1964 United States Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Graham Hill won at Watkins Glen to strengthen his championship lead, with John Surtees second and Jo Siffert third. Jim Clark’s title challenge suffered another setback after trouble in both Lotus cars he drove.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Jim Clark	Lotus
Pole time	1:12.65
Fastest lap	Jim Clark	Lotus
Fastest-lap time	1:12.700 on lap 81
First	Graham Hill	BRM
Second	John Surtees	Ferrari
Third	Jo Siffert	Brabham

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
2 October 1964	Friday timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
3 October 1964	Saturday final qualifying	Start time unconfirmed
4 October 1964	Pre-race preparations	Morning; start unconfirmed
4 October 1964	Race	14:00

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 9 leading the 1964 F1 World Championship on 32 points, with Jim Clark on 30. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 37 points.

Race entries

Ferrari’s cars appeared in white and blue under the North American Racing Team entry following Enzo Ferrari’s licensing dispute. Phil Hill returned to Cooper, Hansgen joined Lotus, and Hap Sharp expanded Rob Walker’s entry. Siffert also raced under Walker’s banner, while Honda brought an improved cooling arrangement.

Friday timed practice

The resurfaced circuit offered a fresh challenge. Surtees initially set the pace before Clark went fastest in the older Lotus. Phil Hill struggled with a persistent lack of power, while Bandini investigated fuel pressure in the flat-twelve Ferrari. Hailwood broke a driveshaft, and several teams worked through mixture and gearing problems. Bucknum steadily improved in the Honda.

Saturday final qualifying

Clark, Surtees, Gurney and Hill fought closely for pole. Clark briefly tried the newer Lotus but chose the older car after securing the fastest time. Bucknum damaged Honda’s front suspension in a spin, triggering an urgent search for replacement parts. Bonnier lost running when a wheel balance weight damaged a brake pipe, while Phil Hill’s engine problems persisted.

Qualifying Classification

The quickest lap across Friday and Saturday set the grid. Clark elected to race the older Lotus on which his pole time was established.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	1	Jim Clark	Lotus	1:12.65
2	7	John Surtees	Ferrari	1:12.78
3	6	Dan Gurney	Brabham	1:12.90
4	3	Graham Hill	BRM	1:12.92
5	9	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	1:13.10
6	2	Mike Spence	Lotus	1:13.33
7	5	Jack Brabham	Brabham	1:13.63
8	8	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	1:13.85
9	16	Jo Bonnier	Brabham	1:14.07
10	11	Innes Ireland	BRP	1:14.35
11	15	Chris Amon	Lotus	1:14.43
12	22	Jo Siffert	Brabham	1:14.65
13	4	Richie Ginther	BRM	1:14.67
14	25	Ronnie Bucknum	Honda	1:14.90
15	12	Trevor Taylor	BRP	1:15.30
16	14	Mike Hailwood	Lotus	1:15.65
17	17	Walt Hansgen	Lotus	1:15.90
18	23	Hap Sharp	Brabham	1:18.23
19	10	Phil Hill	Cooper	1:19.63

Pre-race preparations

Honda and Cooper received brief Sunday running to check their overnight repairs. Honda used its older nose after Bucknum’s accident, while Cooper had revised the fuel and electrical systems on Phil Hill’s car.

What happened in the 1964 United States Grand Prix?

Surtees led early before Clark worked his way to the front and began building an advantage. Fuel-injection trouble then forced Clark into repeated stops. Lotus put him into Spence’s car in an attempt to take points away from his championship rivals.

Hill moved ahead of Surtees, while Gurney’s challenge ended with engine failure. Clark charged in the second Lotus but again stopped late, leaving Hill and Surtees comfortably clear of the remaining field.

Hill won ahead of Surtees and Siffert, with Ginther, Hansgen and Taylor completing the points. The result sent Hill to the finale ahead of Surtees and Clark, with the championship still undecided. Shared driving did not provide Clark with points from his team-mate’s car.

After the race, Graham Hill headed the drivers’ standings with 39 points, followed by John Surtees on 34. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 43, with BRM on 42.

1964 United States Grand Prix race results

The 1964 United States Grand Prix was held on 4 October 1964, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	3	Graham Hill	BRM	110	2:16:38.0	9
2	7	John Surtees	Ferrari	110	+30.5	6
3	22	Jo Siffert	Brabham	109	+1 lap	4
4	4	Richie Ginther	BRM	107	+3 laps	3
5	17	Walt Hansgen	Lotus	107	+3 laps	2
6	12	Trevor Taylor	BRP	106	+4 laps	1
7	2	Mike Spence Jim Clark	Lotus	102	Out of fuel/fuel pump	0
8	14	Mike Hailwood	Lotus	101	Oil pipe	0
Ret	6	Dan Gurney	Brabham	69	Oil pressure	0
NC	23	Hap Sharp	Brabham	65	+45 laps	0
Ret	8	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	58	Engine	0
Ret	1	Jim Clark / Mike Spence	Lotus	54	Fuel injection	0
Ret	25	Ronnie Bucknum	Honda	50	Engine/cylinder head gasket	0
Ret	15	Chris Amon	Lotus	47	Starter	0
Ret	16	Jo Bonnier	Brabham	37	Rear axle	0
Ret	9	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	26	Engine/valve	0
Ret	5	Jack Brabham	Brabham	14	Engine	0
Ret	10	Phil Hill	Cooper	4	Ignition	0
Ret	11	Innes Ireland	BRP	2	Gearbox	0

1964 United States Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	2	Jim Clark	Lotus	81	1:12.700

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 United States Grand Prix.

1964 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Graham Hill	British	BRM	39
2	John Surtees	British	Ferrari	34
3	Jim Clark	British	Lotus	30
4	Richie Ginther	American	BRM	23
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	Jo Siffert	Swiss	Lotus / Brabham / Brabham	7
11	Bob Anderson	British	Brabham	5
12	Tony Maggs	South African	BRM	4
13	Innes Ireland	British	Lotus / BRP	4
14	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	Cooper / Brabham / Brabham	3
15	Chris Amon	New Zealander	Lotus / Lotus	2
16	Maurice Trintignant	French	BRM	2
17	Walt Hansgen	American	Lotus	2
18	Phil Hill	American	Cooper	1
19	Trevor Taylor	British	BRP / Lotus	1
20	Mike Hailwood	British	Lotus	1
21	Mike Spence	British	Lotus	1
–	Giancarlo Baghetti	Italian	BRM	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
–	Hap Sharp	American	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	43
2	BRM	42
3	Lotus – Climax	36
4	Brabham – Climax	21
5	Cooper – Climax	16
6	Brabham – BRM	7
7	BRP – BRM	5
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