1966 United States Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Jim Clark gave the Lotus–BRM H16 its only World Championship victory at Watkins Glen. Jochen Rindt and John Surtees completed the podium for Cooper, while Brabham-Repco secured the constructors’ crown despite a double retirement.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Jack Brabham	Brabham
Pole time	1:08.42
Fastest lap	John Surtees	Cooper
Fastest-lap time	1:09.670 on lap 31
First	Jim Clark	Lotus
Second	Jochen Rindt	Cooper
Third	John Surtees	Cooper

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
30 September 1966	Friday timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
1 October 1966	Saturday final qualifying	Start time unconfirmed
2 October 1966	Pre-race preparations	Morning; start unconfirmed
2 October 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 8 leading the 1966 F1 World Championship on 39 points, with Jochen Rindt on 18. Brabham – Repco headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 40 points.

Race entries

Ferrari brought only Bandini, while Honda returned with Ginther and Bucknum. Bondurant replaced the unwell Phil Hill in Eagle’s Climax-powered car, and Ireland drove Bernard White’s BRM. McLaren returned with a revised Ford engine. The organisers replaced traditional starting payments with a substantial prize fund rewarding finishing positions.

Friday timed practice

Cold, windy weather hindered early running, and several teams spent time correcting gearing or fuel settings. Bucknum’s gearbox failed, McLaren survived an over-rev, and Bonnier required engine repairs. As the wind eased, Bandini and Surtees broke the 120 mph average-speed barrier. Clark tried both Lotus engine configurations, with the H16 showing speed but also oil-pressure trouble.

Saturday final qualifying

Rain before practice left the circuit slow to dry. McLaren worked on understeer and starting problems, while Honda continued trying to improve its handling. The decisive laps came late: Brabham took pole and Clark put the H16 Lotus alongside him. Clark’s engine then failed, forcing Lotus to install a spare supplied by BRM. Rindt also needed an engine change after excessive oil consumption.

Qualifying Classification

Friday and Saturday each offered four hours of practice. The fastest individual lap across both sessions set the grid, with no knockout stages.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	5	Jack Brabham	Brabham	1:08.42
2	1	Jim Clark	Lotus	1:08.53
3	9	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	1:08.57
4	7	John Surtees	Cooper	1:08.73
5	3	Graham Hill	BRM	1:08.87
6	4	Jackie Stewart	BRM	1:09.17
7	6	Denny Hulme	Brabham	1:09.28
8	12	Richie Ginther	Honda	1:09.37
9	8	Jochen Rindt	Cooper	1:09.63
10	11	Pedro Rodríguez	Lotus	1:10.40
11	17	Bruce McLaren	McLaren	1:10.57
12	18	Mike Spence	Lotus	1:10.73
13	19	Jo Siffert	Cooper	1:10.97
14	15	Dan Gurney	Eagle	1:11.03
15	22	Jo Bonnier	Cooper	1:11.40
16	16	Bob Bondurant	Eagle	1:12.40
17	10	Innes Ireland	BRM	1:12.63
18	14	Ronnie Bucknum	Honda	1:12.70
19	2	Peter Arundell	Lotus	No time

Pre-race preparations

Clark finally committed to the H16 Lotus after considering the smaller Climax-powered alternative. An oil leak on the dummy grid required attention before he could complete his warm-up lap. The hurried preparation made the eventual victory especially striking.

What happened in the 1966 United States Grand Prix?

Bandini led away, but Brabham moved past Clark and then challenged the Ferrari. Surtees was also in contention until contact with Arundell cost him time and triggered a heated pit-lane exchange. His subsequent recovery became one of the race’s strongest performances.

Bandini regained the lead before his engine failed. Brabham then retired with engine trouble, leaving Clark in front. The much-questioned H16 finally lasted the distance, and Clark brought the Lotus home comfortably ahead.

Rindt retained second despite running short of fuel; his final slow lap was not counted under the event’s time limit. Surtees recovered to third after repeatedly setting a rapid pace. Ferrari’s retirement also ensured that Brabham-Repco could no longer be caught in the constructors’ championship.

