1965 German Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Jim Clark clinched his second World Championship with a commanding Nürburgring victory. Graham Hill finished second and Dan Gurney third, while Lotus also secured the constructors’ title.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Jim Clark	Lotus
Pole time	8:22.7
Fastest lap	Jim Clark	Lotus
Fastest-lap time	8:24.100 on lap 10
First	Jim Clark	Lotus
Second	Graham Hill	BRM
Third	Dan Gurney	Brabham

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
30 July 1965	Friday morning timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
30 July 1965	Friday afternoon timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
31 July 1965	Saturday final qualifying	Start time unconfirmed
1 August 1965	Race	14:00

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

Championship background

Jim Clark arrived at round 7 leading the 1965 F1 World Championship on 45 points, with Graham Hill on 26. Lotus – Climax headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 45 points.

Race entries

Lotus and Brabham each entered three cars, with Mitter joining Clark and Spence. Honda stayed away to develop its cars in Japan. Ferrari supplied Surtees with two flat-twelve cars, while Amon joined Attwood at Parnell and Businello replaced Bianchi at Centro Sud.

Friday morning timed practice

Stewart immediately showed remarkable pace, beating the previous lap record by a substantial margin. Lotus struggled with its cars grounding in the dips and withdrew them for adjustment. Raby broke down on his opening lap, while Attwood damaged his suspension. The circuit’s length made recovery difficult and cost both drivers extensive running.

Friday afternoon timed practice

With the Lotus adjusted, Clark produced a lap far beyond the opposition’s earlier efforts. Stewart’s response was interrupted by an intermittent electrical fault. Hill, Surtees and Gurney also improved, while Bonnier impressed among the independent drivers. Anderson crashed into the trees and badly damaged his Brabham, although he escaped serious injury.

Saturday final qualifying

Clark’s Friday time remained comfortably secure. Stewart returned after BRM traced his electrical fault and improved to second, while Surtees compared his two Ferraris. Rindt, Bandini, McLaren and Spence also found time. Lotus was satisfied that the newer engine’s oiling problems had been resolved, allowing Mitter to retain the spare car for the race.

Qualifying Classification

The planned programme was reduced to three timed sessions. The fastest lap across them set the grid; there were no separate Formula Two entries in this edition.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	1	Jim Clark	Lotus	8:22.7
2	10	Jackie Stewart	BRM	8:26.1
3	9	Graham Hill	BRM	8:26.8
4	7	John Surtees	Ferrari	8:27.0
5	5	Dan Gurney	Brabham	8:29.0
6	2	Mike Spence	Lotus	8:33.4
7	8	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	8:33.8
8	12	Jochen Rindt	Cooper	8:37.5
9	16	Jo Bonnier	Brabham	8:37.9
10	11	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	8:39.0
11	17	Jo Siffert	Brabham	8:39.6
12	3	Gerhard Mitter	Lotus	8:40.4
13	6	Denny Hulme	Brabham	8:42.3
14	4	Jack Brabham	Brabham	8:44.9
15	18	Bob Anderson	Brabham	8:47.4
16	19	Chris Amon	Lotus	8:50.5
17	20	Richard Attwood	Lotus	8:57.7
18	21	Frank Gardner	Brabham	8:59.3
19	24	Masten Gregory	BRM	9:14.3
20	22	Paul Hawkins	Lotus	9:16.8
21	25	Roberto Bussinello	BRM	9:17.7
22	23	Ian Raby	Brabham	9:17.8

What happened in the 1965 German Grand Prix?

Clark led from pole and established the pace, with Hill pursuing him and Gurney holding a strong position. Surtees lost time to gear-selection trouble, while a lively group fought behind the leading cars.

Mechanical problems disrupted several challenges. Stewart damaged a suspension wishbone, Hulme suffered a punctured fuel tank after his seat came loose, and Amon struggled with electrical faults. Clark maintained control throughout.

