Motor Racing History – New British Teams & The Rear-Engined Revolution
The Rise of British Racing Green
Green cars began appearing more frequently on the grids of the the world’s Grand Prixs. BRM the first major British effort was floundering but Tony Vandervell (ed. a good Dutch name) who left the BRM project produced his own cars. Using and engine developed by the venerable firm, Norton Motor Cycles, he commissioned Colin Chapman to design a chassis to be built by the Cooper brothers, Charles and John. Cooper had built a thriving a thriving business building Formula-Three cars. Stirling Moss drove one of the new cars to victory in the International Trophy race at Silverstone. Ferrari and Maserati would continue to win races through the brilliance of drivers such as Fangio and Hawthorn, but the tide had turned. No longer would the red cars of Italy dominate the sport as they had since the War.
The British Grand Prix of 1957 saw a full complement of British Racing Green including three Vanwalls driven by Moss, Brooks and Stuart Lewis-Evans; two BRMs and three Coopers; one of them driven by Jack Brabham. Moss streaked into the lead and drew steadily away from the others only to suffer from engine problems. Seemingly done for the day on lap 26, He took over the car of Brooks who was in ninth place. A remarkable series of failures struck the leaders including a broken clutch, engine failure, a tire puncture, and finally a broken throttle linkage clearing the way for Moss to regain the lead! When Moss crossed the line the crowd erupted in patriotic celebrations – a British car had won the British Grand Prix with one of its sons.
The 1958 season started without one of its most famous names when Maserati decided top call it quits. Ferrari had a new model, the 246 Dino, for their drivers Hawthorn, Collins and the rising Italian star Luigi Musso. Vanwall had Moss, Brooks and Stuart Lewis-Evans once again while Cooper retained Brabham and Roy Salvadori. Beginning this season the cars were required to use gasoline instead of alcohol or methane. This would require some modification to the engines and Vanwall would not be able to complete these changes in time for the opening race in Argentina. The Grand Prix of Argentina was noteworthy as Moss, driving a Cooper, used one less pitstop and had to conserve his tires in the later stages of the race, just crossing the line with the canvas showing. The next race, Monaco was also won in a Cooper this time driven by Maurice Trintignant in a race of attrition. Remarkably both of these wins were scored in a private Cooper entered by Rob Walker.
In between the first two races there was a time span of four months.During this period Moss and Fangio entered a 500km car race in Cuba. Only Fangio never made it to the starting grid, having been kidnapped by Cuban rebels in support of Fidel Castro who were protesting the governments decision to sponsor the race in despite the terrible economic conditions. Thankfully he was freed shortly after the conclusion of the race which was won by Moss. It is unknown if Moss ever again had this kind of unwanted help!
The Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort had an all British race car podium with Moss the victor in a Vanwall followed by Schell and Behra in BRMs. The next race, the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa was won by Tony Brooks who’s fluid driving style seemed to compliment this circuit of broad high speed corners. The French Grand Prix saw both triumph and tragedy with Hawthorn scoring the first victory by Ferrari since 1956 and the death of Luigi Musso ending the great Italian line of succession. The race also marked the final race in Fangio’s great career.
Peter Collins had pledged at the beginning of the season that he would support his friend, Hawthorn, in his pursuit of the title. At Silverstone, Collins was good to his word when he sacrificed his own car to try to draw Moss into a duel. The strategy succeeded and moss’ car soon broke. Collins went on to win and his pal Hawthorn scored some much needed points for finishing second. This friendship tragically ended when Collins lost his life chasing Tony Brooks for the lead at the Nurburgring. Brooks went on to win the race.
The championship race now had a third player Tony Brooks. The fight moved on to Portugal. Here Moss was in command but a mistake by Moss and his sense of honor conspired to give his rival, Hawthorn the 6 points he needed to stay in the lead for the championship. Moss misread a pit sign that read HAW-REC to mean HAW-REG or regular missing the fact that his rival had just scored one point for setting the lap record. The other incident concerned allegations that Hawthorn pushed his car when it stopped on the course, which would have resulted in disqualification. Moss came to his defense and the points were restored. Two years later the same fate would befall Moss but no one spoke in his defense, the world of racing has changed.
