1965 Italian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Jackie Stewart claimed his first World Championship victory after a close slipstreaming battle at Monza. Graham Hill completed a BRM one-two, with Dan Gurney taking third after Jim Clark retired.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Jim Clark	Lotus
Pole time	1:35.9
Fastest lap	Jim Clark	Lotus
Fastest-lap time	1:36.400 on lap 46
First	Jackie Stewart	BRM
Second	Graham Hill	BRM
Third	Dan Gurney	Brabham

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
10 September 1965	Friday timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
11 September 1965	Saturday final qualifying	Start time unconfirmed
12 September 1965	Race	15:30

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 8 leading the 1965 F1 World Championship on 54 points, with Graham Hill on 30. Lotus – Climax headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 54 points.

Race entries

Honda returned with Ginther and Bucknum after further development in Japan. Ferrari entered Surtees, Bandini and Vaccarella, while Baghetti joined Brabham and Geki drove a third Lotus. Several teams used the long break since Germany to prepare revised machinery for Monza’s sustained high speeds.

Friday timed practice

Surtees switched Ferraris after engine trouble and set the fastest time before rain arrived. Bucknum showed strong Honda pace, while Gurney struggled with an oil leak and Ginther lacked power. Several leading drivers delayed their final attempts, only to lose the opportunity when the weather worsened. Geki had little chance to run as the regular Lotus drivers used his car.

Saturday final qualifying

Dry conditions produced a sustained contest for pole. Clark broke clear with the fastest lap, ahead of Surtees and Stewart. Slipstreaming helped several drivers improve, including the independent entrants. Honda faced an engine failure for Ginther and gearbox trouble for Bucknum, while Gurney’s oil leak persisted. All twenty-three entrants met the event’s qualifying requirement.

Qualifying Classification

The fastest lap across two afternoon sessions counted. The event required a time within fifteen per cent of the second-fastest driver, rather than a modern 107 per cent rule.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	24	Jim Clark	Lotus	1:35.9
2	8	John Surtees	Ferrari	1:36.1
3	32	Jackie Stewart	BRM	1:36.6
4	30	Graham Hill	BRM	1:37.1
5	4	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	1:37.2
6	22	Ronnie Bucknum	Honda	1:37.3
7	18	Jochen Rindt	Cooper	1:37.7
8	26	Mike Spence	Lotus	1:37.8
9	12	Dan Gurney	Brabham	1:38.1
10	44	Jo Siffert	Brabham	1:38.1
11	16	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	1:38.3
12	14	Denny Hulme	Brabham	1:38.3
13	40	Richard Attwood	Lotus	1:38.8
14	42	Jo Bonnier	Brabham	1:38.9
15	6	Nino Vaccarella	Ferrari	1:38.9
16	46	Frank Gardner	Brabham	1:39.0
17	20	Richie Ginther	Honda	1:39.6
18	38	Innes Ireland	Lotus	1:39.8
19	10	Giancarlo Baghetti	Brabham	1:40.9
20	28	Geki	Lotus	1:41.7
21	50	Roberto Bussinello	BRM	1:41.7
22	52	Giorgio Bassi	BRM	1:45.4
23	48	Masten Gregory	BRM	1:45.6

What happened in the 1965 Italian Grand Prix?

Clark, Hill, Stewart and Surtees repeatedly exchanged positions as slipstreaming kept the lead group closely matched. Surtees eventually retired with clutch trouble, but the remaining three continued their contest.

Clark’s fuel pump failed late in the race, leaving the BRM pair to settle victory. Hill ran wide onto the grass approaching the final corner, allowing Stewart to secure the win in his first championship season.

Gurney finished third, with Bandini, McLaren and Attwood taking the remaining points. Stewart’s breakthrough crowned an afternoon of exceptionally close racing and completed a one-two for BRM.

After the race, Jim Clark headed the drivers’ standings with 54 points, followed by Graham Hill on 34. Lotus – Climax led the constructors’ table on 54, with BRM on 42.

1965 Italian Grand Prix race results

The 1965 Italian Grand Prix was held on 12 September 1965, with a scheduled start of 15:30 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	32	Jackie Stewart	BRM	76	2:04:52.8	9
2	30	Graham Hill	BRM	76	+3.3	6
3	12	Dan Gurney	Brabham	76	+16.5	4
4	4	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	76	+1:15.9	3
5	16	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	75	+1 lap	2
6	40	Richard Attwood	Lotus	75	+1 lap	1
7	42	Jo Bonnier	Brabham	74	+2 laps	0
8	18	Jochen Rindt	Cooper	74	+2 laps	0
9	38	Innes Ireland	Lotus	74	+2 laps	0
10	24	Jim Clark	Lotus	63	Fuel pump	0
11	26	Mike Spence	Lotus	62	Alternator	0
12	6	Nino Vaccarella	Ferrari	58	Engine	0
13	50	Roberto Bussinello	BRM	58	Oil pressure	0
14	20	Richie Ginther	Honda	56	Ignition	0
Ret	14	Denny Hulme	Brabham	46	Suspension	0
Ret	46	Frank Gardner	Brabham	45	Engine	0
Ret	44	Jo Siffert	Brabham	43	Gearbox	0
Ret	28	Geki	Lotus	37	Gearbox	0
Ret	8	John Surtees	Ferrari	34	Clutch	0
Ret	22	Ronnie Bucknum	Honda	27	Ignition	0
Ret	48	Masten Gregory	BRM	22	Gearbox	0
Ret	10	Giancarlo Baghetti	Brabham	12	Engine	0
Ret	52	Giorgio Bassi	BRM	8	Engine	0

1965 Italian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	24	Jim Clark	Lotus	46	1:36.400

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 Italian 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	34
3	Jackie Stewart	British	BRM	33
4	John Surtees	British	Ferrari	17
5	Dan Gurney	American	Brabham	13
6	Lorenzo Bandini	Italian	Ferrari	10
7	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	Cooper	10
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
14	Richard Attwood	British	Lotus	1
–	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	Brabham	0
–	Frank Gardner	Australian	Brabham	0
–	Masten Gregory	American	BRM	0
–	Bob Anderson	British	Brabham	0
–	Innes Ireland	British	Lotus	0
–	Paul Hawkins	Australian	Brabham / Lotus	0
–	Peter de Klerk	South African	Alfa Romeo	0
–	Tony Maggs	South African	Lotus	0
–	Ian Raby	British	Brabham / Brabham	0
–	Lucien Bianchi	Belgian	BRM	0
–	Nino Vaccarella	Italian	Ferrari	0
–	Sam Tingle	Rhodesian	LDS	0
–	Roberto Bussinello	Italian	BRM	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
–	Giacomo Russo	Italian	Lotus	0
–	John Love	Rhodesian	Cooper	0
–	Giancarlo Baghetti	Italian	Brabham	0
–	Giorgio Bassi	Italian	BRM	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	42
3	Ferrari	24
4	Brabham – Climax	19
5	Cooper – Climax	13
6	Brabham – BRM	2
7	Honda	2
8	Lotus – BRM	1
—	Brabham – Ford	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