliff Allison suffered a heavy crash at the chicane during the second day of practice, was thrown from the cockpit, and sustained a broken arm, cracked ribs, and multiple facial lacerations.
The only bright spot for the Maranello team came from newcomer Richie Ginther, who, by matching Phil Hill's time, demonstrated not only the considerable potential of the new Ferrari 246P but also his own ability on this notoriously demanding circuit.
The final two drivers to make the grid were Roy Salvadori and Maurice Trintignant, while Halford, Naylor, Gregory, Scarlatti, Burgess, Reventlow, and Daigh were less fortunate and failed to qualify for the Grand Prix. The greatest disappointment, however, came from the Scarabs: their qualifying times were around ten seconds slower than those of the leading teams, alarming Lance Reventlow so much that he persuaded Stirling Moss to drive a few laps in one of the cars and give his assessment. Unfortunately, the Englishman's verdict confirmed Reventlow's worst fears: the car lacked power, its suspension was excessively stiff, and its Goodyear tyres were simply no match for the Dunlops.
Race
Start. As the national flag falls, the field gets away, and it's Jo Bonnier who makes the best start of all: launching from the second row, the Swede threads his way between Brabham and Brooks to sweep into the first corner in the lead! Equally impressive are the getaways of Phil Hill, who climbs from tenth to sixth, and debutant John Surtees, who charges from the back row of the grid all the way up to tenth!
Order after Lap 1: Bonnier, Brabham, Moss, Brooks, Bristow, Phil Hill, Ireland, von Trips, Graham Hill, Surtees.
Lap 2: Phil Hill attacks Bristow and passes the young Briton for fifth place!
Meanwhile, McLaren and Trintignant waste no time either, each gaining a place at the expense of Ginther and Salvadori respectively. But the spectators' attention is immediately drawn to von Trips: flames suddenly burst from beneath his Ferrari, forcing the German to pull over at once and grab a fire extinguisher! Fortunately, the blaze proves only minor, and Taffy quickly brings it under control before climbing back into the cockpit and rejoining the race, albeit down in 14th place!
Lap 3: Trintignant picks up another place, overtaking Ginther for 11th!
Lap 4: Bristow's lack of experience begins to tell, and the young Briton loses another position, this time to Ireland!
Meanwhile, von Trips is already charging back through the field after his unscheduled stop, overtaking Salvadori and Ginther within a single lap!
Lap 5: After spending two laps tucked up behind Brabham, Moss finally launches a decisive attack and snatches second place!
Meanwhile, von Trips' pass on Salvadori is short-lived, as Roy immediately fights back to reclaim the position!
At the same time, Scuderia rookie Richie Ginther drops to the very back of the field after a small mistake in his rear-engined Ferrari, while the race is already over for two-time Monaco Grand Prix winner Maurice Trintignant, whose Cooper is sidelined by gearbox failure.
.jpg)
Lap 6: Now up to second place, Moss sets off in pursuit of Bonnier — just as in Buenos Aires, where these two men had already fought for victory!
Meanwhile, Bristow keeps dropping down the order, surrendering another place to Graham Hill, as McLaren moves ahead of Surtees on the same lap.
Lap 7: Ireland is unable to withstand Graham Hill's charge either, and the BRM driver moves up to sixth place!
Lap 8: Seeing his opportunity, Bristow follows Hill's example, attacking Ireland and moving ahead!
Lap 10: Ireland is clearly no longer able to stay with the leading group and now loses another position to McLaren!
Order after 10 laps: Bonnier, Moss, Brabham, Brooks, Phil Hill, Graham Hill, Bristow, McLaren, Ireland, Surtees.
By the 10th lap, Bonnier's advantage over Moss has been reduced to just 0.8 seconds — Stirling is now right on the leader's heels!
Lap 11: Moss catches Bonnier and immediately sits on his tail, but surprisingly makes no attempt to pass — Stirling decides against taking risks, remaining behind the Swede while waiting for the perfect moment to strike!
.jpg)
Meanwhile, the fastest man on track is McLaren: chasing down the leading group, the New Zealander sets the fastest lap of the race — 1'36.2!
