1960 Italian GP

## Track Facts

* Name – Monza
* Location – Italy
* Corners – 9
* Laps – 50
* Base (Worst) Lap Time – 4:00.000
* Road Circuit:
* Lap Record (Real Life) – 1:39.700 (Stirling Moss)
* Lap Record (F1R) – 1:38.207 (Jean Behra – K Morris)
* Combined Circuit:
* Lap Record (Real Life) – 2:41.400 (Phil Hill)
* Lap Record (F1R) – 2:41.781 (Giuseppe Farina – W Hoekstra)
* Pit Lane Length – 40 seconds\*
* Fuel Consumption – High
* Tyre Wear – High

\*Note that this season pit-stops will last longer than in previous seasons; this number represents the time it takes to travel down the pit-lane NOT including the time you will spend stationary.

## Qualifying & Grid

Bonnier makes it 3 Pole Positions in a row here, which is an achievement not seen since 1957 and makes him only the 3rd driver to ever achieve this (after Bob Gerard and Ken Wharton). It's another Maserati 1-2 - though considering Bonnier is the only Maserati with a mathematical shot at the Drivers' Championship it remains to be seen whether Gurney will challenge his team-mate at all.

Ferrari have a typically strong qualifying performance, with von Trips again their best hope in 3rd (particularly considering that all the Top 3 here have houses in Italy and know the track well!) - while Gould and Naylor are split by such a tiny fraction of time that the leaderboard actually shows them with the same reading! McLaren lines up 4th for Maserati, with the aim that he can impede the progress of the likes of von Trips and Naylor to give Bonnier even more of a shot at the title.

Aston Martin qualify strongly here, with Brooks leading Salvadori and Flockhart, with Clark even doing well in 12th overall. Elsewhere phenomenal drives from Allison (10th) and Taylor (11th) in the Lotus and Scarab respectively will not have gone unnoticed by the plethora of Team Principals that will be looking to sign new talent in their teams moving forwards…

JBW produce a respectable qualifying performance to line up 13th (Scarlatti at his home race), 16th (de Beaufort - another driver with a base here in Italy), 18th (Greene) and 20th (Burgess) - while BRM have always had a car with better race pace than one-lap pace so far this season. That means if Gregory wants to consolidate his Championship lead he will need to come from 17th on the grid, including passing both his team-mates considering that Graham Hill is 14th and Phil Hill is 15th.

Vanwall look a little off the pace here, as the development race looks to have passed them by in their final season on the grid with Fairman, Ireland and Mairesse doing their best in places 21-23 n the grid. Behind them are a whole host of drivers that ran into difficulty, either trouble getting to the circuit on time or accidents that drained their session time away - for Moss and Gamble it was the latter. Meanwhile for Surtees in the Cooper it was both, as the Cooper trucks did not turn up until part-way through the session - and then the Brit went out and crashed as well!

His team-mates Brabham and Bianchi didn't get that far and consequently line up in 28th and 29th, with Barth in 27th for Scarab also being delayed en route to the track. That leaves one final qualifying position, which was fought over by Menditeguy, Trintignant and Creus - though the experience of the Frenchman shone through and so Trintignant lines up in 30th on the grid…

## Race Link

On the starting grid, all drivers are accounted for - though in the Championship fight, we wait see to whether the Championship leader Gregory (17th on the grid) can carry his advantage into the final race of the season. 2nd placed von Trips (who starts 3rd today) and 3rd placed Naylor (starting 6th) are the main rivals for the title. Brabham in 4th will need a miracle from 28th on the grid if he is to make any progress in the title hunt - though if anyone can, it's the reigining F1R Champion!

Behind them, if any of Surtees, Phil Hill, Bonnier or Ireland win the race there is still a chance they could remain in the Championship hunt…but would need some of the main contenders to have an off day!

This should be a fascinating tactical battle, with plenty of options for the drivers to choose from…

https://1960.f1revisited.co.uk/results/monza-combined/1960/eHO1Yn0EtLbR5p8k

## Race Results

Bonnier wins the 1960 Italian GP for Maserati in what could accurately be described as his 2nd home, and though it may be too little too late for the individual title this will put Maserati right in the frame for the Constructors' Championship - and that could see them extend their involvement with the series for another season!

