1961 United States Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 8 of 8 in the 1961 Formula One season | |||
 |
|||
| Date | October 8, 1961 | ||
| Official name | IV United States Grand Prix | ||
| Location |
Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course Watkins Glen, New York |
||
| Course | Permanent road course | ||
| Course length | 3.78 km (2.35 mi) | ||
| Distance | 100 laps, 378 km (235 mi) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures up to 72 °F (22 °C); wind speeds up to 8.9 miles per hour (14.3 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Cooper-Climax | ||
| Time | 1:17.0 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Jack Brabham |
Cooper-Climax | |
| Time | 1:18.2 on lap 28 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Lotus-Climax | ||
| Second | Porsche | ||
| Third | Cooper-Climax | ||
The 1961 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 8, 1961, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.
In its third year of searching the United States Grand Prix finally found a home, thanks to Cameron Argetsinger, and truly established Formula One racing in the United States. The season-ending race also provided the first victory for one of the sport's greatest teams – Colin Chapman's Team Lotus – and gave an extremely popular driver, Innes Ireland, his only career Grand Prix win. Ireland started eighth, took the lead when the engine in Stirling Moss' Lotus failed, and finished 4.3 seconds ahead of American Dan Gurney.
By the time of the Watkins Glen event, the 1961 season had already marked an important US milestone in Formula One with Californian Phil Hill being crowned the first American World Champion. The US race should have been his triumphant homecoming, and Hill did circle the track at The Glen. Unfortunately for the fans, it was not in the cockpit of his shark-nosed Ferrari 156, but on the back of a Ford Thunderbird in the pre-race parade as Honorary Race Steward. As at the 1960 United States Grand Prix at Riverside, the Ferrari team had remained home. This time, however, the title was theirs, and they had nothing left to prove after dominating the first season of the 1.5-liter formula.
The team had indeed been dealt the cruelest imaginable mixture of triumph and tragedy in the previous race, the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Ferrari driver and team leader Wolfgang von Trips was killed during the race while leading the Drivers' Championship, handing victory and the Championship to teammate Hill. Since Ferrari had clinched the Constructors' Championship as well as the Drivers', the team understandably chose once again not to make the trip across the Atlantic for the season finale.
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