Monaco GP 1962

Monaco GP, 1962

The weather in Monaco in 1962 was not what one would have expected in early June and practice was disrupted by rain. Jim Clark took pole position in his Lotus with Graham Hill (BRM) and Bruce McLaren (Cooper) sharing the front row. Behind them were Willy Mairesse in a Ferrari and Dan Gurney's Porsche's while Jack Brabham's privately-entered Lotus was alongside the similar Rob Walker car of Maurice Trintignant and the British Racing Partnership Lotus of Innes Ireland. Then came the factory Ferraris of Phil Hill and Lorenzo Bandini, in his first race for the team.

Race day was overcast and the track was damp when the race began with Mairesse bursting through to try to take the lead at the start. He nearly lost control at the first corner and this enabled Hill and McLaren to get ahead while Clark was caught up in a traffic jam. Ritchie Ginther did not stop his BRM in time (although he was sure that his throttle stuck open) and he crashed into the Lotuses of Trintignant and Ireland, while Gurney's Porsche and Trevor Taylor's factory Lotus were also involved. Ireland and Taylor were able to rejoin but both were out of the running. To add to the excitement on that first lap Mairesse spun at the Station Hairpin and dropped to the back of the field. At the end of the lap McLaren led Graham Hill, Phil Hill, Jo Bonnier (Porsche), Bandini and Clark. Behind them came Tony Maggs (Cooper), Brabham and the Reg Parnell Racing Lolas of John Surtees and Roy Salvadori.

McLaren and G Hill battled for the lead during the first 10 laps exchanging places several times but then Hill began to pull away. P Hill dropped behind behind both Brabham and Clark, recovering from the first lap adventures and on lap 22 Clark moved ahead of Brabham to take third place. Six laps later Clark overtook McLaren for second. He then closed on the leader and was right behind Hill when the Lotus began having gearbox trouble. Hill was able to ease away again. On lap 55 Clark retired with a broken clutch. Graham Hill was left with a 48-second lead over McLaren with Brabham third although the Australian then came under pressure from Phil Hill and on lap 76 the Ferrari moved ahead. On the following lap Brabham made a mistake in Casino Square and bent his suspension.

G Hill's BRM then began to smoke badly and the lead came down until lap 93 when the BRM failed. McLaren took the lead and seven laps later the win. P Hill was second with Bandini third.

POSNODRIVERENTRANTLAPSTIME/RETIREMENTQUAL POS
14 Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax T60 100 2h46m29.700s  
36 Phil Hill Ferrari 156 100 2h46m31.000s  
38 Lorenzo Bandini Ferrari 156 100 2h47m53.800s  10 
28 John Surtees Lola-Climax MK 4 99  11 
Jo Bonnier Porsche 718 93  15 
6r 10 Graham Hill BRM P57 92 Engine 
7r 40 Willy Mairesse Ferrari 156 90 Engine 
8r 22 Jack Brabham Lotus-Climax 24 77 Suspension/ Accident 
34 Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax 24 64 Fuel Pump 
18 Jim Clark Lotus-Climax 25 55 Clutch 
26 Roy Salvadori Lola-Climax MK 4 44 Suspension 12 
16 Tony Maggs Cooper-Climax T55 43 Gearbox 16 
20 Trevor Taylor Lotus-Climax 24 24 Mechanical 14 
Dan Gurney Porsche 804 Accident 
Richie Ginther BRM P48/57 Throttle Jammed/ Accident 13 
30 Maurice Trintignant Lotus-Climax 24 Accident 
ns 40 Ricardo Rodriguez Ferrari 156  Car Raced By Mairesse 17 
nq 44 Carel Godin de Beaufort Porsche 718   18 
nq 46 Jo Siffert Lotus-Climax 21   19 
nq 24 Jack Lewis BRM P48/57   20 
nq 32 Masten Gregory Lotus-BRM 24   21 
nq 42 Nino Vaccarella Lotus-Climax 18/21   22