The final race was in Morocco and saw Moss score fastest lap and win the race all for naught as Hawthorn would finish a easy second and become the first British World Champion by one point over Moss. Towards the end of the race Lewis-Evens crashed his Vanwall which ignited. The driver was able to scramble free of the wreckage but was now fully engulfed in flames. In his panic he ran away from his would be helpers. Six days later he would die from his burns.
Hawthorn retired from racing in December only to be killed in a road accident in January of the following year.
The End of the Old Order
The year was 1959 and the Grand Prix paddock was a very a different place. Gone were Fangio, Hawthorn and Collins. Vanwall had decided to quit Formula 1 during the winter and Maserati, Mercedes and Alfa Romeo were only distant memories. Cooper building upon their success in the junior formula entered the year committed to a full-time program. Cooper in partnership with their Australian driver/engineer Jack Brabham built a rear-engine car using a 2.5 Liter Coventry-Climax engine. The key advantages of their design was a low frontal area for improved aerodynamics and light weight of the total package. The T51 tipped the scales at 458 kg versus the front-engine BRMs of the time which weighed 673 kg. The use of the Cooper-Climax engine opened up a new opportunity for small teams to utilize specialty engines and go racing at the highest level of the sport. This development would open the door for future teams such as Brabham, McLaren and Surtees to name a few.
With the cancellation of the Grand Prix of Argentina the first race of the season would be Monte Carlo. Brabham inherited the lead and then the victory after the retirements of first Behra in a Ferrari and Moss in the Rob Walker Cooper. Zandvoort, the next race on the calendar, saw a surprise win by Jo Bonnier in a BRM. The was the marquee’s first victory after nine seasons. Ferrari showed that they were still a force to reckon with on fast circuits by scoring a 1-2 at Reims with Brooks leading his teammate Phil Hill. The Cooper’s were back in force for the British Grand Prix at Aintree where Brabham scored his second victory. His young teammate Bruce McLaren would finish third behind Stirling Moss. Ferrari, citing an Italian labor strike did not enter the race. The effect on the World Championship hopes of its driver Tony Brooks would prove fatal. The next race was the German Grand Prix which this year would be run on the banked Avus circuit. This being a horsepower track, provided Ferrari and Tony Brooks with a dominating win. Moss winless until now won the Portuguese Grand Prix and further tightened the World Championship race between Moss, Brabham and Brooks. Monza saw another victory for Moss with Brabham finishing third and once again picking up some valuable points.
There was a three month gap to the next race, the United States Grand Prix, to be held at Sebring the home of the 12 hour sports car race. The only chance that Moss would have for the title would be to win the race and after qualifying on the pole he was doing just that. Unfortunately his engine would not uphold its part of the bargain. This left the door open for Brabham who promptly ran out of fuel. Stubbornly pushing his car over the finish line he was awarded fourth place and the title. The victory went to the youngest driver in history to win a Grand Prix, the 22 year old New Zealander Bruce McLaren. Cooper won the Constructor’s Cup beating Ferrari by eight points. David had beaten Goliath and Grand Prix racing would never be the same again.
By 1960 only Ferrari of the major contestants used a front-engine car. The young Cooper driver, McLaren won the opening race in Argentina. Moss in a private Lotus scored a brilliant victory, in the rain, at Monaco. The next five races were all claimed by Brabham and he was well on his way to scoring a second consecutive World Championship. Monza was won by Ferrari and the season ender, the US Grand Prix, was captured by Moss. Cooper once again won the Constructors Cup and their drivers were 1-2 in the title race with Brabham taking the crown for the second time running. This was the last year of the 2.5 liter formula that had seen so much history.
The new formula for the 1961 season placed a minimum car weight of 450kg, limited engine size to 1500cc and banned the use of supercharging outright. The new rules were met with wide spread protest that these cars would be to under powered and lose fan interests. The British teams were most effected as they did not have a suitable engine and would be at a disadvantage to Ferrari for the foreseeable future.The development of a new V-8 Coventry-Climax engine was running into problems and most of the British teams had to rely on an old four-cylinder unit. Ferrari, since converted to the rear-engine format would have the advantage this year. Driving for Ferrari were two Americans, Phil Hill and Richie Ginther who were joined by the charismatic German Wolfgang von Trips.
