1962 French Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Dan Gurney claimed his first World Championship victory at Rouen, also delivering Porsche’s only championship win as a constructor. Tony Maggs finished second and Richie Ginther third after an attritional race.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Jim Clark	Lotus
Pole time	2:14.8
Fastest lap	Graham Hill	BRM
Fastest-lap time	2:16.900 on lap 32
First	Dan Gurney	Porsche
Second	Tony Maggs	Cooper
Third	Richie Ginther	BRM

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
5 July 1962	Thursday timed practice	08:30–10:15
6 July 1962	Friday final qualifying	08:50–10:15
8 July 1962	Pre-race preparations	Morning; start unconfirmed
8 July 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

Graham Hill arrived at round 4 leading the 1962 F1 World Championship on 16 points, with Phil Hill on 14. BRM headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 16 points.

Race entries

Ferrari was absent because industrial action prevented preparation. Porsche returned with extensively revised flat-eight cars. Lotus introduced another Type 25, allowing Taylor to use the earlier monocoque, and Siffert acquired the BRM-powered Lotus. Cooper fielded V8 cars for both drivers.

Thursday timed practice

Surtees and Clark were quick immediately, but steering-rack problems affected both Clark’s new Lotus and Ireland’s car. Gurney demonstrated Porsche’s progress before Hill set the fastest time late in the session. Siffert stopped with clutch-control trouble, while several teams worked on gearing and carburation.

Friday final qualifying

Clark arrived late but took pole after gearbox adjustments. Hill and McLaren also improved. Salvadori’s engine failed, Ginther needed a throttle cable replaced and Brabham ran off into the grass. Taylor completed only a brief run in Clark’s car, while Maggs missed the session. The programme ended with the whole of Saturday available for repairs.

Qualifying Classification

The grid was based on Thursday and Friday morning practice. There was no Saturday Formula One qualifying session.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Timed session 1	Timed session 2	Best Time
1	12	Jim Clark	Lotus	2:16.7	2:14.8	2:14.8
2	8	Graham Hill	BRM	2:15.9	2:15.0	2:15.0
3	22	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	2:52.0	2:15.4	2:15.4
4	26	Jack Brabham	Lotus	2:17.5	2:16.1	2:16.1
5	18	John Surtees	Lola	2:16.3	2:16.3	2:16.3
6	30	Dan Gurney	Porsche	2:16.5	2:17.1	2:16.5
7	34	Masten Gregory	Lotus	2:19.4	2:17.3	2:17.3
8	36	Innes Ireland	Lotus	2:19.1	2:17.5	2:17.5
9	32	Jo Bonnier	Porsche	2:21.1	2:17.9	2:17.9
10	10	Richie Ginther	BRM	2:18.2	2:19.9	2:18.2
11	24	Tony Maggs	Cooper	2:18.6	No time	2:18.6
12	14	Trevor Taylor	Lotus	2:19.1	No time	2:19.1
13	28	Maurice Trintignant	Lotus	2:23.1	2:20.8	2:20.8
14	20	Roy Salvadori	Lola	2:21.3	No time	2:21.3
15	40	Jo Siffert	Lotus	2:27.9	2:23.4	2:23.4
16	42	Jackie Lewis	Cooper	2:25.5	2:26.5	2:25.5
17	38	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	2:27.2	2:26.5	2:26.5

Pre-race preparations

Drivers were allowed reconnaissance laps before the start. Clark’s engine then refused to run cleanly after a plug change, and the team traced crossed plug leads in time for him to join the grid.

What happened in the 1962 French Grand Prix?

Hill led the early contest ahead of a group including Clark, Surtees and McLaren. Brabham retired with suspension trouble, McLaren lost time with gearbox problems and Surtees required repairs.

Hill briefly lost the lead after contact while lapping Lewis, then recovered it before Clark’s suspension failed. Hill subsequently stopped with fuel-injection and throttle trouble, handing control to Gurney.

