Written by:
Kevin Krefting
Editor's Note: This is one article in a line of the Best Formula One Openers featured for you on SPEEDtv.com. Enjoy!
1. Stirling Moss (Lotus), 2. Richie Ginther (Ferrari), 3. Phil Hill (Ferrari)
Most people remember 1961 for the dominance of the shark-nosed Ferrari 156, particularly in the hands of German Wolfgang von Trips, and Phil Hill, who would become America's first world champion that year. The team were so dominant that at Spa, they scored what remains F1's last 1-2-3-4 finish for any constructor.
These details make Moss's win at Monte-Carlo all the more incredible. By then a 10-year veteran of the sport, he was still only 31 and still at the height of his considerable powers. A year previously, he has piloted his Rob Walker-entered Lotus to victory around the streets of Monaco, beating Bruce Mclaren by almost a full minute, and scoring the first of Lotus' 79 F1 victories.
Moss won the 1961 event in the same Lotus 18 chassis, passing California's Richie Ginther for the lead on lap 14, and fending off the attentions of both Ginther and Hill for the best part of two hours, to take a famous victory. Ferrari's only other defeat that season would be at the Nurburging, where again only the genius of Moss could deny them. That would be Moss' final F1 win, as soon after he would suffer his career-ending accident at Goodwood.
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