Stirling Moss was relegated to a year old Lotus having been refused the latest factory model. Yet Moss would score the greatest victory of his career at Monaco. Moss recalls: “I’d say, without a doubt, that was my best race. I had to drive flat-out for all but about eleven of the 100 laps. And I mean flat-out. For the first few laps I was happy to pace myself, but when the others started to speed up I felt that I had to keep with the pack. I wouldn’t normally have gone for the lead so soon but it seemed the right thing to do.’ First Hill and then Ginther tried to force their way past. Always looking for the slightest mistake but there would be none this day.
After being pressured by the three Ferraris for the entire race it was finally the last lap and Moss miraculously was still in the lead:
“I thought, here we go, this is where they put their foot down and take me. From what I heard they were given signals by the Ferrari pits to “give all” but I managed to stay in front.”
Moss took the checkered flag 3.6 seconds in front of Ginther who was followed by Hill and von Trips in the other Ferraris. The Ferraris would not be stopped again. Even Reims where all of the factory Ferraris would fall victim to mechanical problems, was won by a private entrant, Giancarlo Baghetti, in a Ferrari. It was only Moss’s victory at Nurburgring and the death of von Trips at Monza that ruined a great season for Ferrari. The championship belonged to Phil Hill. Tony Brooks the former dental student who had battled for the championship against the likes of Hawthorn and and Moss announced his retirement. This gentle man was, next to Moss, the greatest British driver during the 1950’s and only the vagaries of fate deprived him as it did his, friend and rival, from his crown.
Goodwood
Ferrari correctly sensing that his cars could not maintain their dominance over the British contingent, sought to sign their best driver. Stirling Moss had earlier spurned the old man’s advances due to an incident that had happened earlier in his career when in 1951 Enzo Ferrari offered Moss a place in his team for a race at Bari. When Moss appeared for the first day of practice he asked which one of the cars was his, and was told that there would be no car. Ferrari had changed his mind and had given Moss’s car to Piero Taruffi. Moss swore that day that he would never race in one of the red cars but feeling a desire to once again have competitive car he considered this offer carefully. Seeing new British teams sprouting up like mushrooms Ferrari began to feel vulnerable.
To Moss he confided:
“I need you. Tell me what kind of car you want and I will make it for you in six months. Put your ideas on paper for me. If you drive for me, you tell me on Monday what you did not like about the car on Sunday and by Friday it will have been changed to your taste… If you drive for me, I will have no team, just you and a reserve driver. With Moss, I would need no team…”
Moss would not turn his back on Rob Walker so he suggested to him that he would drive a Ferrari as a Rob Walker entrant. Amazingly Ferrari agreed and a car was dutifully prepared and painted Rob Walker blue.
Moss never drove the Ferrari for he crashed and suffered career ending injuries at the Easter Monday meeting at Goodwood. Graham Hill in his book Graham, wrote: “I was leading the race comfortably, with Stirling still two laps behind me, when he flew past on the outside of a bend. Normally Stirling would never have attempted to pass anyone there, and as he overtook me he was already off the grass. Then, for no apparent reason, he just ploughed straight on into the bank. When he passed me he seemed to be completely out of control. Just what happened no-one will ever know – but I’m absolutely sure it wasn’t due to driver error.”
Moss hovered near death and when he finally awoke he was temporally paralyzed. On 1 May 1963, just over a year after his accident he returned to a deserted Goodwood and tested a race car. Even though he was able to lap the circuit at near racing speeds he found the effort extremely difficult. What had been natural was no longer and he shortly afterwards announced his retirement. The link to the past had been broken and a new generation would rise to the top. Their names were Clark, Surtees, Gurney and Hill.
British Racing Motors
After Ferrari’s success in 1961 the story would be completely different the next year. As is their wont at Ferrari their 1962 season suffered due to internal politics that exploded into a major rebellion at the factory that saw a mass walkout of engineers and technical staff including their chief engineer and team manager. The 1962 season would be fought with reworked 1961 cars driven chiefly by Phil Hill and supported by Willy Mairesse, Ricardo Rodriguez, Giancarlo Baghetti and Lorenzo Bandini in the face of a strengthened British and German challenge.
The German challenge was not in the form of either Mercedes or Auto Union but Porsche. Using a flat eight air-cooled engine which was mounted to a much improved tubular chassis they were ably driven by American Dan Gurney and popular Swedish driver Jo Bonnier. At Lotus Innes Ireland was unceremoniously replaced with Trevor Taylor to partner Colin’s “new boy” Jimmy Clark. To match his new star Chapman created the Type 25 using a monocoque chassis which resulted in the driver siting in an almost bathtub like structure. This type of construction allowed for increased rigidity and reduced weight, two of the most important aspects in chassis design. BRM had Graham Hill and Richie Ginther as numbers 1 and 2 respectively while Cooper had Bruce McLaren and Tony Maggs. Brabham, who had left Cooper, was busily preparing his own cars that would debut later in the season.
