1966 Formula One season

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The 1966 Formula One season was the 20th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1966 World Championship of Drivers^[1] and the 1966 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers^[2] which were contested concurrently over a nine-race series that commenced on 22 May and ended on 23 October. The season also included a number of non-championship races for Formula One cars.

Jack Brabham won the World Championship of Drivers and Brabham-Repco was awarded the International Cup for F1 Manufacturers.

Championship summary[]

The season was the first of the '3 litre formula', which saw maximum engine capacity doubled from the previous season. British constructors were forced to look elsewhere after Climax's withdrawal from racing. Ferrari appeared to be as well prepared as in 1961, but John Surtees, after winning the Belgian Grand Prix, left the team after a dispute at Le Mans to join Cooper. Under new regulations, cars completing less than 90% of the race distance were not classified and did not receive points, even if they finished in the top six. Also, the maximum race distance was reduced from 500 km to 400 km.

Jack Brabham took his third and final Drivers' Championship, this time in a car of his own manufacture with an Australian-engineered Repco V8 engine. In winning the championship in his own car, Australian Brabham became the first and (as of 2021) the only driver to ever win the World Championship in a car carrying his own name (the BT19 and BT20 models used were designed by Brabham's business partner Ron Tauranac). It is also the first time in the history of the World Championship dating back to 1950 that a non-European or British car had won the championship. Although both Jack Brabham and his teammate, New Zealander Denny Hulme both retired from the season opening Monaco Grand Prix (won by Jackie Stewart in his BRM), Brabham with their Oldsmobile-based Repco engine caught the rest of the teams on the hop with its speed and reliability. "Black Jack" finished fourth in Belgium, before winning his first race since the 1960 Portuguese Grand Prix by winning the French Grand Prix at Reims (the last time the Reims-Gueux circuit was used in Formula One). He then won the next three Grands Prix in Britain, Holland and Germany to make it four wins in succession and virtually secure his third championship win (only a drivers five best results counted towards the championship). With Hulme finishing fourth in the Drivers' Championship with 18 points with a second in Britain and thirds in France, Italy and Mexico, Brabham won the International Cup for F1 Manufacturers with 42 points, 11 in front of second-placed Ferrari.

Bruce McLaren (Bruce McLaren Motor Racing, later to become the successful McLaren team, the only team from 1966 other than Ferrari who are still in Formula One as of 2021) and Dan Gurney (Anglo American Racers) emulated Brabham by building their own cars, though with little initial success. BRM and Lotus used 2 litre engines for much of the season. BRM's new H16 engine was largely unsuccessful, though Jim Clark used one in his Lotus 43 to win at Watkins Glen. 1964 World Champion John Surtees was the only driver other than Jack Brabham who won more than one race in the season. He won the second round at Spa-Francorchamps for Ferrari, before later winning the final round in Mexico City driving a Cooper-Maserati V12. Ferrari's Italian driver Ludovico Scarfiotti gave the Tifosi something to cheer about when he drove his Ferrari 312 to victory in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Ferrari had a double celebration at Monza as Scarfiotti's teammate Mike Parkes finished 5.8 seconds behind in second place, just holding out third placed Denny Hulme by 0.3 seconds.

In an era of Grand Prix racing where driver safety was only just starting to be a concern, Briton John Taylor died of his injuries after a crash with Jacky Ickx during the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring.

During the Belgian Grand Prix at the 14.120 km (8.770 mi), wet Spa-Francorchamps circuit, future triple World Champion Jackie Stewart crashed his BRM at the high speed Masta Kink. Stewart lay trapped under his car in a pool of leaking fuel for 25 minutes as both Graham Hill and Bob Bondurant (who had both gone off the circuit nearby) borrowed a spectator's toolkit to free the Scotsman. Following his crash Stewart became a strong advocate of improving driver safety in not only Grand Prix but motor racing in general with things like vastly improved on-track medical facilities, of which there were virtually none at Spa at the time of his crash.

Jack Brabham's third Drivers' Championship (following wins in 1959 and 1960) saw him move into a clear second place behind legendary five-time champion Juan Manuel Fangio on the list of Drivers' Champions. The next three-time winner would be Jackie Stewart, who won championships in 1969, 1971 and 1973.