Lap 14: Feeling the constant pressure from Moss and realizing that losing the lead is only a matter of time, Bonnier moves to the edge of the track and gestures for the Englishman to pass safely. However, Stirling is in no hurry to take the opportunity, preferring to control the race from behind the Swede!
Lap 17: Struggling for pace, Bonnier allows the chasing group led by Brabham, Brooks, and Phil Hill to close dangerously, leaving Moss with no choice but to make his move at the Station and take the lead of the race!
Meanwhile, McLaren also makes his move on the same lap, overtaking Bristow for seventh place!
Lap 18: Almost simultaneously, the two newcomers Bristow and Surtees suffer gearbox problems, forcing both to pit and bringing their debut Grand Prix to an early end.
Lap 20: Having caught Bonnier, Brabham immediately launches an attack — and takes second place away from the Swede!
Order after 20 laps: Moss, Brabham, Bonnier, Brooks, Phil Hill, Graham Hill, McLaren, Ireland, Salvadori, von Trips.
Having taken the lead, Moss slowly but steadily begins to pull away, extending his advantage over Brabham to three seconds!
Lap 24: Another Lotus is out of the race: a broken engine mounting causes Stacey's throttle to jam partially open, and after hitting a curb the Englishman is forced to retire with damaged suspension!
Lap 27: Still unable to pull clear of Bonnier, Brabham succumbs to the Swede's counterattack and loses second place once again!
Meanwhile, the mood around the circuit suddenly changes as dark clouds sweep in from nowhere, rapidly covering the sky and threatening to bring rain at any moment!
Lap 28: The first drops of rain begin to fall, and the circuit surface immediately turns into a skating rink!
Lap 29: Salvadori becomes the first casualty of the rain. Having barely cleared the start-finish straight and only just signaled his mechanics for a visor, Roy loses control of his Cooper at the Gasworks Hairpin and slams into the barrier! Despite a damaged radiator, the Englishman somehow limps back to the pits, but with the engine rapidly overheating, his race is over.
Lap 30: Having struggled with serious misfiring problems for the past fifteen laps, Ireland is an easy target for von Trips and offers no resistance as the German moves up to eighth place!
Order after 30 laps: Moss, Bonnier, Brabham, Brooks, Phil Hill, Graham Hill, McLaren, von Trips, Ireland, Gurney.
With the track becoming increasingly treacherous, Moss backs off to avoid taking unnecessary risks, and the chasing pack headed by Bonnier starts to reel him in once again!
Lap 31: Feeling far more comfortable than his rivals in the wet conditions, Brabham launches another attack on Bonnier and relegates the Swede to third place!
Meanwhile, Brooks, running fourth, makes a mistake at Ste Devote, spins around and loses four positions in an instant!
Lap 33: McLaren also shows superb wet-weather pace: in a single lap, the New Zealander overtakes both Hills and moves up to fourth place!
Lap 34: Gaining roughly a second per lap on Moss, Brabham finally catches the Englishman and makes his decisive move on the start-finish straight, taking the lead of the race!
Meanwhile, the battle for fourth place continues as Phil Hill counterattacks McLaren and moves back ahead!
Lap 35: McLaren attacks again, and the New Zealander's pressure finally pays off: Phil Hill makes a mistake at the Gasworks Hairpin, spins, and loses not only to Bruce but also to his namesake Graham Hill!
Lap 36: Bonnier catches Moss and, following Stirling's own example from earlier in the race, refuses to rush his move, choosing instead to bide his time.
Lap 39: Having spent almost the entire race at the back of the field, Ferrari rookie Richie Ginther finally gets his chance and overtakes Dan Gurney's BRM for tenth place!
Meanwhile, the clouds begin to break and the sun shines down on the circuit once again, hinting that the rain will soon be over!
Lap 40: Ireland, still struggling with his misfiring Lotus, is unable to keep Ginther behind either, and after passing the Englishman, the Ferrari newcomer moves up to ninth place!
Order after 40 laps: Brabham, Moss, Bonnier, McLaren, Graham Hill, Phil Hill, von Trips, Brooks, Ginther, Ireland.
