Jack Brabham vs Bruce McLaren

1961·

Bruce McLaren beat Jack Brabham 5–3 at Cooper-Climax in 1961, helped by 6 retirements for Jack Brabham. Race-by-race qualifying, finishing and points record.

Jack BrabhamBruce McLaren

6Qualifying2

8 shared races

3Race day5

8 shared races

4Points11

in shared races, as awarded at the time

20Points (today’s rules)57

in shared races, rescored 25-18-15…

Wins: 0/0
Podiums: 0/1
Poles: 1/0
Retirements: 6/1
Best finish: P4/P3
Avg. grid: 9.4/11

Race by race

Round-by-round comparison of Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren
R	Grand Prix	Grid	Jack Brabham	Bruce McLaren	Points
1	1Monaco Grand Prix	21/7	Ignition	P6	0 / 1
2	2Dutch Grand Prix	7/14	P6	P12▼	1 / 0
3	3Belgian Grand Prix	11/15	Engine	Ignition	0 / 0
4	4French Grand Prix	14/8	Oil pressure	P5	0 / 2
5	5British Grand Prix	9/14	P4	P8	3 / 0
6	6German Grand Prix	2/12	Accident	P6	0 / 1
7	7Italian Grand Prix	10/14	Overheating	P3	0 / 4
8	8United States Grand Prix	1/4	Overheating	P4	0 / 3
	Average finish		P5.0	P6.3

How to read this table

The driver ahead in a round is shown in bold, the other in grey. Grid shows Jack Brabham / Bruce McLaren.
P1 a win,P3 a podium,DNF a retirement.
▲ a finish at least 4 places better than that driver’s own average finish this season (see the average row), ▼ at least 4places worse. Retirements are not counted in the average.

Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren in other seasons

Other seasons in which Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren were teammates
Season	Team	Matchup	Quali	Race	Points
1960	Cooper-Climax	Jack Brabham vs Bruce McLaren	8–0	5–3	43–37
1959	Cooper-Climax	Jack Brabham vs Bruce McLaren	7–0	4–3	28–16.5

Other Cooper-Climax battles in 1961

Other Cooper-Climax teammate battles in 1961
Matchup	Quali	Race	Points
Roy Salvadori vs John Surtees	1–4	4–1	2–2

Jack Brabham’s career Bruce McLaren’s career Cooper-Climax 1961 season All teammate battles

How these numbers are calculated

Only races both drivers started are counted. Entries that did not qualify, did not pre-qualify or were withdrawn are excluded, as are cars that never left the grid or the garage, and the Indianapolis 500 of 1950–1960.
Until the mid-1960s drivers could share a car during a race. Each driver is compared from the car they started (which sets their grid position), with the best result of any car they drove and the points from all of them, as officially credited.
Qualifying is compared on grid position rather than session times. Session-by-session qualifying data only exists from 1994, while grid position is recorded for over 99% of entries right back to 1950 — including every race of the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
On race day the driver classified ahead takes the round. If neither was classified, the one who completed more laps is credited; if both retired on the same lap it is scored as a tie and excluded from the tally.
Points are those awarded at the time and include sprint races from 2021. Where the season used an older system, a second points row rescores every round under the current system so seasons from different eras can be compared.
These are points scored in the races both drivers started, not their season totals: races either missed, or contested alongside a different teammate, are left out. Up to 1990 even full-season totals differ from the championship standings, because only a driver’s best results counted towards the title. In 1988 Alain Prost outscored Ayrton Senna 105 to 94 and still lost the championship. Theseason page has the final standings.