After the race, Jack Brabham headed the drivers’ standings with 39 points, followed by Jochen Rindt on 22. Brabham – Repco led the constructors’ table on 40, with Ferrari on 31.

1966 United States Grand Prix race results

The 1966 United States Grand Prix was held on 2 October 1966.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	1	Jim Clark	Lotus	108	2:09:40.11	9
2	8	Jochen Rindt	Cooper	107	Out of fuel	6
3	7	John Surtees	Cooper	107	+ 1 lap	4
4	19	Jo Siffert	Cooper	105	+ 3 laps	3
5	17	Bruce McLaren	McLaren	105	+ 3 laps	2
6	2	Peter Arundell	Lotus	101	+ 7 laps	1
Ret	10	Innes Ireland	BRM	96	Alternator	0
NC	12	Richie Ginther	Honda	81	+ 27 laps	0
Ret	18	Mike Spence	Lotus	74	Ignition	0
Ret	14	Ronnie Bucknum	Honda	58	Engine	0
NC	22	Jo Bonnier	Cooper	57	+ 51 laps	0
Ret	5	Jack Brabham	Brabham	55	Engine	0
Ret	4	Jackie Stewart	BRM	53	Engine	0
Ret	3	Graham Hill	BRM	52	Differential	0
Ret	9	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	34	Engine	0
Ret	6	Denny Hulme	Brabham	18	Engine	0
Ret	11	Pedro Rodríguez	Lotus	13	Retirement	0
Ret	15	Dan Gurney	Eagle	13	Clutch	0
DSQ	16	Bob Bondurant	Eagle	5	Disqualified	0

1966 United States Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	7	John Surtees	Cooper	31	1:09.670

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 United States Grand Prix.

1966 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Jack Brabham	Australian	Brabham	39
2	Jochen Rindt	Austrian	Cooper	22
3	John Surtees	British	Ferrari / Cooper	19
4	Graham Hill	British	BRM	17
5	Jim Clark	British	Lotus / Lotus	16
6	Jackie Stewart	British	BRM	14
7	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	Brabham / Brabham	14
8	Mike Parkes	British	Ferrari	12
9	Lorenzo Bandini	Italian	Ferrari	12
10	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Italian	Ferrari	9
11	Mike Spence	British	Lotus	4
12	Bob Bondurant	American	BRM / Eagle	3
13	Jo Siffert	Swiss	Brabham / Cooper	3
14	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	McLaren / McLaren	3
15	Dan Gurney	American	Eagle / Eagle	2
16	Richie Ginther	American	Cooper / Honda	2
17	Bob Anderson	British	Brabham	1
18	Peter Arundell	British	Lotus / Lotus	1
19	John Taylor	British	Brabham	1
–	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	Cooper / Brabham	0
–	Chris Irwin	British	Brabham	0
–	Chris Amon	New Zealander	Cooper / Brabham	0
–	Guy Ligier	French	Cooper	0
–	Giacomo Russo	Italian	Lotus	0
–	Chris Lawrence	British	Cooper	0
–	Innes Ireland	British	BRM	0
–	Pedro Rodríguez	Mexican	Lotus / Lotus	0
–	Giancarlo Baghetti	Italian	Ferrari	0
–	Ronnie Bucknum	American	Honda	0
–	Vic Wilson	British	BRM	0
–	Trevor Taylor	British	Shannon	0

1966 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Brabham – Repco	40
2	Ferrari	31
3	Cooper – Maserati	24
4	BRM	22
5	Lotus – BRM	13
6	Lotus – Climax	8
7	Eagle – Climax	2
8	McLaren – Ford	2
9	Brabham – Climax	1
10	Brabham – BRM	1
11	McLaren – Serenissima	1
—	Cooper – Ferrari	0
—	Shannon – Climax	0
—	Honda	0
—	Eagle – Weslake	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