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1968 FIA Formula One World Championship season
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Index: Races by country | Races by season

The 1968 Formula One season included the 19th FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on January 1, 1968, and ended on November 3 after twelve races.

Season summary[]

Although they had failed to win the title in 1967, by the end of the season the Lotus 49 and the DFV engine were mature enough to make the Lotus team dominant again. For 1968 Lotus lost its exclusive right to use the DFV. McLaren built a new DFV-powered car and a new force appeared on the scene when Ken Tyrrell entered his own team using a Cosworth-powered car built by French aeronautics company Matra and driven by ex-BRM driver Jackie Stewart.

Unsurprisingly the season-opening 1968 South African Grand Prix confirmed Lotus' superiority, with Jim Clark and Graham Hill finishing 1–2. It would be Clark's last win. On 7 April 1968 Clark, one of the most successful and popular drivers of all time, was killed at Hockenheim in a non-championship Formula Two event.

The season saw two significant innovations. The first was the arrival of unrestricted sponsorship, which the FIA decided to permit that year after the withdrawal of support from automobile related firms like BP, Shell and Firestone. In May the Lotus Formula One team appeared at Jarama in the Red, Gold and White colors of Imperial Tobacco's Gold Leaf brand. The second innovation was the introduction of wings, as seen previously on various cars including the Chaparral 2F sports car. Colin Chapman introduced modest front wings and a spoiler on Graham Hill's Lotus 49B at Monaco. Brabham and Ferrari went one better at the Belgian Grand Prix with full width wings mounted on struts high above the driver. Lotus replied with a full width wing directly connected to the rear suspension that required a redesign of suspension wishbones and transmission shafts. Matra then produced a high mounted front wing connected to the front suspension. This last innovation was mostly used during practice as it required a lot of effort from the driver. By the end of the season most teams were using sophisticated wings.

Despite the death of Jim Clark, Lotus won both titles in 1968 with Graham Hill, but Stewart was a serious contender, winning three Grands Prix in the Tyrrell-run Matra MS10. Stewart's winning drive during the rain and fog of the 1968 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, where he won by a margin of more than four minutes, is considered as one of the finest ever, even though his rain tires were probably better than those of the competition. The car's most innovative feature was the use of aviation-inspired structural fuel tanks. These allowed the chassis to be around 15 kg lighter, while still being stronger than its competitors. The FIA considered the technology to be unsafe and decided to ban it for 1970, insisting on rubber bag-tanks (Which meant the effective end of spaceframe chassis in F1). Safety became a major issue in Formula One.

McLaren fielded a pair of Cosworth powered M7s for reigning Formula One World Champion Denny Hulme and team founder Bruce McLaren. McLaren won the non-championship Brands Hatch Race of Champions, then the Belgian Grand Prix was the scene of the team's first Championship win. In doing so, McLaren became only the third driver to win a race in a car manufactured by his own team - Jack Brabham having done it in 1966 and Dan Gurney in 1967 at Spa Francorchamps. Hulme won the Italian Grand Prix and Canadian Grand Prix later in the year.

Repco produced a more powerful version of their V8 to maintain competitiveness against Ford's new Cosworth DFV, but it proved very unreliable. The Brabhams were fast — Jochen Rindt set pole position twice during the season — but Brabham and Rindt finished only three races between them, and ended the year having scored just ten points.[1]

1968 turned out to be a turning point in the history of Formula One, in terms of technicalities and safety. Wings were used on Formula One cars and aerodynamics really played a part in terms of the cars' performance, and 5 Grand Prix drivers were killed in this year- including Jim Clark, Mike Spence, Jo Schlesser and Ludovico Scarfiotti. It was the last year where all the races were run on tracks with almost no safety modifications. Schlesser's almost recklessly caused fatal accident at Rouen Les Essarts and the 1968 German Grand Prix run in atrocious rain and fog at the dangerous and long Nurburgring, a race that was even questioned at the start to be run in the almost intolerable conditions.

