1965 Belgian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Jim Clark mastered a rain-soaked Spa to win comfortably ahead of Jackie Stewart. Bruce McLaren completed the podium, while Richie Ginther brought Honda its first World Championship point.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Graham Hill	BRM
Pole time	3:45.4
Fastest lap	Jim Clark	Lotus
Fastest-lap time	4:12.900 on lap 23
First	Jim Clark	Lotus
Second	Jackie Stewart	BRM
Third	Bruce McLaren	Cooper

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
11 June 1965	Friday timed practice	17:00–19:00
12 June 1965	Saturday final qualifying	15:00–17:00
13 June 1965	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 3 leading the 1965 F1 World Championship on 13 points, with Jim Clark on 9. BRM headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 13 points.

Race entries

Lotus and Gurney returned after Indianapolis, restoring the full works field. The independent teams disputed the allocation of paid starting places and initially withheld their cars from practice. Ireland replaced Hailwood at Parnell, while Honda arrived with revised driveshaft joints and gear linkage.

Friday timed practice

Only the twelve works drivers ran while the independent entrants pressed their case over starting money. Stewart quickly adapted to Spa on his first visit, and Ginther showed encouraging Honda pace. Hill finished fastest. Clark lost use of the newer engine to an oil leak, Brabham suffered an engine failure, and Honda traced tyre damage to excessive rear-wheel camber.

Saturday final qualifying

Agreement over additional paid places brought the private teams onto the circuit. Hill switched cars after clutch slip and set a remarkable pole time. Clark struggled to assemble uninterrupted runs but secured second, ahead of Stewart. Ginther continued Honda’s improvement, while Bonnier and Siffert impressed for Rob Walker. Anderson eventually withdrew rather than start without payment.

Qualifying Classification

Friday and Saturday supplied the timed laps for the grid. The dispute concerned invitations and starting payments; it should not be confused with a modern qualifying elimination format.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	7	Graham Hill	BRM	3:45.4
2	17	Jim Clark	Lotus	3:47.5
3	8	Jackie Stewart	BRM	3:48.8
4	10	Richie Ginther	Honda	3:49.0
5	15	Dan Gurney	Brabham	3:49.2
6	1	John Surtees	Ferrari	3:49.7
7	20	Jo Bonnier	Brabham	3:50.7
8	21	Jo Siffert	Brabham	3:51.3
9	4	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	3:51.5
10	14	Jack Brabham	Brabham	3:52.3
11	11	Ronnie Bucknum	Honda	3:52.6
12	18	Mike Spence	Lotus	3:53.2
13	23	Richard Attwood	Lotus	3:53.3
14	5	Jochen Rindt	Cooper	3:54.0
15	2	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	3:57.4
16	22	Innes Ireland	Lotus	3:59.0
17	27	Lucien Bianchi	BRM	3:59.4
18	26	Frank Gardner	Brabham	3:59.4
19	24	Bob Anderson	Brabham	3:59.8
20	29	Masten Gregory	BRM	4:02.8

What happened in the 1965 Belgian Grand Prix?

Heavy rain before the start left the field facing spray and poor visibility. Hill initially edged ahead, but Clark soon took command and completed the opening lap in front. He steadily increased his advantage while others fought for grip.

Stewart established himself as Clark’s nearest rival, reinforcing the promise of his first season. Clark built such a substantial margin that he could ease his pace markedly over the closing laps without threatening the result.

Clark won ahead of Stewart and McLaren, with Brabham and Hill next. Ginther finished sixth to score Honda’s first championship point, an important reward for the team’s improving pace.

After the race, Jim Clark headed the drivers’ standings with 18 points, followed by Graham Hill on 15. BRM led the constructors’ table on 19, with Lotus – Climax on 18.

