1968 F1 Season

Graham Hill Won Formula 1 Title for Lotus

Dec 14, 2008 Kevin Guthrie

Grand Prix racing suffered a massive loss in 1968 when Jim Clark died in a Formula 2 crash. It was fitting that his Lotus team-mate won the championship.

The 1968 Formula 1 season started with a familiar scene, Jim Clark out front in a green Lotus. Before long, everything had changed. Clark was killed and major commercial sponsorship arrived in Grand Prix motor racing.

A Season of Change in Formula 1

Although Denny Hulme had won the 1967 World Championship for Brabham, Lotus had emerged as the team to beat as the season progressed, using the type 49 chassis and fabulous new Ford DFV engine. Lotus had exclusive use of the DFV in 1967 but that changed for 1968. The engine would be made available to any team that could afford the £7,500 it cost to buy one. McLaren decided it was the way ahead, as did ambitious entrant Ken Tyrrell.

Driving for Tyrrell in 1968 was former BRM pilot Jackie Stewart. The Scotsman decided to team up with the man who had given him his first single-seater test, despite receiving an offer from Ferrari. Armed with a Matra chassis and a Ford DFV he proved to be a genuine championship contender.

Jim Clark’s Final Grand Prix Victory

The 1968 Formula 1 season opened in South Africa, at the elevated Kyalami circuit near Johannesburg. Clark was in peerless form, taking pole position, fastest lap and the race win. His Lotus team-mate Graham Hill finished second with young charger Jochen Rindt third in a Brabham. It was Clark’s 25th World Championship victory, from just 72 race starts.

There was a large gap before the next race in Spain, and during that time the racing world lost a giant. On a miserable April day in Germany Jim Clark’s Formula 2 Lotus left the Hockenheim circuit and slammed broadside into a tree. The double World Champion and 1965 Indy 500 winner didn’t stand a chance.

Graham Hill Boosts Morale at Team Lotus

It was a shattered Lotus team that turned up for the Spanish Grand Prix in May. After the shock of Clark’s death there came another blow. A month to the day after the Hockenheim crash Mike Spence perished after crashing a gas turbine Lotus during practice at Indianapolis.

Chris Amon took his Ferrari to pole position in Spain but the New Zealander suffered his usual bad luck in the race, retiring with a broken fuel pump. Victory went to Lotus driver Hill, providing some joy for his beleaguered team. Hulme, driving a DFV powered McLaren finished second, while Brian Redman managed to bring his Cooper-BRM home third.

1968 F1 season review continues.

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Lotus 49 Formula 1 car