1966 British Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Jack Brabham won at Brands Hatch to lead Denny Hulme home in the team’s first World Championship one-two. Graham Hill finished third after a race that began on a slippery surface and gradually dried.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Jack Brabham	Brabham
Pole time	1:34.5
Fastest lap	Jack Brabham	Brabham
Fastest-lap time	1:37.000 on lap 60
First	Jack Brabham	Brabham
Second	Denny Hulme	Brabham
Third	Graham Hill	BRM

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
14 July 1966	Thursday morning timed practice	10:30–13:00
14 July 1966	Thursday afternoon timed practice	16:30–17:30
15 July 1966	Friday final qualifying	10:30–12:30
15 July 1966	Friday untimed practice	One hour; start unconfirmed
16 July 1966	Saturday wet-weather warm-up laps	Morning; start unconfirmed
16 July 1966	Race	Start time unconfirmed

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

Championship background

Jack Brabham arrived at round 4 leading the 1966 F1 World Championship on 12 points, with Lorenzo Bandini on 10. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 21 points.

Race entries

Ferrari stayed away, while Stewart returned after his Spa accident. Brabham gave Chris Irwin his championship debut in the older Climax-powered car. Chris Lawrence entered a Cooper–Ferrari special, Trevor Taylor drove the Shannon, and McLaren returned with the Serenissima engine. Lotus hurriedly prepared a BRM-powered car for Arundell.

Thursday morning timed practice

Brabham and Hulme immediately established the pace. Clark arrived after a medical check on his eye, while Arundell’s car and several private entries were not yet ready. Stewart worked his way back into driving rather than chasing a quick lap immediately. The Cooper-Maseratis could not match the leading Brabhams on the tight circuit.

Thursday afternoon timed practice

The Brabham drivers remained comfortably competitive, with Hulme also helping Irwin learn the circuit. Hill and Clark were closely matched in their smaller-engined cars. Anderson lost running to an oil leak, and Bonnier’s borrowed car suffered an engine failure. Stewart continued accumulating laps as he regained confidence.

Friday final qualifying

Brabham retained pole while concentrating on tyre preparation. Gurney made a strong improvement in the Eagle and secured a front-row place, showing the chassis’s promise despite its temporary engine. Taylor finally ran the Shannon, and Arundell qualified his hastily converted Lotus. The Brabham team completed a front-row lockout of the first two positions.

Qualifying Classification

The fastest individual timed lap set the grid. Friday’s later wet session was untimed and served as preparation for the race.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	5	Jack Brabham	Brabham	1:34.5
2	6	Denny Hulme	Brabham	1:34.8
3	16	Dan Gurney	Eagle	1:35.8
4	3	Graham Hill	BRM	1:36.0
5	1	Jim Clark	Lotus	1:36.1
6	12	John Surtees	Cooper	1:36.4
7	11	Jochen Rindt	Cooper	1:36.6
8	4	Jackie Stewart	BRM	1:36.9
9	17	Mike Spence	Lotus	1:37.3
10	21	Bob Anderson	Brabham	1:37.5
11	20	Jo Siffert	Cooper	1:38.0
12	7	Chris Irwin	Brabham	1:38.1
13	14	Bruce McLaren	McLaren	1:38.5
14	25	Bob Bondurant	BRM	1:38.9
15	18	Jo Bonnier	Brabham	1:39.3
16	22	John Taylor	Brabham	1:40.0
17	19	Guy Ligier	Cooper	1:41.4
18	23	Trevor Taylor	Shannon	1:41.6
19	24	Chris Lawrence	Cooper	1:43.8
20	2	Peter Arundell	Lotus	1:54.3

Friday untimed practice

Rain arrived for the additional untimed session. Hill used it to assess Goodyear tyres in the wet, while Stewart gained valuable experience in poor conditions after his return. The slippery surface offered useful preparation without changing the grid.

Saturday wet-weather warm-up laps

The organisers extended the usual warm-up lap to several circuits because the track was wet and slippery. Drivers could assess the available grip before the start, with some of the more powerful cars visibly struggling for traction.

What happened in the 1966 British Grand Prix?

Brabham took command immediately, while Hulme lost ground in the opening traffic. Rindt and Surtees initially challenged in the slippery conditions, but their advantage faded as the road dried. Gurney retired early after an encouraging qualifying performance.