Championship schedule[]

Rnd	Race	Circuit	Date	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Constructor	Tyre	Report
1	Monaco Grand Prix	Monaco	22 May	Jim Clark	Lorenzo Bandini	Jackie Stewart	BRM	D	Report
2	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps	12 June	John Surtees	John Surtees	John Surtees	Ferrari	D	Report
3	French Grand Prix	Reims	3 July	Lorenzo Bandini	Lorenzo Bandini	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Repco	G	Report
4	British Grand Prix	Brands Hatch	16 July	Jack Brabham	Jack Brabham	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Repco	G	Report
5	Dutch Grand Prix	Zandvoort	24 July	Jack Brabham	Denny Hulme	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Repco	G	Report
6	German Grand Prix	Nürburgring	7 August	Jim Clark	John Surtees	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Repco	G	Report
7	Italian Grand Prix	Monza	4 September	Mike Parkes	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Ferrari	F	Report
8	United States Grand Prix	Watkins Glen	2 October	Jack Brabham	John Surtees	Jim Clark	Lotus-BRM	F	Report
9	Mexican Grand Prix	Magdalena Mixhuca	23 October	John Surtees	Richie Ginther	John Surtees	Cooper-Maserati	D	Report

Championship teams and drivers[]

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1966 FIA World Championship.

Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Tyre	Driver	Rounds
Bruce McLaren Motor Racing	McLaren-Ford	M2B	Ford 406 3.0 V8	F	Bruce McLaren	1, 8–9
	McLaren-Serenissima		Serenissima M166 3.0 V8			2, 4–5
Team Lotus	Lotus-Climax	33	Climax FWMV 2.0 V8	F	Jim Clark	1–6
					Geki	7
					Peter Arundell	8
					Pedro Rodríguez	3, 9
	Lotus-BRM	43 33	BRM P75 3.0 H16 BRM P60 2.0 V8			8
					Peter Arundell	2–7, 9
					Jim Clark	7–9
	Lotus-Ford	44	Ford Cosworth SCA 1.0 L4	D	Gerhard Mitter	6
					Pedro Rodríguez	6
					Piers Courage	6
Reg Parnell Racing	Lotus-BRM	33	BRM P60 2.0 V8	F	Mike Spence	All
	Ferrari	246	Ferrari 228 2.4 V6		Giancarlo Baghetti	7
Brabham Racing Organisation	Brabham-Repco	BT19 BT20	Repco 620 3.0 V8	G	Jack Brabham	All
					Denny Hulme	3–9
	Brabham-Climax	BT22	Climax FPF 2.8 L4			1–2
					Chris Irwin	4
Cooper Car Company	Cooper-Maserati	T81	Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12	D	Richie Ginther	1–2
					Jochen Rindt	All
					Chris Amon	3
					John Surtees	3–9
					Moisés Solana	9
Owen Racing Organisation	BRM	P261 P83	BRM P60 2.0 V8 BRM P75 3.0 H16	D	Graham Hill	All
					Jackie Stewart	1–2, 4–9
R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Brabham-BRM	BT11	BRM P60 2.0 V8	D	Jo Siffert	1
	Cooper-Maserati	T81	Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12			2–5, 7–9
DW Racing Enterprises	Brabham-Climax	BT11	Climax FPF 2.8 L4	F	Bob Anderson	1, 3–7
Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari	246 312/66	Ferrari 228 2.4 V6 Ferrari 218 3.0 V12	F D	Lorenzo Bandini	1–3, 5–8
					John Surtees	1–2
					Mike Parkes	3, 5–7
					Ludovico Scarfiotti	6–7
Anglo-Suisse Racing Team	Cooper-Maserati	T81	Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12	F	Jo Bonnier	1–2, 5–9
	Brabham-Climax	BT22	Climax FPF 2.8 L4			3
		BT7	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8			4
Team Chamaco Collect	BRM	P261	BRM P60 2.0 V8	G	Bob Bondurant	1–2, 4, 6–7
					Vic Wilson	2
Phil Hill	Lotus-Climax	25	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8	F	Phil Hill	1
	McLaren-Ford	[3][4]	Ford 406 3.0 V8			2
Guy Ligier	Cooper-Maserati	T81	Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12	D	Guy Ligier	1–6
Anglo American Racers	Eagle-Climax	Mk1	Climax FPF 2.8 L4	G	Dan Gurney	2–6, 9
					Phil Hill	7
					Bob Bondurant	8
	Eagle-Weslake		Weslake 58 3.0 V12		Dan Gurney	7–8
					Bob Bondurant	9
David Bridges	Brabham-BRM	BT11	BRM P60 2.0 V8	G	John Taylor	3–6
Shannon Racing Cars	Shannon-Climax	SH1	Climax FPE 3.0 V8	D	Trevor Taylor	4
J.A. Pearce Engineering Ltd	Cooper-Ferrari		Ferrari Tipo 168 3.0 V12	D	Chris Lawrence	4, 6
Caltex Racing Team	Brabham-Ford	BT18	Ford Cosworth SCA 1.0 L4	D	Kurt Ahrens Jr.	6
Tyrrell Racing Organisation	Matra-BRM	MS5	BRM P80 1.0 L4	D	Hubert Hahne	6
	Matra-Ford		Ford Cosworth SCA 1.0 L4		Jacky Ickx	6
Roy Winkelmann Racing	Brabham-Ford	BT18	Ford Cosworth SCA 1.0 L4	D	Hans Herrmann	6
					Alan Rees	6
Matra Sports	Matra-Ford	MS5	Ford Cosworth SCA 1.0 L4	D	Jo Schlesser	6
					Jean-Pierre Beltoise	6
Silvio Moser	Brabham-Ford	BT16	Ford Cosworth SCA 1.0 L4	D	Silvio Moser	6
Honda R & D Company	Honda	RA273	Honda RA273E 3.0 V12	G	Richie Ginther	7–9
					Ronnie Bucknum	8–9
Chris Amon Racing	Brabham-BRM	BT11	BRM P60 1.9 V8	D	Chris Amon	7
Bernard White Racing	BRM	P261	BRM P60 1.9 V8	D	Innes Ireland	8–9