The season’s opening race was at Zandvoort, Holland. The raced opened with Clark, Gurney and Graham Hill battling for the lead. Mechanical failures would remove his two protagonists leaving Hill to win his first Grand Prix and BRM only their second. At the next race in Monaco both Hill and Clark looked set to resume their fight but soon both of their cars would let them down. Bruce McLaren went on to claim the victory followed by Phil Hill in the Ferrari. The Belgian Grand Prix at Spa would be remembered as the site of Jimmy Clark’s maiden victory. Ever since he began in Formula 1 it was not a question of if, but only when he would reach the top step of the podium.
The French Grand Prix was held at Rouen in Normandy. The first three positions on the grid were taken by Clark on the pole followed by Hill and McLaren. Ferrari was forced to withdraw from the race and when all the leaders suffered from mechanical trouble it was an opportunistic Dan Gurney who claimed a maiden victory for himself and for Porsche. Next up was the British Grand Prix held at Aintree. Ferrari was only able to enter one car which was driven by Phil Hill but he was unable to climb higher than 9th place when he was forced to retire with mechanical trouble. The crowd saw a race long duel between Clark and ex-motorcycle champion John Surtees in a Lola. But after losing second gear Surtees had to settle for second place. With his second win of the season, Clark was now in a tie with Graham Hill for the Championship.
The German Grand Prix at the famous Nurburgring saw Porsche determined to win the race in front of their home crowd. They did not disappoint their fans when Dan Gurney claimed pole position 3 seconds clear of Graham Hill’s BRM and ten seconds faster than the previous record held by Phil Hill in a Ferrari. The front of the grid was occupied by five different carmakers – Porsche, BRM, Lotus, Lola and Cooper, the race had all of the ingredients of becoming a classic.
The drivers whose names would become legends, were Gurney, Hill, Clark, Surtees and McLaren. The weather was such that would chill even the most ardent driver’s heart. With several minor landslides along the 14-mile track visibility dropped to less than 100 yards or the distance a race car would travel in just over one second. The start of the race was postponed for an hour to allow flood water on the track to subside. After circulating the track on their warm-up reconnaissance lap the cars warily formed on the grid. The crowds exceeding 350,000 even in the face of the atrocious conditions stood in silence in memory of their fallen hero, Wolfgang von Tripps. Then the flag dropped and the cars thundered away, that is all except for Clark’s Lotus which stalled on the grid but miraculously was not collected by a back-marker.
At the end of the first lap Gurney’s silver Porsche led, much to the satisfaction of the assembled dignitaries. But by the second lap Graham Hill was able to force his way into the lead. And so it remained for this battle between three great drivers at the top of their game with never more than 5 seconds separating the first and third cars. On a day when even the slightest mistake would mean disaster not a wheel was put wrong by this trio. Surtees who had passed Gurney was 3.5 seconds behind Hill with the taste of victory in his mouth he looked for the slightest opportunity to pounce. Setting himself up to slingshot past the leader on the last lap he was more determined than ever that the day would be his. Just at the decisive moment when he would make his move they came upon a lapped car and Hill was just able to reach the line 2.5 seconds in front of the raging Surtees.
With three races left in the Championship the turning point would come in the next race at Monza. The two leaders in the title fight were first and second on the grid. Clark surged into the lead at the drop of the flag but by the time the cars came around for the completion of the first lap the BRM of Graham Hill was in the lead. The third time around the green Lotus was nowhere to be seen, that is if you were looking for it on the track rather than back at its pit. Out with a seized transmission Clark could only watch his friend and rival Hill raced to a solid win and claimed a commanding lead in the Championship. Ginther in the other BRM was able to make it 1-2 for the team from Bourne.
