A total of 17 Formula One cars were entered for the event. The field was bolstered by a pair of Formula Two Matras. The Monaco circuit with its tight layout, gave the 3-litre cars no advantage, thus many top teams entered their drivers in 2 or 2.5-litre cars. In fact the Formula Two Matras were powered by 1.6-litre Cosworth engines. Honda was back with John Surtees, with a V12 engine and the Anglo American Racers were at Monaco for the first time, with their Eagle-Weslake.
The opening few laps were eventful – Bandini going into the lead. Brabham's Repco engine blew up almost immediately, at Spélugues cruve, and he spun in front of Bruce McLaren and Jo Siffert who collided taking avoiding action. Only Siffert damaged his car and had to pit for repairs. Brabham continued, but was losing oil from Mirabeau to the port, whilst Clark had to take to the escape road after slipping on Brabham's oil. On lap two Clark went off and dropped to the rear of the field, while Hulme and Stewart managed to pass Bandini into the lead after he too slipped on Brabham's oil. Hulme stayed in front until the sixth lap when Stewart swept past, until his crownwheel and pinion broke on lap 14. Hulme re-took the lead. The race settled down with Bandini second, McLaren third, after the departure of Surtees, with an engine failure. Clark's heroic battle from 14th up to fourth ended with broken shock absorber on lap 43. This promoted Chris Amon to fourth. In the second half of the race, Bandini began to close in on Hulme. McLaren was holding Amon at bay until he was forced into the pits to change a battery. This dropped him behind Amon and Graham Hill. Piers Courage in the BRM had spun out on the hill just out of Sainte Devote by lap 65 and retired immediately after pulling off the track.
Lap 82 accident and finish
On lap 82 disaster struck. Bandini's chase ended in horror when he clipped the chicane and hit a hidden mooring head, with the car turning over and exploding into flames amongst the straw bales. Bandini was trapped underneath his car. The rescue operation was hopelessly inadequate, the intervention was very slow and precious minutes passed before the fire was extinguished and Bandini was rescued and rushed to hospital. The rescue was not helped by a helicopter carrying a television camera crew, as it hovered at low level, the downdraught from the rotor blades fanned what remained of the fire, which reignited with a new ferocity. Meanwhile, Hulme continued to lead the race to the finish unchallenged. With just eight laps to go, Amon suffered a puncture and dropped to third, with second going to Hill.
Post-race
Bandini suffered horrendous burns and died of these injuries three days later - the tragedy overshadowing Hulme's first victory on one of the world's most difficult circuits. When the news broke, many of the star drivers were travelling to the United States to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. This was the last Monaco Grand Prix that was to run for 100 laps. Following the sad events of this race, straw bales were banned from Grand Prix circuits. The development of fire-retardant fuel systems and flameproof clothing for drivers and marshals was accelerated, and never again would a TV camera crew be allowed to fly a helicopter low over a burning car.
