1963 Dutch Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Jim Clark lapped the entire field on his way to victory at Zandvoort. Dan Gurney recovered to second, with John Surtees completing the podium for Ferrari.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Jim Clark	Lotus
Pole time	1:31.6
Fastest lap	Jim Clark	Lotus
Fastest-lap time	1:33.700 on lap 56
First	Jim Clark	Lotus
Second	Dan Gurney	Brabham
Third	John Surtees	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
21 June 1963	Friday morning timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
21 June 1963	Friday afternoon timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
22 June 1963	Saturday final qualifying	Start time unconfirmed
23 June 1963	Race	15:15

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

Championship background

Bruce McLaren arrived at round 3 leading the 1963 F1 World Championship on 10 points, with Jim Clark on 9. BRM headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 12 points.

Race entries

Scarfiotti replaced the injured Mairesse at Ferrari, and Mitter joined de Beaufort in a second Porsche. BRM brought its new car for Hill to assess alongside the established model. Hall’s entry was initially refused before arrangements were made for him to drive BRP’s spare Lotus.

Friday morning timed practice

A delayed Channel crossing left the Lotus cars absent. Gurney also missed running after an engine-drive failure during warm-up. Hill and Ireland shared the fastest time, although the new BRM suffered a brake problem. Scarfiotti’s engine failed, and Surtees struggled to improve his Ferrari. ATS also encountered mechanical difficulties.

Friday afternoon timed practice

Lotus arrived, allowing Clark and Taylor to begin work. Hill improved in the older BRM, and Brabham’s new car showed promising handling. Ireland’s gearbox failed, forcing him back to the spare Lotus. Gurney borrowed Brabham’s car to record qualifying laps, while Clark produced a competitive late run after repeated stops for adjustments.

Saturday final qualifying

Clark set a clear pole time once he found his rhythm. Gurney still awaited a replacement engine, and Ireland’s BRP engine failed after its gearbox had been changed. Ireland’s faster Lotus was then allocated to Hall. Ginther damaged his engine after a missed gear change, leaving BRM another overnight repair.

Qualifying Classification

The best eligible lap across three sessions determined grid position. Ireland’s quicker time in the spare Lotus did not apply when that car was handed to Hall; his BRP time determined his own place.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Timed session 1	Timed session 2	Timed session 3	Best Time
1	6	Jim Clark	Lotus	No time	1:33.0	1:31.6	1:31.6
2	12	Graham Hill	BRM	1:33.3	1:32.2	1:32.5	1:32.2
3	20	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	1:34.1	1:33.3	1:32.3	1:32.3
4	16	Jack Brabham	Brabham	1:35.1	1:33.0	1:32.4	1:32.4
5	2	John Surtees	Ferrari	1:33.7	1:33.6	1:33.0	1:33.0
6	14	Richie Ginther	BRM	1:37.2	1:34.5	1:33.3	1:33.3
7	30	Innes Ireland	BRP	1:33.6	1:39.0	(1:33.4)	1:33.6
8	28	Jo Bonnier	Cooper	1:35.3	1:34.7	1:34.1	1:34.1
9	22	Tony Maggs	Cooper	1:35.8	1:35.0	1:34.3	1:34.3
10	8	Trevor Taylor	Lotus	No time	1:40.4	1:35.2	1:35.2
11	4	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Ferrari	1:37.3	No time	1:35.6	1:35.6
12	10	Chris Amon	Lola	1:37.3	1:38.4	1:35.9	1:35.9
13	24	Phil Hill	ATS	1:40.1	1:38.0	1:36.0	1:36.0
14	18	Dan Gurney	Brabham	No time	1:36.2	No time	1:36.2
15	26	Giancarlo Baghetti	ATS	1:49.7	1:37.8	1:41.0	1:37.8
16	34	Gerhard Mitter	Porsche	No time	1:41.4	1:38.8	1:38.8
17	36	Jo Siffert	Lotus	No time	1:39.0	1:39.7	1:39.0
18	42	Jim Hall	Lotus	No time	No time	1:39.0	1:39.0
19	32	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	No time	1:40.2	1:39.3	1:39.3

What happened in the 1963 Dutch Grand Prix?

Clark established control early and steadily pulled away. The Lotus’s combination of pace and reliability left the chasing field unable to mount a sustained challenge.

