1968 French Grand Prix

Last updated
1968 French Grand Prix
Rouen track layout 1955-1971.gif
The Rouen Les Essarts circuit in 1968
Race details
Date7 July 1968
Official name LIV Grand Prix de France
Location Rouen-Les-Essarts, Grand-Couronne, France
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 6.542 km (4.065 miles)
Distance 60 laps, 392.520 km (243.901 miles)
Weather Wet
Pole position
Driver Brabham-Repco
Time 1:56.1
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of Mexico (1934-1968).svg Pedro Rodríguez BRM
Time 2:11.5 on lap 19
Podium
First Ferrari
Second Honda
Third Matra-Ford
Lap leaders
  • 1968 French Grand Prix

The 1968 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Rouen-Les-Essarts Circuit on 7 July 1968. It was race 6 of 12 in both the 1968 World Championship of Drivers and the 1968 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 60-lap race was won by Ferrari driver Jacky Ickx after he started from third position. John Surtees finished second for the Honda team and Matra driver Jackie Stewart came in third.

Contents

The French driver Jo Schlesser had a fatal accident on the third lap of the race, [1] [2] when he lost control in the then-new Honda RA302 chassis which overturned and caught fire partially due to its magnesium content.[ citation needed ] He was chosen as driver when regular Honda F1 driver John Surtees refused to drive the new car, opting for the older RA301 chassis, on the grounds that the new car was unsafe. This race was a turning point in Formula One as the death of Schlesser prompted many safety precautions in later races.

This was also the last F1 race to take place at Rouen-Les Essarts.

Classification

Qualifying

PosNoDriverConstructorTimeGap
12 Flag of Austria.svg Jochen Rindt Brabham-Repco 1:56.1
228 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jackie Stewart Matra-Ford 1:57.3+1.2
326 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Jacky Ickx Ferrari 1:57.7+1.6
48 Flag of New Zealand.svg Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford 1:57.7+1.6
524 Flag of New Zealand.svg Chris Amon Ferrari 1:57.8+1.7
610 Flag of New Zealand.svg Bruce McLaren McLaren-Ford 1:58.0+1.9
716 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg John Surtees Honda 1:58.2+2.1
86 Flag of France.svg Jean-Pierre Beltoise Matra 1:58.9+2.8
912 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Graham Hill Lotus-Ford 1:59.1+3.0
1020 Flag of Mexico (1934-1968).svg Pedro Rodríguez BRM 1:59.3+3.2
1114 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jackie Oliver Lotus-Ford 2:00.2+4.1
1234 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Jo Siffert Lotus-Ford 2:00.3+4.2
1322 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Richard Attwood BRM 2:00.8+4.7
144 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jack Brabham Brabham-Repco 2:00.8+4.7
1536 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Piers Courage BRM 2:01.1+5.0
1632 Flag of France.svg Johnny Servoz-Gavin Cooper-BRM 2:01.2+5.1
1718 Flag of France.svg Jo Schlesser Honda 2:04.5+8.4
1830 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Vic Elford Cooper-BRM 2:05.5+9.4

Race

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
126 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Jacky Ickx Ferrari 602:25:40.939
216 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg John Surtees Honda 60+ 1:58.676
328 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jackie Stewart Matra-Ford 59+ 1 lap24
430 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Vic Elford Cooper-BRM 58+ 2 laps173
58 Flag of New Zealand.svg Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford 58+ 2 laps42
636 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Piers Courage BRM 57+ 3 laps141
722 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Richard Attwood BRM 57+ 3 laps12 
810 Flag of New Zealand.svg Bruce McLaren McLaren-Ford 56+ 4 laps6 
96 Flag of France.svg Jean-Pierre Beltoise Matra 56+ 4 laps8 
1024 Flag of New Zealand.svg Chris Amon Ferrari 55+ 5 laps5 
1134 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Jo Siffert Lotus-Ford 54+ 6 laps11 
NC20 Flag of Mexico (1934-1968).svg Pedro Rodríguez BRM 53+ 7 laps10 
Ret2 Flag of Austria.svg Jochen Rindt Brabham-Repco 45Fuel leak1 
Ret4 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jack Brabham Brabham-Repco 15Fuel pump13 
Ret12 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Graham Hill Lotus-Ford 14Halfshaft9 
Ret32 Flag of France.svg Johnny Servoz-Gavin Cooper-BRM 14Accident15 
Ret18 Flag of France.svg Jo Schlesser Honda 2Fatal accident16 
DNS14 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jackie Oliver Lotus-Ford Accident in practice
Sources: [3] [4]
Jo Schlesser's Honda RA302 crashes at Virage des Six Freres, igniting the magnesium body and killing Schlesser. Schlesser.jpg
Jo Schlesser's Honda RA302 crashes at Virage des Six Frères, igniting the magnesium body and killing Schlesser.

Notes

Championship standings after the race

References

  1. "France 1968 • lap by lap" . Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  2. "French GP, 1968" . Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  3. "1968 French Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  4. "Grand Prix Results: French GP, 1968". Grandprix.com. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  5. 1 2 "France 1968 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 15 March 2019.

Further reading

Previous race:
1968 Dutch Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1968 season
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1968 British Grand Prix
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1967 French Grand Prix
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1969 French Grand Prix