Having moved into the lead, Brabham begins to pull away confidently, extending his advantage over Moss to several seconds!
Lap 41: Disaster for Brabham! Approaching Ste Devote, Jack loses control of his Cooper on the treacherous surface and slams into the barrier, causing heavy damage to the chassis! Only seconds behind, Moss has a terrifying moment as he comes upon the spinning Australian's car, but somehow squeezes through the gap by mere inches and emerges from the corner back in the lead!
Seconds later, marshals rush to the stalled Cooper, attempting to push it away from the racing line. But for the reigning World Champion, the situation means only one thing: even if he manages to make it back to the pits, disqualification is inevitable!
Lap 42: As the rain begins to ease, Moss is back in his element: in a single lap, he extends his advantage over the pursuing Bonnier by a full 1.5 seconds!
Lap 45: Gurney pulls into the pits with a damaged rear suspension, and after yet another retirement, only ten cars remain on the circuit!
Lap 46: The rain comes to an end, and the track surface starts drying out quickly.
Order after 50 laps: Moss, Bonnier, McLaren, Graham Hill, Phil Hill, von Trips, Ginther, Ireland, Brooks.
On the drying track, Moss is flying: lap after lap he pulls clear of Bonnier, with the gap now reaching 14 seconds!
Lap 51: Promoted to third place after his teammate's retirement, McLaren spins at the Station Hairpin and instantly loses most of his advantage over Graham Hill, with Phil Hill now closing in right behind!
Lap 52: Phil Hill finally catches his namesake Graham, and with a perfectly executed move, sweeps past!
Lap 54: Phil Hill is on a charge! After rapidly closing in on McLaren, he sweeps past the New Zealander and takes third place!
Lap 55: McLaren has no intention of surrendering third place — he clings to the Ferrari's tail, searching for any opportunity to launch a counterattack!
Lap 56: Ireland's engine dies for good at Beau Rivage, but the determined driver refuses to give up. To the amazement of the crowd, he climbs out of his Lotus and begins pushing it uphill, hoping to cover the final 2.5 kilometres and reach the finish line!
Lap 57: Having repelled several attacks from McLaren, Phil Hill finally succumbs to the New Zealander's pressure and surrenders third place once again!
Order after 60 laps: Moss, Bonnier, McLaren, Phil Hill, Graham Hill, von Trips, Ginther, Brooks.
Moss is simply untouchable now: he continues to stretch the gap to Bonnier, with his lead reaching 20 seconds!
Lap 61: Trouble for Moss! The Englishman's engine suddenly drops onto three cylinders, forcing Stirling into the pits for a check. The problem turns out to be a disconnected spark plug lead, which Walker's mechanics quickly fix; however, the stop has already done its damage — Bonnier retakes the lead once again!
Lap 62: Ten seconds behind Bonnier, Moss wastes no time in hunting down the leader, immediately responding by taking a full second out of the Swede's advantage!
Meanwhile, the attrition continues: von Trips is forced to abandon his Ferrari at Beau Rivage after a clutch failure, and only seven cars remain on track!
Lap 64: Moss is charging hard, and the gap to Bonnier is now down to just five seconds!
Lap 67: Three more laps pass, and Moss is now right on the Swede's tail!
Meanwhile, a real drama is unfolding behind the two leaders. Having once again edged away from the two Hills, McLaren makes a mistake at the Gasworks Hairpin and, unable to catch the car in time, spins through a full 360 degrees! Both Hills immediately close in and attempt to pass the New Zealander on either side — Phil goes around the outside, while Graham dives down the inside, and the three rivals emerge from the hairpin side by side! In the end, it is Phil Hill who emerges ahead, moving past McLaren, while Graham, by contrast, loses control of his BRM and crashes straight into the commentators' booth, completely destroying the nose and radiator! Moreover, the damaged oil cooler immediately begins leaking oil onto the track!
Lap 68: The two leaders approach the scene of the accident, and Moss, taking the widest possible line through the Gasworks Hairpin, safely avoids the oil patch and sweeps past Bonnier to reclaim the lead of the race! Meanwhile, the unfortunate Graham helps the marshals push his wrecked BRM to safety before walking back to the pits — once again, he misses the chance to score his first points, but this time he has only himself to blame!