Season review[]

Rnd Race Circuit Date Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Constructor Tyre Report
1 25px South African flag after 1928 South African Grand Prix Kyalami January 1 25px UK Jim Clark 25px UK Jim Clark 25px United Kingdom Jim Clark 25px United Kingdom Lotus-Ford F Report
2 25px Template:Country alias Spain 1945 Spanish Grand Prix Jarama May 12 25px New Zealand Chris Amon 25px France Jean-Pierre Beltoise 25px United Kingdom Graham Hill 25px United Kingdom Lotus-Ford F Report
3 25px Monaco Monaco Grand Prix Monaco May 26 25px UK Graham Hill 25px UK Richard Attwood 25px United Kingdom Graham Hill 25px United Kingdom Lotus-Ford F Report
4 25px Belgium Belgian Grand Prix Spa-
Francorchamps
June 9 25px New Zealand Chris Amon 25px UK John Surtees 25px New Zealand Bruce McLaren 25px United Kingdom McLaren-Ford G Report
5 25px Netherlands Dutch Grand Prix Zandvoort June 23 25px New Zealand Chris Amon 25px France Jean-Pierre Beltoise 25px United Kingdom Jackie Stewart 25px France Matra-Ford D Report
6 25px France French Grand Prix Rouen-Les-Essarts July 7 25px Austria Jochen Rindt 25px Mexico Pedro Rodríguez 25px Belgium Jacky Ickx 25px Italy Ferrari F Report
7 25px United Kingdom British Grand Prix Brands Hatch July 20 25px UK Graham Hill 25px Switzerland Jo Siffert 25px Switzerland Jo Siffert 25px United Kingdom Lotus-Ford F Report
8 25px Germany German Grand Prix Nürburgring August 4 25px Belgium Jacky Ickx 25px UK Jackie Stewart 25px United Kingdom Jackie Stewart 25px France Matra-Ford D Report
9 25px Italy Italian Grand Prix Monza September 8 25px UK John Surtees 25px UK Jackie Oliver 25px New Zealand Denny Hulme 25px United Kingdom McLaren-Ford G Report
10 25px Canada Canadian Grand Prix Mont-Tremblant September 22 25px Austria Jochen Rindt 25px Switzerland Jo Siffert 25px New Zealand Denny Hulme 25px United Kingdom McLaren-Ford G Report
11 25px United States United States Grand Prix Watkins Glen October 6 25px USA Mario Andretti 25px UK Jackie Stewart 25px United Kingdom Jackie Stewart 25px France Matra-Ford D Report
12 25px Mexico Mexican Grand Prix Hermanos Rodríguez November 3 25px Switzerland Jo Siffert 25px Switzerland Jo Siffert 25px United Kingdom Graham Hill 25px United Kingdom Lotus-Ford F Report

Teams and drivers[]

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1968 FIA World Championship.

Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Tyre Driver Rounds
25px Great Britain Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren M5A
M7A
BRM P142 3.0 V12
Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8
G 25px New Zealand Denny Hulme All
25px New Zealand Bruce McLaren 2-12
25px Great Britain Brabham Racing Organisation Brabham BT24
BT26
Repco 740 3.0 V8
Repco 860 3.0 V8
G 25px Australia Jack Brabham All
25px Austria Jochen Rindt All
25px Great Britain Team Lotus
25px Great Britain Gold Leaf Team Lotus
Lotus 49
49B
Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 F 25px Great Britain Jim Clark 1
25px Great Britain Graham Hill All
25px Great Britain Jackie Oliver 3-12
25px USA Mario Andretti 9, 11
25px Canada Bill Brack 10
25px Mexico Moisés Solana 12
25px USA Anglo American Racers Eagle
McLaren
T1G
M7A
Weslake 58 3.0 V12
Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8
G 25px USA Dan Gurney 1, 3, 7-12
25px Japan Honda Racing Honda RA300
RA301
RA302
Honda RA273E 3.0 V12
Honda RA301E 3.0 V12
Honda RA302E 3.0 V8
F 25px Great Britain John Surtees All
25px France Jo Schlesser 6
25px Great Britain David Hobbs 9
25px Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 312 Ferrari 242 3.0 V12
Ferrari 242C 3.0 V12
F 25px New Zealand Chris Amon 1-2, 4-12
25px Belgium Jacky Ickx 1-2, 4-10, 12
25px Italy Andrea de Adamich 1
25px Great Britain Derek Bell 9, 11
25px Great Britain Owen Racing Organisation BRM P126
P115
P133
P138
BRM P142 3.0 V12
BRM P75 3.0 H16
G 25px Mexico Pedro Rodríguez All
25px Great Britain Mike Spence 1
25px Great Britain Richard Attwood 3-8
25px USA Bobby Unser 9, 11
25px Great Britain Cooper Car Company Cooper T81B
T86
T86B
T86C
Maserati 10/F1 3.0 V12
BRM P142 3.0 V12
Alfa Romeo T33 3.0 V8
F
G
25px Great Britain Brian Redman 1-2, 4
25px Italy Ludovico Scarfiotti 1-3
25px Belgium Lucien Bianchi 3-5, 8, 10-12
25px Great Britain Vic Elford 6-12
25px France Johnny Servoz-Gavin 6
25px Great Britain Robin Widdows 7
25px Great Britain Matra International Matra MS9
MS10
Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 D 25px Great Britain Jackie Stewart 1, 4-12
25px France Jean-Pierre Beltoise 2
25px France Johnny Servoz-Gavin 3, 9-10, 12
25px Template:Country alias Rhodesia 1968 Team Gunston Brabham
LDS
BT20
Mk 3
Repco 620 3.0 V8 F 25px Template:Country alias Rhodesia 1968 John Love 1
25px Template:Country alias Rhodesia 1968 Sam Tingle 1
25px Great Britain Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team Cooper
Lotus
T81
49
49B
Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12
Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8
F 25px Switzerland Jo Siffert All
25px Sweden Joakim Bonnier Racing Team Cooper
McLaren
Honda
T81
M5A
RA301
Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12
BRM P142 3.0 V12
Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8
Honda RA301E 3.0 V12
G 25px Sweden Joakim Bonnier 1, 3-5, 7, 9-12
25px France Matra Sports Matra MS7
MS11
Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4
Matra MS9 3.0 V12
D 25px France Jean-Pierre Beltoise 1, 3-12
25px France Henri Pescarolo 10-12
25px South African flag after 1928 Scuderia Scribante Brabham BT11 Repco 620 3.0 V8 F 25px South African flag after 1928 Dave Charlton 1
25px South African flag after 1928 Team Pretoria Brabham BT11 Climax FPF 2.8 L4 F 25px South African flag after 1928 Jackie Pretorius 1
25px Template:Country alias Rhodesia 1968 John Love Cooper T79 Climax FPF 2.8 L4 F 25px South African flag after 1928 Basil van Rooyen 1
25px Great Britain Reg Parnell Racing BRM P126 BRM P142 3.0 V12 G 25px Great Britain Piers Courage 2-12
25px Switzerland Charles Vögele Racing Brabham BT20 Repco 620 3.0 V8 G 25px Switzerland Silvio Moser 3, 5, 7-9
25px West Germany Caltex Racing Team Brabham BT24 Repco 740 3.0 V8 D 25px West Germany Kurt Ahrens, Jr. 8
25px West Germany Bayerische Motoren Werke AG Lola T100 BMW M12/1 1.6 L4 D 25px West Germany Hubert Hahne 8
25px Great Britain Bernard White Racing BRM P261 BRM P142 3.0 V12 G 25px Australia Frank Gardner 9
25px Canada Castrol Oils Ltd Eagle T1F Climax FPF 2.8 L4 G 25px Canada Al Pease 10

1968 Drivers Championship final standings[]

Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the top six placegetters in each race. Only the best five results from the first six races and the best five results from the remaining six races were counted towards a driver's total.[2]

