Jim Clark won the Drivers' Championship in a Lotus-Climax.[1] It was his second and last championship. Lotus were also awarded the International Cup for F1 Manufacturers for the second time.[2]
Having entered one race in 1964, Jochen Rindt was offered a full-time seat at Cooper, after 1961 champion Phil Hill had retired from single-seater racing.
For the first time, the championship started in South Africa, and it did on the very first day of the year. Sixteen drivers were invited to the event and guaranteed a place on the grid. There were four places remaining, but fourteen drivers applied. Through pre-qualifying and subsequent qualifying, the grid was filled. The drivers started in order of their fastest qualifying times: 1963 champion Jim Clark in his Lotus-Climax was on pole position, ahead of 1964 champion John Surtees (Ferrari) and 1959 and 1960 champion Jack Brabham (Brabham). After the start, Clark led away with his teammate Mike Spence up to second. Not many changes in positions happened after that, until Brabham's engine started misfiring, leaking oil, and sending Spence in a spin on the next lap. The podium was taken by Clark, Surtees and 1962 champion Graham Hill (BRM). Spence and Brabham finished fourth and eighth, respectively.[4]
Just short of a full five months later, the Monaco Grand Prix was held and for this race, the organisers guaranteed one place on the grid for each factory team. The rest of the applicants had to be fast enough during qualifying to gain a starting ticket. In disagreement, Lotus decided to withdraw from the event, instead entering the Indianapolis 500 a day later. Hill started on pole position, ahead of Brabham and Hill's teammate Jackie Stewart. Brabham fell back and the two BRMs led away. Hill lost a lot of time when he had to avoid a backmarker, going up the escape road and having to push his car back onto the track. On lap 30, Stewart spun coming out of the fastest corner, before Brabham's Climax engine seized. Hill made it back into the lead, ahead of the Ferraris of Bandini and Surtees. Richard Attwood crashed in the hairpin, the leaders narrowly avoiding him, before Paul Hawkins crashed into the harbour. His car sank to the bottom but Hawkins was unhurt, as was Attwood. Hill took the win, ahead of Bandini and Stewart, after Surtees ran out of fuel with a lap to go.[5]
For the Belgian Grand Prix, Hill started on pole again, ahead of Clark and Stewart. Rain fell and everyone held a safe distance from the car in front, except Clark, who took the lead through the most dangerous corner on the track, the Masta Kink. He quickly pulled out a big lead and even lapped Hill. Stewart finished second, ahead of Bruce McLaren, Brabham and Hill. Attwood crashed at Masta, his Lotus breaking in half and catching fire, but the driver escaping with only minor burns.[6]
Jim Clark (Lotus) was leading the Drivers' Championship with 18 points, ahead of Graham Hill (BRM, 15) and debutant Jackie Stewart (BRM, 11). In the Manufacturers' Championship, BRM was leading with 19 points, ahead of Lotus (18) and Ferrari (12).
The British Grand Prix was run at Silverstone, where Clark scored another pole position, ahead of Hill and Honda driver Richie Ginther. At the start, Ginther challenged Clark for the lead, but fell back to fourth and then retired on lap 26. Surtees was fighting for third place against Lotus driver Mike Spence, while his team leader suddenly slowed down. The Climax engine was losing oil and Clark was coasting round the corners, only using power on the straights. Hill did anything within his might to chase his rival down, but the Lotus hang on to finish with 3 seconds to spare. Surtees came in third.[9]
The Dutch Grand Prix was run just a week later and all eyes were on Clark. It was his rival Hill, however, that scored pole position. Clark started in second, Ginther again in third. Moments before the flag fell, Lotus team owner Colin Chapman was involved in a brawl with the Dutchpolice. It would result in his arrest and a two-day imprisonment. The race went on unhindered, however, and saw Ginther take the lead. On lap 5, Hill and Clark were back at the front, with the Lotus soon getting ahead. Hill then lost second place to his teammate Stewart and third place to Brabham driver Dan Gurney. Clark scored his fifth win of the season, ahead of Stewart, his fourth podium, and Gurney, his first podium of the year.[10]
It was Clark on top again during qualifying for the German Grand Prix, with more than 3 seconds over the BRMs of Stewart and Hill. At the start, Surtees's gearbox went wrong and he fell back. It would lead to his retirement on lap 11. Clark and Hill were fighting for the lead, while Stewart's suspension failed and he handed third place to Gurney. Clark broke the lap record a couple of times and won his fifth consecutive race. It was the first time since Jack Brabham in 1960 that a driver achieved this feat. Hill was second, Gurney third.[11]
Jim Clark (Lotus) was still leading the Drivers' Championship, now at 54 points, ahead of Graham Hill (BRM, 30) and Jackie Stewart (BRM, 25). Hill would have to win the remaining three races to prevent Clark from becoming champion. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Lotus led with 54 points, ahead of BRM (39) and Scuderia Ferrari (21).
Championship favourite Jim Clark (Lotus) achieved his fifth pole position of the year at the Italian Grand Prix, ahead of John Surtees for Ferrari and Jackie Stewart for BRM. At the start, Surtees had problems with his clutch, so Clark and Stewart were followed by Graham Hill, who had to finish first to stay in the race for the championship. The top three were engaged in a slipstream battle and the lead changed hands lap after lap. With ten laps to go, Clark suddenly stopped with a failing fuel pump, so Hill and Stewart were free to fight over the win in equal machinery. Going into the last lap, Hill touched the grass with his outer wheels, almost spinning but certainly valuable seconds. Stewart won his first race, with Hill in second and Dan Gurney in third. Despite Clark's retirement, Hill's second place meant that the 1965 championship was now decided.[12]
Hill started on pole for the United States Grand Prix, ahead of Clark and Honda driver Richie Ginther. Clark quickly grabbed the lead but soon retired with a broken piston. As it had happened more often, Ginther fell back, while his American rival Gurney went up the order. He came within four seconds of Hill when the Brit slid off the track, but when he made a mistake himself, his team leader Jack Brabham took second place. The Australian challenged Hill for the lead, but was unable to get by, and then became the third top-runner to take to the grass. The order at the finish was Hill, Gurney, Brabham. Lotus clinched the Manufacturers' Championship, seeing that BRM could no longer catch them in the last race.[13]
The season ended with the Mexican Grand Prix, where Clark scored another pole position, ahead of Americans Gurney and Ginther. The Honda driver took the lead at the start, while Stewart got up to second, before being passed by Mike Spence. His teammate Clark suffered his third consecutive retirement, before Stewart went out at the half-way point, and Hill's engine gave out with ten laps to go. Gurney passed Spence for second place and came within 3 seconds of the leader, but Ginther held on to his and Honda's first win.[14]
Jim Clark (Lotus) was awarded the 1965 Drivers' Championship after scoring 54 points, ahead of Graham Hill (BRM, 40) and Jackie Stewart (BRM, 33). Lotus clinched the Manufacturers' Championship as well, with 54 points, ahead of BRM (45), with Brabham just overtaking Ferrari for third place (27 and 26 points, respectively).
Points were awarded to the top six classified finishers. Only the best six results counted towards the championship.
The International Cup for F1 Manufacturers only counted the points of the highest-finishing driver for each race. Additionally, like the Drivers' Championship, only the best six results counted towards the cup.
Numbers without parentheses are championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored. Points were awarded in the following system:
Other Formula One races were also held in 1965, which did not count towards the World Championship. The last of them, the 1965 Rand Grand Prix, was the first Formula One race for cars with 3-litre engines.
1 2 Only the best 6 results counted towards the championship. Numbers without parentheses are championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.
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