The weather in Monaco in 1962 was not what one would have expected in early June and practice was disrupted by rain. Jim Clark took pole position in his Lotus with Graham Hill (BRM) and Bruce McLaren (Cooper) sharing the front row. Behind them were Willy Mairesse in a Ferrari and Dan Gurney's Porsche's while Jack Brabham's privately-entered Lotus was alongside the similar Rob Walker car of Maurice Trintignant and the British Racing Partnership Lotus of Innes Ireland. Then came the factory Ferraris of Phil Hill and Lorenzo Bandini, in his first race for the team.
Race day was overcast and the track was damp when the race began with Mairesse bursting through to try to take the lead at the start. He nearly lost control at the first corner and this enabled Hill and McLaren to get ahead while Clark was caught up in a traffic jam. Ritchie Ginther did not stop his BRM in time (although he was sure that his throttle stuck open) and he crashed into the Lotuses of Trintignant and Ireland, while Gurney's Porsche and Trevor Taylor's factory Lotus were also involved. Ireland and Taylor were able to rejoin but both were out of the running. To add to the excitement on that first lap Mairesse spun at the Station Hairpin and dropped to the back of the field. At the end of the lap McLaren led Graham Hill, Phil Hill, Jo Bonnier (Porsche), Bandini and Clark. Behind them came Tony Maggs (Cooper), Brabham and the Reg Parnell Racing Lolas of John Surtees and Roy Salvadori.
McLaren and G Hill battled for the lead during the first 10 laps exchanging places several times but then Hill began to pull away. P Hill dropped behind behind both Brabham and Clark, recovering from the first lap adventures and on lap 22 Clark moved ahead of Brabham to take third place. Six laps later Clark overtook McLaren for second. He then closed on the leader and was right behind Hill when the Lotus began having gearbox trouble. Hill was able to ease away again. On lap 55 Clark retired with a broken clutch. Graham Hill was left with a 48-second lead over McLaren with Brabham third although the Australian then came under pressure from Phil Hill and on lap 76 the Ferrari moved ahead. On the following lap Brabham made a mistake in Casino Square and bent his suspension.
G Hill's BRM then began to smoke badly and the lead came down until lap 93 when the BRM failed. McLaren took the lead and seven laps later the win. P Hill was second with Bandini third.