After fifteen years and numerous setbacks that at times led to public ridicule, the championship was in their grasp. Unfortunately for them nobody had informed the Scotsman Clark that all was lost and after a convincing win at the United States Grand Prix the title would be settled in South Africa. Hill, who enjoyed a nine point lead on his rival had earned the maximum points allowed based on his complete races but Clark could still take the Championship on victories. And so it was that the failure of a 50 cent piece of hardware ended Clark’s Championship hopes in East London and gave the crown to Hill. Racing is all about skill mixed in with preparation and a little bit of luck and no one begrudged the new Champion on that day. At thirty-three, after six years of racing and only nine years from receiving his first driver’s license Graham Hill became England’s most popular champion. Starting as a mechanic earning 1£ a day he reached racing’s highest goal, Formula 1 World Champion.
The Natural
Jimmy Clark coming so close to the championship in only his second full season now knew what it would take to win the Championship and came to realize that his time would come sooner rather than later. The Lotus 25 was virtually unchanged from the previous year with attention paid to making it more reliable. Its engine the Climax V8 was further refined to give it increased driveability. They more than anyone else were eager for the new season to start.
Porsche, despite scoring their first victory chose to withdraw from Formula 1. John Surtees was signed to drive for Ferrari while Gurney moved over to Brabham. The first race of the season was again held in Monaco. Despite quick starts by Hill and and his BRM teammate Ginther, Clark was soon in the lead. After temporarily relinquishing second place to Surtees, Hill found himself in the lead when first Surtees had to pit to change his goggles and then Clark spinning at Gasworks due to a jammed gearbox and having to retire. The next race at Spa was a Clark demonstration of superiority when he lapped the field under torrential rains. Zandvoort saw another Clark victory by a lap over his nearest rival. Clark made it a hat-trick at the French Grand Prix at Reims and four in a row at Brands Hatch. Surtees was finally able to create a momentary pause to the Clark steam-roller with a well deserved win at the Nurburgring. This was Surtees’ first win of his four-wheel career.
For Monza both Ferrari and BRM had a new monocoque chassis. The Ferrari of Surtees stormed into the lead but fell victim to a broken valve spring. Clark assumed the lead but was strongly challenged by both Hill and Gurney. After both of his challengers suffered mechanical problems and were forced to retire Clark was able to coast to another victory which allowed him to capture the World Championship with three races remaining. Out of the three remaining races Clark was able to win two giving him seven victories out of ten races.
1964 looked to be another year of battle between Clark and Hill but there were stirrings at Ferrari that they would once again be a force to reckon with. But for the drivers of the red cars there would always be another obstacle to overcome. Surtees explains: “At Ferrari in those days you started with a handicap. Until Le Mans was over you couldn’t really do the work you wanted to do-and needed to do-in Formula One.” The first race was again at Monaco where Clark found himself on pole and shortly out of the race. Graham Hill led his teammate Ginther for a BRM 1-2 finish while Clark won the next two races at Zandvoort and Spa. The French Grand Prix saw Clark joined by Surtees on the front row but the race was won by Dan Gurney now driving for Brabham with Hill picking up second.
The British Grand Prix had Clark again on the pole but this time joined by Hill. They would finish the race in the same order. Surtees felt that while his Ferrari was becoming more and more competitive he could not let the duo of Clark and Hill get too far out in front. Nurburgring would be his turning point. Returning to his favorite circuit and the scene of his maiden victory scored only last year, Surtees responded by capturing pole position. In the race Clark jumped into the lead only to suffer mechanical problems that forced him to retire. Surtees assumed a lead that he would not relinquish. Wining the most difficult race on the calendar two years running proved that Surtees belonged to the first rank of drivers during the early part of his career.
At Zeltweg, Austria all three championship leaders were on the front row of the grid and all three failed to finish with the win going to Surtees’ teammate Lorenzo Bandini. This unfortunately would be the popular Italian’s sole victory of his brief career. Monza belonged to Surtees and Ferrari as they celebrated a very popular victory with their tifosi. Things tightened up when Hill won the next race at Watkins Glen and unlike last year the title would be won or lost at the last race.
The final race in Mexico saw Hill leading with 39 points, Surtees with 34 points and Clark with 30 points. At the start of the race Clark led off from his pole position but both Hill and Surtees were slow off the mark and found themselves 10th and 13th respectively. As the race progressed Hill was able to move up to third with Surtees now in fifth. All Hill had to do was stay out of trouble but unfortunately trouble was right behind him. Bandini driving for all he was worth looked for any opportunity to pass Hill and thought he had found it when Hill momentarily left the door open. Bandini dove for the inside but too late, leaving Hill nowhere to go but into the guardrail. Hill was able to return to the race but only after losing two laps. After Clark retired with a seized engine it was Bandini who allowed his teammate Surtees, to pass him into second place and the World Championship. Surtees could now add a four-wheel title to his seven two-wheel titles.