Pos. Driver RSA
25px South African flag after 1928
ESP
25px Template:Country alias Spain 1945
MON
25px Monaco
BEL
25px Belgium
NED
25px Netherlands
FRA
25px France
GBR
25px UK
GER
25px Germany
ITA
25px Italy
CAN
25px Canada
USA
25px USA
MEX
25px Mexico
Pts.
1 25px UK Graham Hill 2 1 1 Ret 9 Ret Ret 2 Ret 4 2 1 48
2 25px UK Jackie Stewart Ret 4 1 3 6 1 Ret 6 1 7 36
3 25px New Zealand Denny Hulme 5 2 5 Ret Ret 5 4 7 1 1 Ret Ret 33
4 25px Belgium Jacky Ickx Ret Ret 3 4 1 3 4 3 DNS Ret 27
5 25px New Zealand Bruce McLaren Ret Ret 1 Ret 8 7 13 Ret 2 6 2 22
6 25px Mexico Pedro Rodríguez Ret Ret Ret 2 3 NC Ret 6 Ret 3 Ret 4 18
7 25px Switzerland Jo Siffert 7 Ret Ret 7 Ret 11 1 Ret Ret Ret 5 6 12
8 25px UK John Surtees 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret 2 5 Ret Ret Ret 3 Ret 12
9 25px France Jean-Pierre Beltoise 6 5 Ret 8 2 9 Ret Ret 5 Ret Ret Ret 11
10 25px New Zealand Chris Amon 4 Ret Ret 6 10 2 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 10
11 25px UK Jim Clark 1 9
12 25px Austria Jochen Rindt 3 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 3 Ret Ret Ret Ret 8
13 25px UK Richard Attwood 2 Ret 7 7 Ret 14 6
14 25px France Johnny Servoz-Gavin Ret Ret 2 Ret Ret 6
15 25px UK Jackie Oliver Ret 5 NC Ret 11 Ret Ret DNS 3 6
16 25px Italy Ludovico Scarfiotti Ret 4 4 6
17 25px Belgium Lucien Bianchi 3 6 Ret Ret NC Ret Ret 5
18 25px UK Vic Elford 4 Ret Ret Ret 5 Ret 8 5
19 25px UK Brian Redman Ret 3 Ret 4
20 25px UK Piers Courage Ret Ret Ret Ret 6 8 8 4 Ret Ret Ret 4
21 25px USA Dan Gurney Ret Ret Ret Ret 9 Ret Ret 4 Ret 3
22 25px Sweden Jo Bonnier Ret DNQ Ret 8 Ret 6 Ret Ret 5 3
23 25px Australia Jack Brabham Ret DNS Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 5 Ret Ret Ret 10 2
24 25px Switzerland Silvio Moser DNQ 5 NC DNQ 2
25px France Henri Pescarolo Ret DNS 9 0
25px Template:Country alias Rhodesia 1968 John Love 9 0
25px Germany Hubert Hahne 10 0
25px Germany Kurt Ahrens, Jr. 12 0
25px South African flag after 1928 Jackie Pretorius NC 0
25px UK Derek Bell Ret Ret 0
25px USA Mario Andretti DNS Ret 0
25px USA Bobby Unser DNS Ret 0
25px Italy Andrea de Adamich Ret 0
25px South African flag after 1928 Dave Charlton Ret 0
25px UK Mike Spence Ret 0
25px South African flag after 1928 Basil van Rooyen Ret 0
25px Template:Country alias Rhodesia 1968 Sam Tingle Ret 0
25px France Jo Schlesser Ret 0
25px UK Robin Widdows Ret 0
25px UK David Hobbs Ret 0
25px Canada Bill Brack Ret 0
25px Mexico Moisés Solana Ret 0
25px Australia Frank Gardner DNQ 0
Pos. Driver RSA
25px South African flag after 1928
ESP
25px Template:Country alias Spain 1945
MON
25px Monaco
BEL
25px Belgium
NED
25px Netherlands
FRA
25px France
GBR
25px UK
GER
25px Germany
ITA
25px Italy
CAN
25px Canada
USA
25px USA
MEX
25px Mexico
Pts.
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish, inc. non-classified finish
Purple Did not finish (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Light blue Practiced only (PO)
Friday test driver (TD) - 2003-2007 only
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Injured or ill (Inj)
Excluded (EX)
Did not arrive (DNA)


