1968 Canadian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Denny Hulme led a McLaren one-two at Mont-Tremblant after Chris Amon lost a commanding lead to transmission failure. Bruce McLaren finished second and Pedro Rodriguez third, while Hulme drew level with Graham Hill in the championship.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Jochen Rindt	Brabham
Pole time	1:33.8
Fastest lap	Jo Siffert	Lotus
Fastest-lap time	1:35.100 on lap 22
First	Denny Hulme	McLaren
Second	Bruce McLaren	McLaren
Third	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
19 September 1968	Thursday unofficial practice	Start time unconfirmed
20 September 1968	Friday timed practice	13:00; finish unconfirmed
21 September 1968	Saturday final qualifying	Start time unconfirmed
22 September 1968	Sunday acclimatisation	13:00–13:10
22 September 1968	Race	14:30

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 10 leading the 1968 F1 World Championship on 30 points, with Jacky Ickx on 27. Lotus – Ford headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 44 points.

Race entries

The Canadian Grand Prix moved from Mosport to Mont-Tremblant. Gurney switched to a McLaren after his Eagle difficulties, Bill Brack joined Lotus, and Henri Pescarolo debuted in a second V12 Matra. Together with Stewart and Servoz-Gavin’s Cosworth-powered cars, that made four Matras in the field.

Thursday unofficial practice

Hulme tried the newer exhaust arrangement before rejecting it for the circuit’s demands. The layout placed greater importance on usable power than Monza, prompting teams to reassess their engine and aerodynamic settings. This unofficial preparation was separate from the two days that determined the grid.

Friday timed practice

Ickx crashed when his Ferrari’s throttle stuck open and broke his leg, ending his weekend. Siffert also encountered a sticking throttle, traced to the pedal mechanism. Hill damaged his Lotus in a separate excursion, while Elford lost running to fuel-pressure trouble. Amon eventually set the day’s strongest time as others worked through cooling and setup problems.

Saturday final qualifying

Rindt and Amon matched times at the front, with Rindt taking pole. Siffert and Gurney also improved sharply late in the session. Surtees’s newer Honda suffered a suspension failure, forcing him towards the older car despite its own concerns. Hill’s handling difficulties were traced to a wheel-and-tyre mix-up only as running ended. Pease withdrew with engine trouble.

Qualifying Classification

The two official practice days decided the grid. Ickx did not start after his injury, while the quickest time was shared by Rindt and Amon, with Rindt awarded pole.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	6	Jochen Rindt	Brabham	1:33.8
2	9	Chris Amon	Ferrari	1:33.8
3	12	Jo Siffert	Lotus	1:34.5
4	11	Dan Gurney	McLaren	1:34.5
5	3	Graham Hill	Lotus	1:34.8
6	1	Denny Hulme	McLaren	1:34.9
7	8	John Surtees	Honda	1:34.9
8	2	Bruce McLaren	McLaren	1:35.0
9	4	Jackie Oliver	Lotus	1:35.2
10	5	Jack Brabham	Brabham	1:35.4
11	14	Jackie Stewart	Matra	1:35.4
12	16	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	1:35.7
13	15	Johnny Servoz-Gavin	Matra	1:36.6
14	10	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	1:36.6
15	24	Piers Courage	BRM	1:37.3
16	18	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	1:38.7
17	21	Vic Elford	Cooper	1:39.4
18	22	Jo Bonnier	McLaren	1:39.6
19	20	Lucien Bianchi	Cooper	1:40.5
20	19	Henri Pescarolo	Matra	1:41.2
21	27	Bill Brack	Lotus	1:41.2
22	25	Al Pease	Eagle	1:49.6

Sunday acclimatisation

A short acclimatisation period preceded the usual warm-up lap. Inspection afterwards revealed twisted driveshafts on all three works Lotus cars, prompting urgent replacements. Fuel capacity also required attention ahead of the long race distance.

What happened in the 1968 Canadian Grand Prix?

Amon led from the start, pursued initially by Siffert and Rindt. Gurney retired with radiator trouble, Siffert lost oil, and Rindt’s engine failed. Hill moved up but then dropped back with a severe vibration as the McLarens advanced.

Amon appeared to have the race under control until his transmission failed with fewer than twenty laps remaining. Hulme inherited the lead and completed a second successive victory, a lap ahead of McLaren. Rodriguez finished third for BRM.

Hill salvaged fourth, followed by Elford and Stewart. The result left Hill and Hulme tied on points, while Ickx’s injury dealt a major blow to his challenge. The championship remained open with two races to go.

