1966 Monaco Grand Prix

Entrants

The first World Championship race of the new 3-litre era arrives with no team fully prepared. Ferrari and BRM, who build their own engines, are not yet running at their new formula’s full potential. Several teams are starting the season with 1965-specification engines — enlarged Climax V8s, or even the pre-1961 2.5-litre Coventry Climax four-cylinder. Some have downsized sports car engines to suit the new rules, but these are heavy and short on power.

Two new constructors make their World Championship debuts. Bruce McLaren has entered the McLaren M2B with a Ford 406 3-litre V8, the team’s first ever championship start. Jack Brabham debuts the Brabham BT19 with the new Repco V8, developed with Australian engineering company Repco — the first Australian engine supplier in Formula One. John Surtees races despite still recovering from injuries sustained in a crash at Mosport Park.

The Grand Prix film is being shot alongside the race weekend — John Frankenheimer’s production will use actual race footage. McLaren, whose car would normally carry British racing green or New Zealand colours, enters in white and green so that the M2B can double for the fictional Yamura cars in the film.