• Pink background denotes F2 entrants to the German Grand Prix

World Drivers' Championship standings[]

Points towards the 1966 World Championship of Drivers were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis for the first six places at each race. Only the best five race results could be retained by each driver.

Australian Jack Brabham won the World Championship of Drivers driving for his own team, Brabham

John Surtees placed second driving for Ferrari and Cooper

Jochen Rindt placed third driving for Cooper

Pos. Driver MON BEL FRA GBR NED GER ITA USA MEX Pts.[a] 1 Jack Brabham Ret (4) 1 1 1 1 Ret Ret 2 42 (45) 2 John Surtees Ret 1 Ret Ret Ret 2 Ret 3 1 28 3 Jochen Rindt Ret 2 4 (5) Ret 3 4 2 Ret 22 (24) 4 Denny Hulme Ret Ret 3 2 Ret Ret 3 Ret 3 18 5 Graham Hill 3 Ret Ret 3 2 4 Ret Ret Ret 17 6 Jim Clark Ret Ret DNS 4 3 Ret Ret 1 Ret 16 7 Jackie Stewart 1 Ret Ret 4 5 Ret Ret Ret 14 8 Mike Parkes 2 Ret Ret 2 12 = Lorenzo Bandini 2 3 NC 6 6 Ret Ret 12 10 Ludovico Scarfiotti Ret 1 9 11 Richie Ginther Ret 5 Ret Ret 4 5 12 Dan Gurney NC 5 Ret Ret 7 Ret Ret 5 4 = Mike Spence Ret Ret Ret Ret 5 Ret 5 Ret DNS 4 14 Bob Bondurant 4 Ret 9 Ret 7 DSQ Ret 3 = Jo Siffert Ret Ret Ret NC Ret Ret 4 Ret 3 = Bruce McLaren Ret DNS 6 DNS 5 Ret 3 17 Peter Arundell DNS Ret Ret Ret 12 8 6 7 1 = Jo Bonnier NC Ret NC Ret 7 Ret Ret NC 6 1 = Bob Anderson Ret 7 NC Ret Ret 6 1 = John Taylor 6 8 8 Ret 1 — Chris Irwin 7 0 — Ronnie Bucknum Ret 8 0 — Chris Amon 8 DNQ 0 — Guy Ligier NC NC NC 10 9 DNS 0 — Geki 9 0 — Chris Lawrence 11 Ret 0 — Giancarlo Baghetti NC 0 — Pedro Rodríguez Ret Ret1 Ret Ret 0 — Innes Ireland Ret Ret 0 — Trevor Taylor Ret 0 — Moisés Solana Ret 0 — Phil Hill DNS Ret DNQ 0 — Vic Wilson DNS 0 Drivers ineligible for Formula One points, because they drove with Formula Two cars — Jean-Pierre Beltoise 8 — Hubert Hahne 9 — Jo Schlesser 10 — Hans Herrmann 11 — Piers Courage Ret — Alan Rees Ret — Kurt Ahrens Jr. Ret — Jacky Ickx Ret — Silvio Moser DNS — Gerhard Mitter DNS Pos. Driver MON BEL FRA GBR NED GER ITA USA MEX Pts.

Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Other points position Blue Other classified position Not classified, finished (NC) Purple Not classified, retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Excluded (EX) Did not arrive (DNA) Withdrawn (WD) Did not enter (cell empty) Text formatting Meaning Bold Pole position Italics Fastest lap

• ¹ – Ineligible for Formula One points, because he drove with a Formula Two car.

International Cup for F1 Manufacturers standings[]

Brabham-Repco won the 1966 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers

Ferrari placed second in the Manufacturers' title

Cooper-Maserati placed third

Points were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis at each round with only the best five round results retained. Only the best placed car from each manufacturer at each round was eligible to score points.

Pos.	Manufacturer	MON	BEL	FRA	GBR	NED	GER	ITA	USA	MEX	Pts.[a]
1	Brabham-Repco	Ret	(4)	1	1	1	1	(3)	Ret	2	42 (49)
2	Ferrari	2	1	2		6	(6)	1	Ret		31 (32)
3	Cooper-Maserati	NC	2	4	(5)	7	2	(4)	2	1	30 (35)
4	BRM	1	Ret	Ret	3	2	4	7	Ret	Ret	22
5	Lotus-BRM	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	5	12	5	1	7	13
6	Lotus-Climax	Ret	Ret	Ret	4	3	Ret	9	6	Ret	8
7	Eagle-Climax		NC	5	Ret	Ret	7	DNQ	DSQ	5	4
8	Honda							Ret	NC	4	3
9	McLaren-Ford	Ret	Ret						5	Ret	2
10	Brabham-Climax	Ret	Ret	7	7	Ret	Ret	6			1
=	Brabham-BRM	Ret		6	8	8	Ret	DNQ			1
=	McLaren-Serenissima		DNS		6	DNS					1
—	Cooper-Ferrari				11		Ret				0
—	Eagle-Weslake							Ret	Ret	Ret	0
—	Shannon-Climax				Ret						0
Pos.	Manufacturer	MON	BEL	FRA	GBR	NED	GER	ITA	USA	MEX	Pts.

• Bold results counted to championship totals.

Non-championship races[]

Four other Formula One races were held in 1966, which did not count towards the World Championship.

Race name	Circuit	Date	Winning driver	Constructor	Report
South African Grand Prix	Prince George	1 January	Mike Spence	Lotus-Climax	Report
Gran Premio di Siracusa	Syracuse	1 May	John Surtees	Ferrari	Report
BRDC International Trophy	Silverstone	14 May	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Repco	Report
International Gold Cup	Oulton Park	17 September	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Repco	Report

Grand Prix – the movie of the 1966 Formula One season[]

The film Grand Prix is a fictionalized version of the 1966 season, which includes footage of the actual races edited together with footage of actors.

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

• Results and images at f1-facts.com
• The Formula One Archives at www.silhouet.com