1965 Belgian Grand Prix race results

The 1965 Belgian Grand Prix was held on 13 June 1965, with a scheduled start of 15:30 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	17	Jim Clark	Lotus	32	2:23:34.8	9
2	8	Jackie Stewart	BRM	32	+44.8 secs	6
3	4	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	31	+1 Lap	4
4	14	Jack Brabham	Brabham	31	+1 Lap	3
5	7	Graham Hill	BRM	31	+1 Lap	2
6	10	Richie Ginther	Honda	31	+1 Lap	1
7	18	Mike Spence	Lotus	31	+1 Lap	0
8	21	Jo Siffert	Brabham	31	+1 Lap	0
9	2	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	30	+2 Laps	0
10	15	Dan Gurney	Brabham	30	+2 Laps	0
11	5	Jochen Rindt	Cooper	29	+3 Laps	0
12	27	Lucien Bianchi	BRM	29	+3 Laps	0
13	22	Innes Ireland	Lotus	27	+5 Laps	0
14	23	Richard Attwood	Lotus	26	Accident	0
Ret	29	Masten Gregory	BRM	12	Fuel pump	0
Ret	20	Jo Bonnier	Brabham	9	Ignition	0
Ret	11	Ronnie Bucknum	Honda	9	Gearbox	0
Ret	1	John Surtees	Ferrari	5	Engine	0
Ret	26	Frank Gardner	Brabham	3	Ignition	0
DNS	24	Bob Anderson	Brabham	0	Engine	0
WD	28	Willy Mairesse	BRM		Too slow	0

1965 Belgian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	17	Jim Clark	Lotus	23	4:12.900

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

1965 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1965 Belgian Grand Prix.

1965 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Jim Clark	British	Lotus	18
2	Graham Hill	British	BRM	15
3	Jackie Stewart	British	BRM	11
4	John Surtees	British	Ferrari	9
5	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	Cooper	8
6	Lorenzo Bandini	Italian	Ferrari	6
7	Mike Spence	British	Lotus	3
8	Jack Brabham	Australian	Brabham	3
9	Jo Siffert	Swiss	Brabham	1
10	Richie Ginther	American	Honda	1
–	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	Brabham	0
–	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	Brabham	0
–	Paul Hawkins	Australian	Brabham / Lotus	0
–	Bob Anderson	British	Brabham	0
–	Dan Gurney	American	Brabham	0
–	Peter de Klerk	South African	Alfa Romeo	0
–	Jochen Rindt	Austrian	Cooper	0
–	Tony Maggs	South African	Lotus	0
–	Frank Gardner	Australian	Brabham	0
–	Lucien Bianchi	Belgian	BRM	0
–	Sam Tingle	Rhodesian	LDS	0
–	Innes Ireland	British	Lotus	0
–	Richard Attwood	British	Lotus	0
–	David Prophet	British	Brabham	0
–	Ronnie Bucknum	American	Honda	0
–	Mike Hailwood	British	Lotus	0
–	Masten Gregory	American	BRM	0
–	John Love	Rhodesian	Cooper	0
–	Ray Reed	South African	RE	0
–	David Clapham	South African	Cooper	0
–	Alex Blignaut	South African	Cooper	0

1965 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	BRM	19
2	Lotus – Climax	18
3	Ferrari	12
4	Cooper – Climax	8
5	Brabham – Climax	3
6	Brabham – BRM	1
7	Honda	1
—	Brabham – Ford	0
—	Alfa Special – Alfa Romeo	0
—	Lotus – BRM	0
—	LDS – Alfa Romeo	0
—	Cooper – Ford	0
—	LDS – Climax	0
—	Lotus – Ford	0

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

1965 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1965 South African Grand Prix	Prince George Circuit, East London	1 January
2	1965 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	30 May
3	1965 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	13 June
4	1965 French Grand Prix	Circuit de Charade, Clermont-Ferrand	27 June
5	1965 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	10 July
6	1965 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	18 July
7	1965 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	1 August
8	1965 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	12 September
9	1965 United States Grand Prix	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York	3 October
10	1965 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	24 October