Ferrari became the last constructor to achieve a 1-2-3-4 finish in a Formula One race, sweeping all top positions at the 1961 Belgian Grand Prix.
Key Facts
- Race date
- 18 June 1961
- Circuit
- Spa-Francorchamps
- Championship round
- Race 3 of 8
- Ferrari finishing positions
- 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th
- Hill's retirement lap
- 24
- Entries invited
- 25
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Ferrari arrived at the 1961 Belgian Grand Prix with a strong works team of three factory-entered red cars and one privately entered yellow Belgian car for Olivier Gendebien. The field was weakened by pre-race attrition, including a wrecked UDT Laystall entry and chassis damage to the Emeryson cars.
Held on 18 June 1961 at Spa-Francorchamps, the race saw Graham Hill briefly lead from sixth on the grid, but all four Ferrari cars had passed him by the end of lap one. Ferrari dominated throughout, with all four entries finishing in the top four positions, and Hill eventually retiring with an oil leak on lap 24.
Ferrari's sweep of the top four places marked the last time any constructor achieved a 1-2-3-4 result in Formula One. It also proved to be the last occasion, aside from two NART entries in 1964, that a Ferrari competed in Formula One in a colour other than the traditional Italian rosso corsa red.