1961 Formula One season

The 1961 Formula One season included the 12th FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on May 14, 1961, and ended on October 8 after eight races.
Phil Hill of Ferrari won his only Driver's Championship, his teammate and rival Wolfgang von Trips was killed at the Italian Grand Prix, the penultimate race of the season. Ferrari won their first Constructor's Championship.

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The first year of the 1.5 litre formula was dominated by a well-prepared Ferrari team. Only Stirling Moss, in an outdated Lotus, was able to beat the Ferraris on two tracks where his skills offset the Ferrari power advantage. The contest for the championship between Ferrari's leading drivers, Phil Hill and Wolfgang von Trips, ended in tragedy when von Trips collided with Jim Clark at Monza, killing the Ferrari driver and 14 spectators. Giancarlo Baghetti won his only grand prix, on his championship debut. With the change of formula and the introduction of the United States Grand Prix, the Indianapolis 500 was dropped from the championship.

The number of points awarded to a race winner was increased to nine.

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* Only the best 5 results counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

Notes