1962 Dutch Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Graham Hill claimed his first World Championship victory at Zandvoort, opening the season with a strong performance for BRM. Trevor Taylor finished second and defending champion Phil Hill third.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	John Surtees	Lola
Pole time	1:32.5
Fastest lap	Bruce McLaren	Cooper
Fastest-lap time	1:34.400 on lap 5
First	Graham Hill	BRM
Second	Trevor Taylor	Lotus
Third	Phil Hill	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
18 May 1962	Friday morning timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
18 May 1962	Friday afternoon timed practice	15:30–17:30
19 May 1962	Saturday final qualifying	Start time unconfirmed
20 May 1962	Race	Start time unconfirmed

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

The 1962 F1 World Championship began with a fresh points table and the first opportunity to measure the teams in race conditions. Circuit Zandvoort hosted the opening contest, where qualifying pace, tyre management and reliability would all shape the result.

Race entries

The opening round introduced major new machinery, most notably Clark’s monocoque Lotus 25 and Porsche’s flat-eight car. Lola brought V8-powered cars for Surtees and Salvadori, while McLaren received Cooper’s new V8. Brabham still raced a Lotus as preparations for his own car continued.

Friday morning timed practice

Hill benefited from BRM’s earlier testing and set a clear benchmark. The new Lotus rode the bumps well but required detail adjustments. Cooper worked on carburation and gearbox selection, while Porsche’s drivers were unhappy with handling. Ferrari’s relatively unchanged cars faced a much stronger challenge than in the previous season.

Friday afternoon timed practice

Hill improved again, with Clark beginning to show the Lotus 25’s potential. Taylor’s engine failed, and Gregory also suffered major engine trouble. Gurney extracted more speed from the Porsche despite its handling difficulties. Surtees and the Lola team continued making adjustments as they learned the circuit with the new car.

Saturday final qualifying

Surtees took pole with a late improvement, denying Hill the top spot. Clark’s gearbox required attention, while McLaren suffered a broken gearbox shaft. Brabham also improved strongly. The session ended as rain arrived, leaving several teams to install replacement engines and complete repairs before Sunday.

Qualifying Classification

The best lap across three timed sessions set the grid. Surtees gave Lola pole on its championship debut, while the new Lotus 25 started alongside the leading contenders.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Timed session 1	Timed session 2	Timed session 3	Best Time
1	19	John Surtees	Lola	1:37.0	1:35.0	1:32.5	1:32.5
2	17	Graham Hill	BRM	1:33.3	1:32.6	1:33.4	1:32.6
3	4	Jim Clark	Lotus	1:36.1	1:33.6	1:33.2	1:33.2
4	8	Jack Brabham	Lotus	No time	1:35.9	1:33.3	1:33.3
5	6	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	1:44.1	1:35.2	1:33.9	1:33.9
6	9	Innes Ireland	Lotus	1:35.4	1:34.1	1:36.4	1:34.1
7	18	Richie Ginther	BRM	1:35.6	1:34.5	1:36.9	1:34.5
8	12	Dan Gurney	Porsche	1:37.1	1:34.7	1:34.9	1:34.7
9	1	Phil Hill	Ferrari	1:36.5	1:35.0	1:35.4	1:35.0
10	5	Trevor Taylor	Lotus	1:35.4	No time	1:36.0	1:35.4
11	3	Ricardo Rodríguez	Ferrari	1:36.2	1:36.1	1:36.1	1:36.1
12	2	Giancarlo Baghetti	Ferrari	1:39.3	1:36.3	1:39.3	1:36.3
13	11	Jo Bonnier	Porsche	1:38.1	1:37.0	1:37.5	1:37.0
14	14	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	1:38.6	1:37.4	1:39.8	1:37.4
15	7	Tony Maggs	Cooper	1:38.7	1:37.5	1:41.1	1:37.5
16	10	Masten Gregory	Lotus	1:38.0	No time	No time	1:38.0
17	20	Roy Salvadori	Lola	1:40.2	1:38.8	1:38.9	1:38.8
18	15	Ben Pon	Porsche	1:42.0	1:40.9	1:42.2	1:40.9
19	21	Jackie Lewis	Cooper	No time	No time	1:43.2	1:43.2
20	16	Wolfgang Seidel	Emeryson	No time	1:50.2	1:46.0	1:46.0

What happened in the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix?

