On May 14, 1961, Ginther finished second to Stirling Moss at the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix, 3.6 seconds behind, a few hundred feet. He was driving a new rear-engine Ferrari with a 120-degree V-6 which had a lower center of gravity. Ginther had qualified first, just ahead of Hill, with an average speed of , and a qualifying time of 1:39.3. He eclipsed the previous course record of 1:39.6.