Gurney brought the Porsche home for victory, with Maggs second and Ginther third despite a late throttle-cable problem. McLaren, Surtees and de Beaufort completed the points. A post-finish collision damaged the cars of Taylor and Trintignant, but neither driver was injured.

After the race, Graham Hill headed the drivers’ standings with 16 points, followed by Phil Hill on 14. BRM led the constructors’ table on 20, with Cooper – Climax on 17.

1962 French Grand Prix race results

The 1962 French Grand Prix was held on 8 July 1962.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	30	Dan Gurney	Porsche	54	2:07:05.5	9
2	24	Tony Maggs	Cooper	53	+ 1 Lap	6
3	10	Richie Ginther	BRM	52	+ 2 Laps	4
4	22	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	51	+ 3 Laps	3
5	18	John Surtees	Lola	51	+ 3 Laps	2
6	38	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	51	+ 3 Laps	1
7	28	Maurice Trintignant	Lotus	50	+ 4 Laps	0
8	14	Trevor Taylor	Lotus	48	+ 6 laps	0
9	8	Graham Hill	BRM	44	+ 10 Laps	0
10	32	Jo Bonnier	Porsche	42	Gearbox	0
Ret	12	Jim Clark	Lotus	33	Suspension	0
Ret	42	Jackie Lewis	Cooper	27	Accident	0
Ret	20	Roy Salvadori	Lola	20	Oil Pressure	0
Ret	34	Masten Gregory	Lotus	14	Overheating	0
Ret	26	Jack Brabham	Lotus	10	Suspension	0
Ret	40	Jo Siffert	Lotus	5	Clutch	0
Ret	36	Innes Ireland	Lotus	1	Puncture	0
WD	16	Peter Arundell	Lotus		No Car	0

1962 French Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	8	Graham Hill	BRM	32	2:16.900

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 French Grand Prix.

1962 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Graham Hill	British	BRM	16
2	Phil Hill	American	Ferrari	14
3	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	Cooper	12
4	Jim Clark	British	Lotus	9
5	Dan Gurney	American	Porsche / Lotus	9
6	Tony Maggs	South African	Cooper	8
7	John Surtees	British	Lola	7
8	Trevor Taylor	British	Lotus	6
9	Richie Ginther	American	BRM	4
10	Lorenzo Bandini	Italian	Ferrari	4
11	Ricardo Rodríguez	Mexican	Ferrari	3
12	Giancarlo Baghetti	Italian	Ferrari	3
13	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	Porsche	2
14	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Dutch	Porsche	2
15	Jack Brabham	Australian	Lotus	1
–	Maurice Trintignant	French	Lotus	0
–	Willy Mairesse	Belgian	Ferrari	0
–	Jackie Lewis	British	Cooper / BRM / Cooper	0
–	Lucien Bianchi	Belgian	Lotus	0
–	Jo Siffert	Swiss	Lotus / Lotus	0
–	John Campbell-Jones	British	Lotus	0
–	Innes Ireland	British	Lotus	0
–	Roy Salvadori	British	Lola	0
–	Masten Gregory	American	Lotus / Lotus	0
–	Wolfgang Seidel	German	Emeryson	0
–	Peter Arundell	British	Lotus	0
–	Tony Marsh	British	BRM	0
–	Ben Pon	Dutch	Porsche	0
–	Colin Davis	British	Porsche	0
–	Rob Slotemaker	Dutch	Porsche	0
–	Carlo Abate	Italian	Lotus	0
–	Ian Burgess	British	Cooper	0
–	Roberto Bussinello	Italian	De Tomaso	0
–	Gerry Ashmore	British	BRM	0
–	Heinz Schiller	Swiss	Porsche	0

1962 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	BRM	20
2	Cooper – Climax	17
3	Lotus – Climax	15
4	Ferrari	14
5	Porsche	12
6	Lola – Climax	7
—	Emeryson – Climax	0
—	Lotus – BRM	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