1964 Italian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

John Surtees won at Monza after a determined contest with Dan Gurney, strengthening Ferrari’s championship challenge. Bruce McLaren finished second, and Lorenzo Bandini narrowly beat Richie Ginther to third.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	John Surtees	Ferrari
Pole time	1:37.4
Fastest lap	John Surtees	Ferrari
Fastest-lap time	1:38.800 on lap 63
First	John Surtees	Ferrari
Second	Bruce McLaren	Cooper
Third	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
4 September 1964	Friday timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
5 September 1964	Saturday final qualifying	Start time unconfirmed
6 September 1964	Race	15:30

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 8 leading the 1964 F1 World Championship on 32 points, with Jim Clark on 30. BRM headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 36 points.

Race entries

Ferrari entered Surtees, Bandini and Scarfiotti, with its new flat-twelve arriving during the meeting. Honda returned after missing Austria. John Love replaced Phil Hill at Cooper, Geki joined Rob Walker’s team, and Cabral drove the Derrington-Francis car. Parnell could prepare only one Lotus 25, for Hailwood.

Friday timed practice

Surtees set the pace in the V8 Ferrari as slipstreaming shaped the session. Gurney was his nearest rival, while Clark lacked straight-line speed. Hill’s revised BRM needed ventilation around its hot exhausts. Love suffered an engine failure, Rudaz also lost his engine, and Honda showed improved speed despite continued starting and cooling difficulties.

Saturday final qualifying

Rain prevented improvements, leaving Friday’s times to decide the field. Bandini tried Ferrari’s new flat-twelve, but it had no dry running and was not selected for the race. Hill damaged an older engine and committed to the newer BRM. Drivers outside the top twenty had little chance to recover, while Rudaz’s withdrawal admitted Trintignant to the start.

Qualifying Classification

The best lap from two sessions counted, but wet Saturday conditions left the order unchanged. Trintignant replaced the twentieth-fastest qualifier, Rudaz, whose engine could not be repaired.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	2	John Surtees	Ferrari	1:37.4
2	16	Dan Gurney	Brabham	1:38.2
3	18	Graham Hill	BRM	1:38.7
4	8	Jim Clark	Lotus	1:39.1
5	26	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	1:39.4
6	12	Jo Siffert	Brabham	1:39.7
7	4	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	1:39.8
8	10	Mike Spence	Lotus	1:40.3
9	20	Richie Ginther	BRM	1:40.4
10	28	Ronnie Bucknum	Honda	1:40.4
11	14	Jack Brabham	Brabham	1:40.8
12	34	Jo Bonnier	Brabham	1:41.0
13	46	Innes Ireland	BRP	1:41.0
14	22	Bob Anderson	Brabham	1:41.3
15	30	Giancarlo Baghetti	BRM	1:41.4
16	6	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Ferrari	1:41.6
17	40	Mike Hailwood	Lotus	1:41.6
18	38	Peter Revson	Lotus	1:42.0
19	50	Mário de Araújo Cabral	ATS	1:42.6
20	60	Jean-Claude Rudaz	Cooper	1:43.0
21	48	Maurice Trintignant	BRM	1:43.3
22	44	Trevor Taylor	BRP	1:43.8
23	36	Geki	Brabham	1:44.1
24	24	John Love	Cooper	1:48.5
25	56	Ian Raby	Brabham	1:52.2

What happened in the 1964 Italian Grand Prix?

Surtees and Gurney fought closely at the front, repeatedly using each other’s slipstream. Behind them, a large group contested the midfield places, while McLaren established a secure position among the leaders.

Gurney’s engine began misfiring as electrical charging trouble affected fuel pressure. He dropped away, leaving Surtees clear. Brabham also retired, and McLaren moved into second.

Surtees secured a popular Ferrari home victory. Bandini edged Ginther at the finish after a close battle for third, with Ireland and Spence taking the remaining points. Ferrari’s late-season momentum made the title fight increasingly tense.

After the race, Graham Hill headed the drivers’ standings with 32 points, followed by Jim Clark on 30. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 37, with BRM on 36.