Order after 70 laps: Moss, Bonnier, Phil Hill, McLaren, Ginther, Brooks.
After 70 laps, Moss is back in command of the race, while only six cars remain on track — meaning every remaining competitor is now guaranteed to secure points in this Grand Prix!
Lap 71: Back behind Phil Hill once again, McLaren attacks the American at almost every corner for several laps, and eventually the Ferrari driver gives way under the New Zealander's relentless pressure, surrendering third place!
Meanwhile, Ginther's rear-engined Ferrari suffers a transmission failure, and after the American pulls into the pits, only five cars remain in the race!
Lap 72: Unhappy with losing third place, Ferrari shows Phil Hill the "Faster" pit board, urging the American to push harder and reclaim the position!
Lap 73: Thinking the finish is just a few laps away, Moss goes flat out to build his lead over Bonnier and produces a brilliant lap - 1:36.4 - on the still-damp circuit!
Lap 74: Puzzled by Moss's unnecessary risks, Walker's mechanics once again show him the remaining lap count on the pit board, and once the Englishman finally understands the situation, he immediately backs off, choosing simply to bring the car safely home.
Lap 79: Trouble for Bonnier! Following the same fate as Gurney earlier in the race, the Swede suffers a rear suspension failure and is forced into the pits to retire, throwing away another near-certain podium finish — just like in Buenos Aires!
Leaving the cockpit with clear disappointment, Bonnier is nevertheless rewarded with a tremendous ovation from the main grandstand — the crowd recognizes and applauds his valiant effort. Meanwhile, with the Swede's retirement, only four cars are left running!
Lap 96: For the next 17 laps, absolutely nothing changes in the race: Phil Hill is still unable to reclaim third place from McLaren, but then, with five laps remaining, the reigning World Champion unexpectedly emerges from the pits! Seeing how few cars are left running, Cooper decides to take a gamble and sends Brabham back onto the track in a badly damaged car, desperately hoping to salvage whatever points he can! This decision immediately triggers a chain reaction: Gurney and Bonnier also return to the circuit, their cars barely holding together through the corners with broken rear suspensions, while Ginther pushes his rear-engined Ferrari out by hand in an attempt to cross the finish line under the chequered flag and claim the single point still available to him!
.jpg)
Final lap: After a truly eventful and dramatic race, Moss finally crosses the line at the end of the 100th and final lap to win the Monaco Grand Prix!
Climbing out of the cockpit, Stirling is immediately congratulated by Colin Chapman, who thanks to the Englishman's exceptional skill secures his first Formula 1 victory trophy, while moments later Moss receives the traditional award from the hands of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace.
Meanwhile, McLaren is the second driver to cross the finish line — after a truly brilliant and combative race, the young New Zealander scores another six points and further strengthens his championship lead! Third place goes to Phil Hill, who rightfully becomes one of the main heroes of the Grand Prix: his magnificent battle with McLaren is one of the most memorable moments of the race. Brooks finishes fourth: after a brilliant start to the race, Tony lost considerable ground following his spin in the rain, but by keeping his car in one piece all the way to the finish, the Englishman fully deserves to score three points. Fifth place goes to Bonnier — the Swede takes home two points, although after his impressive duel with Moss he was surely hoping for a much stronger result. The final point goes to Ginther in sixth place — the American pushes his Ferrari across the finish line by hand and scores on his Formula 1 debut! However, the true hero of the crowd is Ireland: despite his stranded Lotus, Innes achieves the almost impossible and pushes the car all the way to the finish, where the exhausted Englishman is rewarded with ninth place in the final classification!
As for Brabham, his desperate bid to rejoin the race proved futile: not only did Jack fail to complete the minimum required distance, he was also disqualified for receiving outside assistance on the circuit — leaving the reigning World Champion still pointless after two rounds!
Interesting facts:
- Richie Ginther’s debut and first points;
- John Surtees’s debut;
- Lotus's first pole position and first victory.
Driver standings
Constructor standings
Alternative GP results