Victory gave Clark six wins and the maximum retained score available under the season’s best-six-results rule. Hill and Gurney completed the podium, and Lotus also became constructors’ champion with three rounds remaining.

After the race, Jim Clark headed the drivers’ standings with 54 points, followed by Graham Hill on 30. Lotus – Climax led the constructors’ table on 54, with BRM on 39.

1965 German Grand Prix race results

The 1965 German Grand Prix was held on 1 August 1965, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	1	Jim Clark	Lotus	15	2:07:52.4	9
2	9	Graham Hill	BRM	15	+15.9 secs	6
3	5	Dan Gurney	Brabham	15	+21.4 secs	4
4	12	Jochen Rindt	Cooper	15	+3:29.6	3
5	4	Jack Brabham	Brabham	15	+4:41.2	2
6	8	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	15	+5:08.6	1
7	16	Jo Bonnier	Brabham	15	+5:58.5	0
8	24	Masten Gregory	BRM	14	+1 Lap	0
Ret	7	John Surtees	Ferrari	11	Gearbox	0
Ret	17	Jo Siffert	Brabham	9	Engine	0
Ret	2	Mike Spence	Lotus	8	Transmission	0
Ret	3	Gerhard Mitter	Lotus	8	Water Leak	0
Ret	20	Richard Attwood	Lotus	7	Water Leak	0
Ret	11	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	7	Gearbox	0
Ret	6	Denny Hulme	Brabham	5	Fuel Leak, Steering	0
Ret	19	Chris Amon	Lotus	3	Electrical	0
Ret	22	Paul Hawkins	Lotus	3	Oil Leak	0
Ret	10	Jackie Stewart	BRM	2	Suspension	0
Ret	21	Frank Gardner	Brabham	0	Gearbox	0
DNS	18	Bob Anderson	Brabham		Accident in practice	0
DNQ	25	Roberto Bussinello	BRM			0
DNQ	23	Ian Raby	Brabham		Accident in practice	0

1965 German Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	1	Jim Clark	Lotus	10	8:24.100

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 German Grand Prix.

1965 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Jim Clark	British	Lotus	54
2	Graham Hill	British	BRM	30
3	Jackie Stewart	British	BRM	25
4	John Surtees	British	Ferrari	17
5	Dan Gurney	American	Brabham	9
6	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	Cooper	8
7	Lorenzo Bandini	Italian	Ferrari	7
8	Mike Spence	British	Lotus	6
9	Jack Brabham	Australian	Brabham	5
10	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	Brabham	5
11	Jochen Rindt	Austrian	Cooper	3
12	Jo Siffert	Swiss	Brabham	2
13	Richie Ginther	American	Honda	2
–	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	Brabham	0
–	Frank Gardner	Australian	Brabham	0
–	Masten Gregory	American	BRM	0
–	Bob Anderson	British	Brabham	0
–	Paul Hawkins	Australian	Brabham / Lotus	0
–	Innes Ireland	British	Lotus	0
–	Peter de Klerk	South African	Alfa Romeo	0
–	Tony Maggs	South African	Lotus	0
–	Ian Raby	British	Brabham / Brabham	0
–	Richard Attwood	British	Lotus	0
–	Lucien Bianchi	Belgian	BRM	0
–	Sam Tingle	Rhodesian	LDS	0
–	David Prophet	British	Brabham	0
–	Chris Amon	New Zealander	Lotus	0
–	Gerhard Mitter	German	Lotus	0
–	Ronnie Bucknum	American	Honda	0
–	Mike Hailwood	British	Lotus	0
–	John Rhodes	British	Cooper	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	Lotus – Climax	54
2	BRM	39
3	Ferrari	21
4	Brabham – Climax	15
5	Cooper – Climax	11
6	Brabham – BRM	2
7	Honda	2
—	Brabham – Ford	0
—	Lotus – BRM	0
—	Alfa Special – Alfa Romeo	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