1963 French Grand Prix

The 1963 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Reims on 30 June 1963. It was race 4 of 10 in both the 1963 World Championship of Drivers and the 1963 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The race was won by Jim Clark driving a Lotus 25-Climax 1.5 litre V8.[1]

1963 French Grand Prix
Race details
Date 30 June 1963
Official name XLIX Grand Prix de l'A.C.F.
Location Reims, France
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 8.302 km (5.159 mi)
Distance 53 laps, 440.006 km (273.407 mi)
Weather Sunny, then rain
Pole position
Driver
Lotus-Climax
Time 2:20.2
Fastest lap
Driver Jim Clark Lotus-Climax
Time 2:21.6 on lap 12
Podium
First
Lotus-Climax
Second
Cooper-Climax
Third
BRM

Race report

Jim Clark took the lead at the start from Richie Ginther in the BRM. All Graham Hill's hard work in qualifying second despite mechanical problems in practice came to nothing when his engine died on the grid and his car had to be push started. The subsequent one-minute penalty dropped him well back. Clark led dominantly, his lead being extended when a stone pierced Ginther's radiator, forcing him into the pits. Jack Brabham took second place after a strong fight with Trevor Taylor, who also suffered mechanical problems.

Brabham then began to gain significantly on Clark as the Scot's Climax engine started to splutter, however this proved to be a sporadic fault and he had enough of a lead to maintain the position. Brabham himself was delayed when an ignition lead came loose,[2] handing second and third to Tony Maggs and a delighted Hill. Clark was over a minute ahead of them after yet another start-to-finish victory.

Classification

Qualifying
Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap
1 18 Jim Clark Lotus-Climax 2:20.2 —
2 2 Graham Hill BRM 2:20.9 +0.7
3 8 Dan Gurney Brabham-Climax 2:21.7 +1.5
4 16 John Surtees Ferrari 2:21.9 +1.7
5 6 Jack Brabham Brabham-Climax 2:21.9 +1.7
6 10 Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 2:22.5 +2.3
7 20 Trevor Taylor Lotus-Climax 2:23.7 +3.5
8 12 Tony Maggs Cooper-Climax 2:24.4 +4.2
9 32 Innes Ireland BRP-BRM 2:25.1 +4.9
10 36 Jo Siffert Lotus-BRM 2:25.2 +5.0
11 44 Jo Bonnier Cooper-Climax 2:25.7 +5.5
12 4 Richie Ginther BRM 2:25.9 +5.7
13 14 Ludovico Scarfiotti Ferrari 2:27.0 +6.8
14 42 Phil Hill Lotus-BRM 2:27.7 +7.5
15 28 Maurice Trintignant Lotus-Climax 2:28.3 +8.1
16 22 Peter Arundell Lotus-Climax 2:28.5 +8.3
17 30 Chris Amon Lola-Climax 2:30.5 +10.3
18 34 Jim Hall Lotus-BRM 2:30.9 +10.7
19 48 Masten Gregory Lotus-BRM 2:33.2 +13.0
20 38 Tony Settember Scirocco-BRM 2:36.7 +16.5
21 46 Lorenzo Bandini BRM 2:37.8 +17.6
Source:[3]

Race
Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 18 Jim Clark Lotus-Climax 53 2:10:54.3 1 9
2 12 Tony Maggs Cooper-Climax 53 + 1:04.9 8 6
3 2 Graham Hill BRM 53 + 1:13.9 2
4 6 Jack Brabham Brabham-Climax 53 + 2:15.2 5 3
5 8 Dan Gurney Brabham-Climax 53 + 2:33.4 3 2
6 36 Jo Siffert Lotus-BRM 52 + 1 lap 10 1
7 30 Chris Amon Lola-Climax 51 + 2 laps 17
8 28 Maurice Trintignant Lotus-Climax 50 + 3 laps 15
9 32 Innes Ireland BRP-BRM 49 + 4 laps 9
10 46 Lorenzo Bandini BRM 45 + 8 laps 21
11 34 Jim Hall Lotus-BRM 45 + 8 laps 18
12 10 Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 42 Ignition 6
13 20 Trevor Taylor Lotus-Climax 41 Suspension 7
NC 42 Phil Hill Lotus-BRM 34 Not Classified 14
NC 44 Jo Bonnier Cooper-Climax 32 Not Classified 11
Ret 48 Masten Gregory Lotus-BRM 30 Gearbox 19
Ret 16 John Surtees Ferrari 12 Fuel Pump 4
Ret 38 Tony Settember Scirocco-BRM 5 Wheel Bearing 20
Ret 4 Richie Ginther BRM 4 Radiator 12
DNS 14 Ludovico Scarfiotti Ferrari Practice Accident
DNS 22 Peter Arundell Lotus-Climax Driver raced in support race
WD 26 Giancarlo Baghetti ATS
WD 40 Ian Burgess Scirocco-BRM Car not ready
WD 50 Nasif Estéfano De Tomaso Car Not Ready
Source:[4]
  • Phil Hill was originally entered as car #24, to drive the ATS. When the ATS team withdrew, he switched to drive the Scuderia Filipinetti Lotus-BRM.

Notes
  • Graham Hill was push started, incurring a one-minute penalty from the organisers, and was awarded no championship points for his third place
  • By finishing 7th, at 19 years and 345 days old, Chris Amon became the youngest driver to finish a world championship race. This record would hold for another 38 years, until it was broken by Fernando Alonso at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix.

Championship standings after the race
  • Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
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References
  1. Small, Steve (1994). The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who. Guinness. p. 109. ISBN 0851127029.
  2. Mike Lang, Grand Prix!, Volume 1 1950 to 1965, page 222
  3. "1963 French Grand Prix". Motor Sport Magazine. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  4. "1963 French Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  5. "France 1963 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
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1963 Dutch Grand Prix		 FIA Formula One World Championship
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1963 British Grand Prix
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