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1965 British Grand Prix, Silverstone

10th July 1965

After 1964's flirtation with Brands Hatch, the RAC Grand Prix was back at Silvertone. As with Spa, Clark had won the previous three British Grand Prix, with victories at Silverstone in 1963 and Aintree in 1962 in addition to his 1964 win here, and was looking to extend his championship lead.

The Entry

There were several changes from the French Grand Prix. Surtees had finally decided to try the flat-12 Ferrari, with two V8 cars also being brought along, one as a spare for Surtees and the other for Bandini to race. Jack Brabham returned to drive for his team, with Hulme retained in a third car. Honda brought two cars along, but with just Ginther to drive, while Scuderia Centro-Sud also entered one car, for Masten Gregory. Paul Hawkins was entered by DW Enterprises in addition to Bob Anderson, but he crashed the Lotus 33 in testing at Goodwood, and it was not yet rebuilt. There were also a few faces new to the Championship, with Bob Gerard entering John Rhodes in his F1 Cooper, and Alan Rollinson in his F2 car. Attwood was back at Parnell, so when Ian Raby entered his old Brabham Chris Amon also entered in the car to see what he could do with it.

Friday

Thursday

The weather seemed about ready to turn nasty, but the anticipated rain never happened, and the resulting cool conditions were perfect for racing. Surtees initially set the pace, trying both cars and being faster in the flat-12, but he was soon overtaken when Clark and the BRM pair entered the fray. In the end, a heart-in-mouth final assault by Graham Hill gave him the £100 prize for fastest time of the day.

Friday

Again anticipated rain did not intervene in Practice, and the drivers were all making good impressions. Bandini had one of the V8 Ferraris explode at Woodcote, but generally it was a trouble free session, notable for the efforts of Ginther and Rindt in far from top-drawer machinery.

 

Official Practice Times

#	Driver	Friday	Saturday
1	Surtees	1:31.4	1:31.3
2	Bandini	1:32.7	1:32.9
3	Hill	1:31.0	1:32.2
4	Stewart	1:31.4	1:31.3
5	Clark	1:31.1	1:30.8
6	Spence	1:32.7	1:31.7
7	Brabham	1:32.5	1:33.1
8	Gurney	1:33.1	1:31.9
9	McLaren	1:33.3	1:32.8
10	Rindt	1:32.9	1:33.3
11	Ginther	1:31.6	1:31.3
12	Gregory	1:35.9	1:37.1
14	Hulme	1:32.8	1:32.7
15	Bonnier	1:34.6	1:35.5
16	Siffert	1:34.2	1:34.2
17	Gardner	1:33.4	NR
18	Anderson	1:34.1	1:34.1
19	Hawkins	NR	NR
20	Rhodes	1:39.4	NR
22	Attwood	1:33.8	1:34.3
23	Ireland	1:38.2	1:33.6
24	Raby	1:36.6	1:36.0
25	Rollinson	1:40.0	1:39.0
26	Guppy	1:45.1	NR
24	Amon	1:36.9	1:35.3

Starting Grid

	Clark		Hill		Ginther		Stewart
		Surtees		Spence		Gurney
			Bandini		Hulme		McLaren
		Rindt		Gardner		Bonnier
	Ireland		Attwood		Anderson		Siffert
		Gregory		Raby		Rhodes

Clark and Hill were shaping up nicely, but the big sensation of qualifying was Ginther putting his Honda 3rd. He was the only non-British driver in the top 6, with Surtees and Spence coming next, then Gurney. Bandini's first race of the year in the V8 Ferrari saw him start 8th, outqualified by Brabham, but the Australian handed his car over to Gurney after trouble with the American's machine in the warm-up. This also promoted Hulme to 9th and McLaren to 10th.

The Race

At the start Clark and Ginther out-dragged the rest, the American squeezing the Lotus at Copse and leading. However, by the Hangar straight Clark was in Ginther's slipstream and got by, the Scot then pulling away as Hill and Surtees tried to get to terms wth the Honda, which was quick on the straights but looked vulnerable on the corners. The pair finally slipped by on lap 2. Hill set off after Clark, but Surtees could not esacpe the determined Ginther, while these four were followed by Stewart, Spence, McLaren, Hulme, Rindt, Gurney then a gap back to Bonnier and the rest. Bandini was out, the Ferrari V8 having gone up in spectacular fashion, while Attwood was in the pits with a misfire, then cracking a waterline as he reached his garage.

Ginther began to drop back through the field, Stewart and Spence getting by before Ginther pitted with an engine which was badly down on power. His compatriot Gurney was also having an unhappy time, not fitting in Brabham's car and having to sit in the air-flow as a consequence. By quarter-distance, Clark and Hill were clear of the rest, with deadlock seemingly reached between them. Surtees was a distant third, with the battle between Stewart and Spence gaining on him, British drivers filling the first five positions. Behind them Hulme was in a secure sixth place, followed by McLaren, Rindt, Bonnier, Gurney, Ireland, Siffert, Gardner and Anderson.

By lap 24 Spence had passed Stewart while Rindt span and lost two places, with Siffert also passing Ireland. Hulme then dropped out with alternator failure, while on lap 41 Spence caught and passed Surtees, leaving the Ferrari driver to deal with the charging Stewart. Sadly,l the latter's BRM engine began to sound rough and he backed off. Spence then made a small mistake, allowing Surtees back in front.

On lap 50 Clark's engine began misfiring just after he lapped Bonnier and Gurney, the American following him past the Swede. The BRM pit crew spotted the Lotus' plight, and informed Hill. The Englishman put the hammer down and began to close the gap. Behind them Surtees finally shook off Spence in traffic, while Rindt's efforts ended with a blown engine. Hill's chase was valiant but futile, although the BRM leader had Clark in sight by the last lap. However, the Lotus driver had driven intelligently to finish, and it was another win for him. Surtees took third from Spence, with Stewart fifth and Gurney getting some reward for a troubled afternoon in 6th.

Honda's best grid position to date.

Driver's Championship Standings

 

Constructor's Championship Standings