1966 Formula One season

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 saw the "return to power" with the introduction of the '3 litre formula', doubling maximum engine capacity from 1.5 litres. Jack Brabham won the World Championship of Drivers and Brabham-Repco was awarded the International Cup for F1 Manufacturers.

The season also included a number of non-championship races for Formula One cars.

Championship teams and drivers edit

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 M3A[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 T73 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

Calendar edit

Round Grand Prix Circuit Date
1   Monaco Grand Prix Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo 22 May
2   Belgian Grand Prix Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot 12 June
3   French Grand Prix Reims-Gueux, Gueux 3 July
4   British Grand Prix Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown 16 July
5   Dutch Grand Prix Circuit Park Zandvoort, Zandvoort 24 July
6   German Grand Prix Nürburgring, Nürburg 7 August
7   Italian Grand Prix Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza 4 September
8   United States Grand Prix Watkins Glen International, New York 2 October
9   Mexican Grand Prix Magdalena Mixhuca, Mexico City 23 October

Calendar changes edit

The South African Grand Prix at the Prince George Circuit was run as a non championship race.

The French Grand Prix was moved from the Charade Circuit to Reims-Gueux.

The British Grand Prix was moved from Silverstone to Brands Hatch, in keeping with the event-sharing arrangement between the two circuits.

Championship summary edit

 
Jack Brabham won his third and final championship, driving a Brabham-Repco
 
John Surtees placed second driving for Ferrari and Cooper
 
Jochen Rindt placed third driving for Cooper

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 2023) 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 2023) 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, their 3 litre designs not being ready. BRM's new H16 engine was largely unsuccessful, although 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.

Results and standings edit

Grands Prix edit

Round Grand Prix Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning constructor Tyre Report
1   Monaco Grand Prix   Jim Clark   Lorenzo Bandini   Jackie Stewart   BRM D Report
2   Belgian Grand Prix   John Surtees   John Surtees   John Surtees   Ferrari D Report
3   French Grand Prix   Lorenzo Bandini   Lorenzo Bandini   Jack Brabham   Brabham-Repco G Report
4   British Grand Prix   Jack Brabham   Jack Brabham   Jack Brabham   Brabham-Repco G Report
5   Dutch Grand Prix   Jack Brabham   Denny Hulme   Jack Brabham   Brabham-Repco G Report
6   German Grand Prix   Jim Clark   John Surtees   Jack Brabham   Brabham-Repco G Report
7   Italian Grand Prix   Mike Parkes   Ludovico Scarfiotti   Ludovico Scarfiotti   Ferrari F Report
8   United States Grand Prix   Jack Brabham   John Surtees   Jim Clark   Lotus-BRM F Report
9   Mexican Grand Prix   John Surtees   Richie Ginther   John Surtees   Cooper-Maserati D Report

World Drivers' Championship standings edit

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.

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 Second place
Bronze Third 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 edit

 
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 edit

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 edit

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 in staged racing scenes.

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b Only the best 5 results counted towards the championship. Numbers without parentheses are championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

References edit

  1. ^ 1974 FIA Yearbook, Grey section, pages 118–119
  2. ^ 1974 FIA Yearbook, Grey section, pages 120–121
  3. ^ "Belgian Grand Prix - Spa-Francorchamps, 12 Jun 1966". oldracingcars.com. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  4. ^ "McLaren M3A car-by-car histories". oldracingcars.com. Retrieved 20 January 2021.

External links edit