1964 Italian Grand Prix race results

The 1964 Italian Grand Prix was held on 6 September 1964, with a scheduled start of 15:30 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	2	John Surtees	Ferrari	78	2:10:51.8	9
2	26	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	78	+ 1:06.0	6
3	4	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	77	+ 1 lap	4
4	20	Richie Ginther	BRM	77	+ 1 lap	3
5	46	Innes Ireland	BRP	77	+ 1 lap	2
6	10	Mike Spence	Lotus	77	+ 1 lap	1
7	12	Jo Siffert	Brabham	77	+ 1 lap	0
8	30	Giancarlo Baghetti	BRM	77	+ 1 lap	0
9	6	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Ferrari	77	+ 1 lap	0
10	16	Dan Gurney	Brabham	75	+ 3 laps	0
11	22	Bob Anderson	Brabham	75	+ 3 laps	0
12	34	Jo Bonnier	Brabham	74	+ 4 laps	0
13	38	Peter Revson	Lotus	72	+ 6 laps	0
14	14	Jack Brabham	Brabham	59	Engine/Connecting rod	0
Ret	8	Jim Clark	Lotus	27	Engine	0
Ret	50	Mário de Araújo Cabral	ATS	24	Ignition	0
Ret	48	Maurice Trintignant	BRM	21	Injection	0
Ret	28	Ronnie Bucknum	Honda	12	Brakes	0
Ret	40	Mike Hailwood	Lotus	4	Engine	0
Ret	18	Graham Hill	BRM	0	Clutch	0
DNS	60	Jean-Claude Rudaz	Cooper			0
DNQ	44	Trevor Taylor	BRP			0
DNQ	36	Geki	Brabham			0
DNQ	24	John Love	Cooper			0
DNQ	56	Ian Raby	Brabham			0

1964 Italian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	2	John Surtees	Ferrari	63	1:38.800

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

1964 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1964 Italian Grand Prix.

1964 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Graham Hill	British	BRM	32
2	Jim Clark	British	Lotus	30
3	John Surtees	British	Ferrari	28
4	Richie Ginther	American	BRM	20
5	Lorenzo Bandini	Italian	Ferrari	19
6	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	Cooper	13
7	Jack Brabham	Australian	Brabham	11
8	Peter Arundell	British	Lotus	11
9	Dan Gurney	American	Brabham	10
10	Bob Anderson	British	Brabham	5
11	Tony Maggs	South African	BRM	4
12	Innes Ireland	British	Lotus / BRP	4
13	Jo Siffert	Swiss	Lotus / Brabham / Brabham	3
14	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	Cooper / Brabham / Brabham	3
15	Chris Amon	New Zealander	Lotus / Lotus	2
16	Maurice Trintignant	French	BRM	2
17	Phil Hill	American	Cooper	1
18	Mike Hailwood	British	Lotus	1
19	Mike Spence	British	Lotus	1
–	Giancarlo Baghetti	Italian	BRM	0
–	Trevor Taylor	British	BRP / Lotus	0
–	Gerhard Mitter	German	Lotus	0
–	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Italian	Ferrari	0
–	Peter Revson	American	Lotus / Lotus	0
–	Ronnie Bucknum	American	Honda	0
–	John Taylor	British	Cooper	0
–	Jochen Rindt	Austrian	Brabham	0
–	André Pilette	Belgian	Scirocco	0
–	Mário de Araújo Cabral	Portuguese	Derrington-Francis	0
–	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Dutch	Porsche	0
–	Ian Raby	British	Brabham	0
–	Edgar Barth	German	Cooper	0
–	Frank Gardner	Australian	Brabham	0
–	Richard Attwood	British	BRM	0

1964 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Ferrari	37
2	BRM	36
3	Lotus – Climax	35
4	Brabham – Climax	21
5	Cooper – Climax	16
6	BRP – BRM	4
7	Brabham – BRM	3
8	Lotus – BRM	3
—	Honda	0
—	Cooper – Ford	0
—	Scirocco – Climax	0
—	Porsche	0
—	Brabham – Ford	0
—	ATS	0

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

1964 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1964 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	10 May
2	1964 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	24 May
3	1964 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	14 June
4	1964 French Grand Prix	Reims-Gueux, Reims	28 June
5	1964 British Grand Prix	Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown	11 July
6	1964 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	2 August
7	1964 Austrian Grand Prix	Zeltweg Airfield, Zeltweg	23 August
8	1964 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	6 September
9	1964 United States Grand Prix	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York	4 October
10	1964 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	25 October