Hulme recovered through the field to take second. Hill and Clark disputed the next positions until Clark stopped for brake fluid, and Surtees later retired with mechanical trouble. Brabham remained comfortably clear.

Brabham won ahead of Hulme and Hill, with Clark fourth and Rindt fifth. McLaren finished sixth to score his team’s first championship point. The result extended Brabham’s lead and reinforced the team’s early-season reliability advantage.

After the race, Jack Brabham headed the drivers’ standings with 21 points, followed by Jochen Rindt on 11. Brabham – Repco led the constructors’ table on 21, with Ferrari on 21.

1966 British Grand Prix race results

The 1966 British Grand Prix was held on 16 July 1966.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	5	Jack Brabham	Brabham	80	2:13:13.4	9
2	6	Denny Hulme	Brabham	80	+ 9.6	6
3	3	Graham Hill	BRM	79	+ 1 lap	4
4	1	Jim Clark	Lotus	79	+ 1 lap	3
5	11	Jochen Rindt	Cooper	79	+ 1 lap	2
6	14	Bruce McLaren	McLaren	78	+ 2 laps	1
7	7	Chris Irwin	Brabham	78	+ 2 laps	0
8	22	John Taylor	Brabham	76	+ 4 laps	0
9	25	Bob Bondurant	BRM	76	+ 4 laps	0
10	19	Guy Ligier	Cooper	75	+ 5 laps	0
11	24	Chris Lawrence	Cooper	73	+ 7 laps	0
NC	21	Bob Anderson	Brabham	70	+ 10 laps	0
NC	20	Jo Siffert	Cooper	70	+ 10 laps	0
Ret	12	John Surtees	Cooper	67	Transmission	0
Ret	18	Jo Bonnier	Brabham	42	Clutch	0
Ret	2	Peter Arundell	Lotus	32	Gearbox	0
Ret	4	Jackie Stewart	BRM	17	Engine	0
Ret	17	Mike Spence	Lotus	15	Oil leak	0
Ret	16	Dan Gurney	Eagle	9	Engine	0
Ret	23	Trevor Taylor	Shannon	0	Engine	0

1966 British Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	5	Jack Brabham	Brabham	60	1:37.000

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

1966 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1966 British Grand Prix.

1966 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Jack Brabham	Australian	Brabham	21
2	Jochen Rindt	Austrian	Cooper	11
3	Lorenzo Bandini	Italian	Ferrari	10
4	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	Brabham / Brabham	10
5	Jackie Stewart	British	BRM	9
6	John Surtees	British	Ferrari / Cooper	9
7	Graham Hill	British	BRM	8
8	Mike Parkes	British	Ferrari	6
9	Bob Bondurant	American	BRM	3
10	Jim Clark	British	Lotus	3
11	Richie Ginther	American	Cooper	2
12	Dan Gurney	American	Eagle	2
13	John Taylor	British	Brabham	1
14	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	McLaren / McLaren	1
–	Bob Anderson	British	Brabham	0
–	Chris Irwin	British	Brabham	0
–	Chris Amon	New Zealander	Cooper	0
–	Guy Ligier	French	Cooper	0
–	Chris Lawrence	British	Cooper	0
–	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	Cooper / Brabham	0
–	Mike Spence	British	Lotus	0
–	Jo Siffert	Swiss	Brabham / Cooper	0
–	Pedro Rodríguez	Mexican	Lotus	0
–	Peter Arundell	British	Lotus	0
–	Vic Wilson	British	BRM	0
–	Trevor Taylor	British	Shannon	0

1966 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Brabham – Repco	21
2	Ferrari	21
3	BRM	13
4	Cooper – Maserati	11
5	Lotus – Climax	3
6	Eagle – Climax	2
7	Brabham – BRM	1
8	McLaren – Serenissima	1
—	Brabham – Climax	0
—	Cooper – Ferrari	0
—	Lotus – BRM	0
—	McLaren – Ford	0
—	Shannon – Climax	0

Drivers and constructors counted their best 5 results. Only the highest-placed eligible car for each constructor could score constructor points.

1966 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1966 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	22 May
2	1966 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	12 June
3	1966 French Grand Prix	Reims-Gueux, Reims	3 July
4	1966 British Grand Prix	Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown	16 July
5	1966 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	24 July
6	1966 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	7 August
7	1966 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	4 September
8	1966 United States Grand Prix	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York	2 October
9	1966 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	23 October