I recently stumbled upon a full length and rather fuzzy film of this race at YouTube.
From when I first watched the race (in fits and starts, presumably, on BBC Grandstand) I found it riveting. I'm sure I don't need to remind TNFers of how it unfolded. I grabbed Motoring News the following Thursday on the way to school and Motor Sport a couple of weeks later. I read the reports over and over until it seemed I was there.
I recall DSJ reporting that Stewart was close behind Hill in the opening laps and in BRM 3, Doug Nye notes that "Stewart appeared to be following rather too closely, and on the 15th lap was signalled to open the gap slightly."
However, watching the film, I gained the impression that that young shaver Stewart was looking as if he wanted to pass his team leader. He was damn close and it looked as though he was actively sussing out passing opportunities. Certainly, he was driving with some flamboyance, sliding the car when Hill looked very serene at the front.
Passing your established team mate is par for the course for the impertinent youngsters of today but I recall a little more, ah, respect 50 years ago!
My recollection of that year is that it was quite apparent right from the first race (in South Africa) that Jackie was quite something and would be challenging Graham Hill (and everyone else!) before too long. I was present at his victory at the International Trophy and was enormously impressed, as I had been when I first saw him in the Cooper-BMC at Silverstone. But watching the Monaco film suggested that he was really pushy from very early in the season.
Was he really shaping up to pass Graham Hill at Monaco? I consulted Life at the Limit and Winning is not enough. Graham makes no reference to Jackie during the 'pre-Bob Anderson' part of the race and Jackie only mentions that he made an error in the lead on lap 29.
So perhaps I'm seeing naughtiness in Jackie's driving behind Hill while they were leading where there was none. Mea culpa in that case. I'm wondering if anyone here has spoken to Jackie about his recollections of those early laps. Was he merely following his leader? Was he, perhaps, demonstrating to all and sundry that he could easily live with Hill around this circuit? Or was he, perhaps, looking for a gap?
Edited by Gary Davies, 04 September 2017 - 13:22.