Clark led into the first corner and initially demonstrated the new Lotus’s speed. Mechanical trouble then delayed him, allowing Hill to take control.

Hill maintained a strong pace and built a comfortable advantage as several rivals encountered difficulties. Taylor kept the second Lotus in contention, while Phil Hill preserved a podium opportunity for Ferrari.

Hill won ahead of Taylor and Phil Hill, with Baghetti, Maggs and de Beaufort completing the points. BRM had opened the championship with a convincing result, while Lotus’s revolutionary new car had shown promise despite its problems.

After the race, Graham Hill headed the drivers’ standings with 9 points, followed by Trevor Taylor on 6. BRM led the constructors’ table on 9, with Lotus – Climax on 6.

1962 Dutch Grand Prix race results

The 1962 Dutch Grand Prix was held on 20 May 1962.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	17	Graham Hill	BRM	80	2:11:02.1	9
2	5	Trevor Taylor	Lotus	80	+27.2 secs	6
3	1	Phil Hill	Ferrari	80	+1:21.1	4
4	2	Giancarlo Baghetti	Ferrari	79	+1 Lap	3
5	7	Tony Maggs	Cooper	78	+2 Laps	2
6	14	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	76	+4 Laps	1
7	11	Jo Bonnier	Porsche	75	+5 Laps	0
8	21	Jackie Lewis	Cooper	70	+10 Laps	0
9	4	Jim Clark	Lotus	70	+10 Laps	0
Ret	3	Ricardo Rodríguez	Ferrari	73	Spun off	0
Ret	18	Richie Ginther	BRM	71	Accident	0
Ret	9	Innes Ireland	Lotus	61	Spun off	0
Ret	10	Masten Gregory	Lotus	54	Halfshaft	0
NC	16	Wolfgang Seidel	Emeryson	52	Not classified	0
Ret	12	Dan Gurney	Porsche	47	Gearbox	0
Ret	6	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	21	Gearbox	0
Ret	20	Roy Salvadori	Lola	12	Withdrew	0
Ret	19	John Surtees	Lola	8	Accident	0
Ret	8	Jack Brabham	Lotus	4	Accident	0
Ret	15	Ben Pon	Porsche	2	Spun off	0
WD	16	Rob Slotemaker	Porsche		Car not ready – Entry taken by Seidel	0
WD	21	Maurice Trintignant	Lotus		Car not ready – Entry taken by Lewis	0

1962 Dutch Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	6	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	5	1:34.400

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

1962 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix.

1962 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Graham Hill	British	BRM	9
2	Trevor Taylor	British	Lotus	6
3	Phil Hill	American	Ferrari	4
4	Giancarlo Baghetti	Italian	Ferrari	3
5	Tony Maggs	South African	Cooper	2
6	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Dutch	Porsche	1
–	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	Porsche	0
–	Jackie Lewis	British	Cooper	0
–	Jim Clark	British	Lotus	0
–	Ricardo Rodríguez	Mexican	Ferrari	0
–	Richie Ginther	American	BRM	0
–	Innes Ireland	British	Lotus	0
–	Masten Gregory	American	Lotus	0
–	Wolfgang Seidel	German	Emeryson	0
–	Dan Gurney	American	Porsche	0
–	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	Cooper	0
–	Roy Salvadori	British	Lola	0
–	John Surtees	British	Lola	0
–	Jack Brabham	Australian	Lotus	0
–	Ben Pon	Dutch	Porsche	0
–	Rob Slotemaker	Dutch	Porsche	0
–	Maurice Trintignant	French	Lotus	0

1962 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	BRM	9
2	Lotus – Climax	6
3	Ferrari	4
4	Cooper – Climax	2
5	Porsche	1
—	Emeryson – Climax	0
—	Lola – Climax	0

Drivers and constructors counted their best 5 results. Only the highest-placed eligible car for each constructor could score constructor points.

1962 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1962 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	20 May
2	1962 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	3 June
3	1962 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	17 June
4	1962 French Grand Prix	Rouen-les-Essarts, Rouen	8 July
5	1962 British Grand Prix	Aintree Motor Racing Circuit, Liverpool	21 July
6	1962 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	5 August
7	1962 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	16 September
8	1962 United States Grand Prix	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York	7 October
9	1962 South African Grand Prix	Prince George Circuit, East London	29 December