1968 Constructors Championship final standings[]

Points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the first six finishers at each round, however only the best placed car from each manufacturer was eligible to score points. The best five results from the first six rounds and the best five results from the last six rounds were retained.

Pos. Manufacturer RSA
25px South African flag after 1928
ESP
25px Template:Country alias Spain 1945
MON
25px Monaco
BEL
25px Belgium
NED
25px Netherlands
FRA
25px France
GBR
25px UK
GER
25px Germany
ITA
25px Italy
CAN
25px Canada
USA
25px USA
MEX
25px Mexico
Pts.[3]
1 25px Great Britain Lotus-Ford 1 1 1 5 9 11 1 2 Ret 4 2 1 62
2 25px Great Britain McLaren-Ford 2 5 1 Ret 5 4 7 1 1 4 2 49
3 25px France Matra-Ford 6 5 Ret 4 1 3 6 1 2 6 1 7 45
4 25px Italy Ferrari 4 Ret 3 4 1 2 4 3 Ret Ret Ret 32
5 25px Great Britain BRM Ret Ret 2 2 3 6 8 6 4 3 Ret 4 28
6 25px Japan Honda 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret 2 5 Ret Ret Ret 3 5 14
7 25px Great Britain Cooper-BRM Ret 3 3 6 Ret 4 Ret Ret Ret 5 NC 8 14
8 25px Great Britain Brabham-Repco 3 Ret Ret Ret 5 Ret Ret 3 Ret Ret Ret 10 10
9 25px France Matra Ret 8 2 9 Ret Ret 5 Ret Ret 9 8
10 25px Great Britain McLaren-BRM 5 Ret 8 Ret 6 Ret NC 3
25px Great Britain Cooper-Maserati 7 0
25px USA Eagle-Weslake Ret Ret Ret 9 Ret 0
25px UK Lola-BMW 10 0
25px Great Britain Brabham-Climax NC 0
25px South African flag after 1928 LDS-Repco Ret 0
25px UK Cooper-Climax Ret 0
Pos. Manufacturer RSA
25px South African flag after 1928
ESP
25px Template:Country alias Spain 1945
MON
25px Monaco
BEL
25px Belgium
NED
25px Netherlands
FRA
25px France
GBR
25px UK
GER
25px Germany
ITA
25px Italy
CAN
25px Canada
USA
25px USA
MEX
25px Mexico
Pts.
  • Bold results counted to championship totals.

Non-Championship race results[]

Other Formula One races held in 1968, which did not count towards the World Championship.

Race Name Circuit Date Winning driver Constructor Report
25px UK III Race of Champions Brands Hatch March 17 25px New Zealand Bruce McLaren 25px UK McLaren-Cosworth Report
25px UK XX BRDC International Trophy Silverstone April 25 25px New Zealand Denny Hulme 25px UK McLaren-Cosworth Report
25px UK XV International Gold Cup Oulton Park August 17 25px UK Jackie Stewart 25px France Matra-Cosworth Report
Formula One World Championship seasons

19501951195219531954195519561957195819591960196119621963196419651966196719681969197019711972197319741975197619771978197919801981198219831984198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023


References[]

  1. Fearnley (May 2006) p. 41
  2. Mike Kettlewell, The Champion Book of World Championship Facts and Figures, 1982, Page 25
  3. Only the best 5 results from the first 6 rounds and the best 5 results from the last 6 rounds counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

External links[]


Smallwikipedialogo.png This page uses some content from Wikipedia. The original article was at 1968 Formula One season. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Autopedia, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


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