For the last year of the 1 1/2-litre Formula both Lotus and Brabham had at their disposal a Coventry Climax 32-Valve V8. Lotus also had a new monocoque Type 33 car while Brabham stuck with the proven tubular chassis. Disappointed at losing last years Championship despite winning the most races, Clark and Chapman were more determined than ever that 1965 would be different. Ferrari had their new flat-12 cylinder engine available should they need it to defend their Championship. Unfortunately for the Italian team this engine proved to be a step backward. Added to this mix was was the Honda Grand Prix car now in their second season and being driven by the Americans Richie Ginther and Ronnie Bucknum. Their V12 transverse mounted engine would soon become the class of the field.
BRM added a Scot of their own, the brilliant rookie Jackie Stewart to partner Graham Hill. Cooper was no longer a front line team though their drivers Bruce McLaren and newcomer Jochen Rindt were both capable of causing some discomfort to the leading teams.
And so the year began with South Africa holding the first race. The race was dominated by Clark in his Lotus who was followed by Surtees and Hill. Monaco was next and the race was held without Clark, who was at Indianapolis winning that year’s classic in a Lotus Type 38 powered by an American Ford engine under a partnership with the American giant that would have tremendous consequences for Formula 1 in the near future.The race was won by Clark’s rival Graham Hill in a BRM. Hill’s victory at Monaco was his third in succession.
Clark returned for Spa and won in the wet in front of the year’s sensation, Jackie Stewart. Clark and Stewart repeated their results at the French Grand Prix. The British Grand Prix as well as the Dutch and German fell to Clark’s all-out assault on the record books. With only the top six races counting Clark claimed a perfect score and his second World Championship.
Only when his Lotus suffered mechanical failure or was absent was there any hope for the others, such was his dominance. A broken fuel pump allowed Stewart a win in his maiden season and a engine failure allowed Hill to come through. Clark stood head and shoulders above all others, a natural talent that has not and may never be duplicated. The last race of the season was held at the Autodrome Magdalena Mixhuca in Mexico City. Always a problem for the teams due to the high altitude of the circuit it proved to be an Advantage to Honda as they and Richie Ginther claimed their first victory. Significantly this was also Goodyear’s maiden victory.
The Men from Down Under
The 1966 season would be the first under the new 3-liter formula and as always at the beginning of a new formula the results would go to the most resourceful. The scramble was on for the British teams to secure new power plants for the new season. Cooper bought their engines from Maserati as did Rob Walker. Bruce McLaren left Cooper to establish his own team and adapted Ford V8s originally intended for Indianapolis. Ferrari would have a new V12 while Lotus and BRM, left without an engine supplier following Coventry’s withdrawal, were forced to settle for modified Climax and BRM V8 engines bored out to 2-liters respectively. Dan Gurney left Brabham to his own team, All-American Racers. Brabham as usual going his own way commissioned Repco, an Australian parts manufacturer, to produce a new V8. Following the guidelines laid down by Brabham the engine was sturdy, light and compact. To replace Gurney, Brabham promoted Denny Hulme to number two.
Monaco was the scene for the first race of the new formula and saw Clark on the pole. The race was won by Stewart who was followed across the line by Surtees. The next race at Spa was marred by wet conditions that caused eight cars to leave the track including a serious crash by Stewart that found him trapped in his car. Fortunately his injuries were minor and the race was won by Surtees after fighting off a charge by Rindt in his Cooper-Maserati.
On the surface Surtees looked like a strong challenger for the title that year only to succumb to internal strife at Ferrari that resulted in his departure from the team. Surtees would later regret his departure from the Italian team. Brabham, after early season problems came in to his own in the middle races, scoring victories at Reims, Brands Hatch, Zandvoort and the Nurburgring. Monza saw a fluke victory by the Ferrari team and Ludovico Scarfiotti. Because of the failure by any of his challengers to garner significant points, Brabham clinched his third title. Clark would return to victory at Watkins Glen with the season closer going to Surtees, now driving a Cooper. The inaugural season of the new formula was won by Brabham more as the result of solid engineering rather than technical brilliance.