Gurney recovered strongly through the race to secure second, while Surtees brought Ferrari into the podium places. Clark continued extending his advantage until even his nearest pursuer had been lapped.

Clark won ahead of Gurney and Surtees, with Ireland fourth, Ginther fifth and Scarfiotti sixth on his debut. It was a second consecutive victory for Clark and another major step in his title campaign.

After the race, Jim Clark headed the drivers’ standings with 18 points, followed by Richie Ginther on 11. Lotus – Climax led the constructors’ table on 19, with BRM on 14.

1963 Dutch Grand Prix race results

The 1963 Dutch Grand Prix was held on 23 June 1963, with a scheduled start of 15:15 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	6	Jim Clark	Lotus	80	2:08:13.7	9
2	18	Dan Gurney	Brabham	79	+ 1 lap	6
3	2	John Surtees	Ferrari	79	+ 1 lap	4
4	30	Innes Ireland	BRP	79	+ 1 lap	3
5	14	Richie Ginther	BRM	79	+ 1 lap	2
6	4	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Ferrari	78	+ 2 laps	1
7	36	Jo Siffert	Lotus	77	+ 3 laps	0
8	42	Jim Hall	Lotus	77	+ 3 laps	0
9	32	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	75	+ 5 laps	0
10	8	Trevor Taylor	Lotus	66	+ 14 laps	0
11	28	Jo Bonnier	Cooper	56	+ 24 laps	0
Ret	12	Graham Hill	BRM	69	Overheating	0
Ret	16	Jack Brabham	Brabham	68	Accident	0
Ret	10	Chris Amon	Lola	29	Water pump	0
Ret	26	Giancarlo Baghetti	ATS	17	Ignition	0
Ret	24	Phil Hill	ATS	15	Suspension	0
Ret	22	Tony Maggs	Cooper	14	Overheating	0
Ret	20	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	7	Gearbox	0
Ret	34	Gerhard Mitter	Porsche	2	Clutch	0
WD	38	Tony Settember	Scirocco			0
WD	40	Ian Burgess	Scirocco			0

1963 Dutch Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	6	Jim Clark	Lotus	56	1:33.700

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

1963 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1963 Dutch Grand Prix.

1963 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Jim Clark	British	Lotus	18
2	Richie Ginther	American	BRM	11
3	Dan Gurney	American	Brabham	10
4	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	Cooper	10
5	Graham Hill	British	BRM	9
6	John Surtees	British	Ferrari	7
7	Innes Ireland	British	Lotus / BRP	3
8	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	Cooper	2
9	Tony Maggs	South African	Cooper	2
10	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Dutch	Porsche	1
11	Trevor Taylor	British	Lotus	1
12	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Italian	Ferrari	1
–	Jo Siffert	Swiss	Lotus	0
–	Jim Hall	American	Lotus	0
–	Tony Settember	American	Scirocco	0
–	Jack Brabham	Australian	Lotus / Brabham	0
–	Willy Mairesse	Belgian	Ferrari	0
–	Lucien Bianchi	Belgian	Lola	0
–	Maurice Trintignant	French	Lola	0
–	Chris Amon	New Zealander	Lola	0
–	Phil Hill	American	ATS	0
–	Giancarlo Baghetti	Italian	ATS	0
–	Gerhard Mitter	German	Porsche	0
–	John Campbell-Jones	British	Lotus	0
–	Ian Burgess	British	Scirocco	0
–	Peter Arundell	British	Lotus	0
–	Lorenzo Bandini	Italian	BRM	0
–	Nasif Estéfano	Argentine	De Tomaso	0

1963 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Lotus – Climax	19
2	BRM	14
3	Cooper – Climax	10
4	Brabham – Climax	10
5	Ferrari	7
6	BRP – BRM	3
7	Porsche	1
—	Lotus – BRM	0
—	Scirocco – BRM	0
—	Lola – Climax	0
—	ATS	0

Drivers and constructors counted their best 6 results. Only the highest-placed eligible car for each constructor could score constructor points.

1963 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1963 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	26 May
2	1963 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	9 June
3	1963 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	23 June
4	1963 French Grand Prix	Reims-Gueux, Reims	30 June
5	1963 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	20 July
6	1963 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	4 August
7	1963 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	8 September
8	1963 United States Grand Prix	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York	6 October
9	1963 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	27 October
10	1963 South African Grand Prix	Prince George Circuit, East London	28 December