Von Trips finishes 2nd, which trims his deficit to Gregory - though 3rd place for the BRM driver not only puts him in with a great shot at taking the title if he can produce a decent result at the season finale, but also makes it 7 races in a row in the points for him!!!

Gould finishes 4th in a return to form for the Brit, while Gurney in 5th place has found his form late in the season also. Barth in 6th place is really helping his Scarab team put pressure on those above them in the Constructors - while Naylor, Salvadori (on a respectable outing for his 60th ever race), Moss in the Lotus and Greene in the JBW round out the Top 10 - in what could be a crucial race for the fight between those two teams to avoid last place in the standings.

Gendebien finishes 11th in the lone competitive Porsche, while Mairesse does overhaul Brooks for 12th position in the end. McLaren finishes 14th after another race to forget for the Maserati, with Flockhart 15th, Scarlatti 16th and redemption for Gamble with 17th place and a last lap overtake on Phil Hill's BRM.

Fairman finishes 19th with Burgess 20th both likely relieved to be within the Top 20 at the race end. Other finishers this race include Graham Hill, de Beaufort, Taylor, Ireland, Bianchi, Clark, Allison and Surtees.

Behind them, Brabham records a DNF after again running out of fuel in a race that almost certainly spells the end of his time as reigning champion come the season finale, though he can at least console himself with the point for Fastest Lap and being classified ahead of Trintignant, who looked incredibly uncompetitive throughout down in 30th position.

The season finale will take place at Riverside in the USA - where Gregory will race on his home turf for the 1960 F1R Drivers' Championship…

## Milestones

* 60th race entry for Moss
* 40th race entry for both Bonnier and von Trips
* Brabham and Fairman both have their 46th entry, which moves them into 9th and 10th for Most Entries ever respectively, at the expense of Jean Behra
* Trintignant moves up to 8th for Most Starts ever, at the expense of Toulo de Graffenried
* 40th race start for both Flockhart and von Trips
* 20th start for McLaren
* Win for Bonnier moves him into 8th on the all-time list at expense of Ken Wharton
* Bonnier’s win ensures he records Consecutive Wins for the 1st time that any driver has since the start of the 1959 season (and becomes only the 7th driver to ever achieve this feat)
* Previous winners in Italy are von Trips (’56 and ‘58), Bianchi (’59) and Salvadori (’53); other winners are Gerard (’50, ’51 and ’57 – retired), Farina (’55 – retired), Lang (’54 – retired) and Pietsch (’52 – retired)
* Bonnier’s win moves him into the Top 10 for Most Points ever at the expense of Hans Herrmann, along with breaking the 50 career points mark also
* A podium for Gregory sees him move onto the same 50-point mark as well
* As Bonnier finishes in the points and Brabham does not, Bonnier moves up to 9th for Most Races Finished in the Points at the expense of the Australian
* Gregory’s points finish is his 10th Points Finish ever
* Gregory scoring points here is his 7th race in a row in the points (something only 3 drivers have ever achieved before) and he moves up to 6th for Most Consecutive Points Scores ever
* For von Trips, Bonnier and Barth it is their 2nd race in a row in the points meanwhile
* FL for Brabham moves him up to 5th in Most Fastest Laps, at the expense of von Trips, Peter Collins, Onofre Marimón and Ken Wharton
* Fastest Lap at the Italian GP before has been taken by Salvadori (’53) and Bianchi (’59); other FLs were taken by Gerard (’50, ’52, ’56 and ’57 – retired), Collins (’58 – retired), Farina (’55 – retired), Lang (’54 – retired) and Whitehead (’51 – retired)
* Pole for Bonnier makes him only the 3rd driver to take 3 consecutive Pole Positions, which also moves him up to 4th for Most Consecutive Pole Positions ever
* Pole for Bonnier also means he is only the 2nd driver (after Bob Gerard) to record back-to-back Poles at the same Grand Prix
* Pole at the Italian GP before has been taken by Salvadori (’53) and Bonnier (’59); other Pole-Sitters are Gerard (’50, ’51 and ’57), Behra (’58 – retired), de Graffenried (’56 – retired), Farina (’55 – retired), Villoresi (’54 – retired) and Whitehead (’52 – retired)
* Podium for Bonnier moves him into 10th for Most Podiums ever at the expense of Salvadori
* Podium for Bonnier makes it two consecutive Podium finishes for him