| rdfs:comment | - The 1966 Monaco Grand Prix, officially known as the XXIV Grand Prix Automobile de Monaco, was the opening round of the 1966 FIA Formula One World Championship, held on the Circuit de Monaco on the 22nd of May, 1966. The race, which saw Team Lotus and Jim Clark arrive to open the defence of their 1965, was the first race of the three litre era of Formula One, introduced for the 1966 season.
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| abstract | - The 1966 Monaco Grand Prix, officially known as the XXIV Grand Prix Automobile de Monaco, was the opening round of the 1966 FIA Formula One World Championship, held on the Circuit de Monaco on the 22nd of May, 1966. The race, which saw Team Lotus and Jim Clark arrive to open the defence of their 1965, was the first race of the three litre era of Formula One, introduced for the 1966 season. The new engine regulations caused chaos during the off-season, despite the fact they had been announced back in 1964. Team Lotus, for instance, arrived with two different engines, Clark using a customised Climax 2.0 litre V8 engine, while Peter Arundell was handed an experimental BRM 3.0 litre H16 powered car. It would be the Scot, however, who danced his way to pole, joined by John Surtees on the front row, the Englishman having almost completely recovered from a horrendous CanAm crash back in 1965. Off the line, Surtees snatched the lead as Clark got caught out by gearbox problems, with Jackie Stewart and Graham Hill joining the Ferrari at the front of the field. Clark began to drive round his gearbox failure, and when Surtees retired on the fifteenth lap, the World Champion was up to fifth, as Stewart inherited the lead. Jochen Rindt and Lorenzo Bandini were surprise contenders in second and third, the Austrian putting Cooper back in the sun, until he went out with engine failure. Rindt's retirement meant that half of the sixteen starters had retired before the final third of the race, with Clark joining him with suspension failure. Richie Ginther also retired before the final stages, and with debutante Guy Ligier and veteran Jo Bonnier not classified, only four drivers were registered as finishers, a record for Formula One. As for the survivors, Stewart took the flag to claim a second career win, beating Bandini by over forty seconds. Hill claimed third, a lap off of his Scottish team mate, while Bob Bondurant made it to the flag five laps down to claim a maiden points finish in a privately entered BRM. The race was also notable as the first appearance of future F1 Champions McLaren Racing, using their own chassis with an adapted Sports Car engine. It was also the first time that Firestone tyres were used in a World Championship Grand Prix.
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