After the race, Graham Hill headed the drivers’ standings with 33 points, followed by Denny Hulme on 33. Lotus – Ford led the constructors’ table on 47, with McLaren – Ford on 40.

1968 Canadian Grand Prix race results

The 1968 Canadian Grand Prix was held on 22 September 1968, with a scheduled start of 14:30 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	1	Denny Hulme	McLaren	90	2:27:11.2	9
2	2	Bruce McLaren	McLaren	89	+ 1 Lap	6
3	16	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	88	+ 2 Laps	4
4	3	Graham Hill	Lotus	86	+ 4 Laps	3
5	21	Vic Elford	Cooper	86	+ 4 Laps	2
6	14	Jackie Stewart	Matra	83	+ 7 Laps	1
Ret	18	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	77	Gearbox	0
Ret	9	Chris Amon	Ferrari	72	Transmission	0
Ret	15	Johnny Servoz-Gavin	Matra	71	Accident	0
NC	20	Lucien Bianchi	Cooper	56	+ 34 Laps	0
Ret	19	Henri Pescarolo	Matra	54	Oil pressure	0
Ret	6	Jochen Rindt	Brabham	39	Overheating	0
Ret	4	Jackie Oliver	Lotus	32	Halfshaft	0
Ret	5	Jack Brabham	Brabham	31	Suspension	0
Ret	12	Jo Siffert	Lotus	29	Oil leak	0
Ret	11	Dan Gurney	McLaren	29	Radiator	0
Ret	24	Piers Courage	BRM	22	Gearbox	0
Ret	27	Bill Brack	Lotus	18	Halfshaft	0
Ret	8	John Surtees	Honda	10	Gearbox	0
Ret	22	Jo Bonnier	McLaren	0	Fuel system	0
DNS	10	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari		Practice accident/Injury	0
DNS	25	Al Pease	Eagle		Engine	0

1968 Canadian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	12	Jo Siffert	Lotus	22	1:35.100

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

1968 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1968 Canadian Grand Prix.

1968 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Graham Hill	British	Lotus	33
2	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	McLaren / McLaren	33
3	Jackie Stewart	British	Matra	27
4	Jacky Ickx	Belgian	Ferrari	27
5	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	McLaren / McLaren	15
6	Pedro Rodríguez	Mexican	BRM	15
7	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	French	Matra / Matra	11
8	Chris Amon	New Zealander	Ferrari	10
9	Jo Siffert	Swiss	Cooper / Lotus	9
10	Jim Clark	British	Lotus	9
11	John Surtees	British	Honda	8
12	Jochen Rindt	Austrian	Brabham	8
13	Richard Attwood	British	BRM	6
14	Johnny Servoz-Gavin	French	Matra / Cooper	6
15	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Italian	Cooper	6
16	Lucien Bianchi	Belgian	Cooper	5
17	Vic Elford	British	Cooper	5
18	Brian Redman	British	Cooper / Cooper	4
19	Piers Courage	British	BRM	4
20	Jackie Oliver	British	Lotus	2
21	Jack Brabham	Australian	Brabham	2
22	Silvio Moser	Swiss	Brabham	2
23	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	Cooper / McLaren	1
–	Dan Gurney	American	Eagle / Brabham / McLaren	0
–	John Love	Rhodesian	Brabham	0
–	Hubert Hahne	German	Lola	0
–	Kurt Ahrens	German	Brabham	0
–	Jackie Pretorius	South African	Brabham	0
–	David Hobbs	British	Honda	0
–	Henri Pescarolo	French	Matra	0
–	Robin Widdows	British	Cooper	0
–	Sam Tingle	Rhodesian	LDS	0
–	Basil van Rooyen	South African	Cooper	0
–	Jo Schlesser	French	Honda	0
–	Bill Brack	Canadian	Lotus	0
–	Andrea de Adamich	Italian	Ferrari	0
–	Derek Bell	British	Ferrari	0
–	Mike Spence	British	BRM	0
–	Dave Charlton	South African	Brabham	0

1968 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Lotus – Ford	47
2	McLaren – Ford	40
3	Matra – Ford	36
4	Ferrari	32
5	BRM	25
6	Cooper – BRM	14
7	Brabham – Repco	10
8	Matra	8
9	Honda	8
10	McLaren – BRM	3
—	Cooper – Maserati	0
—	Eagle – Weslake	0
—	Lola – BMW	0
—	Brabham – Climax	0
—	LDS – Repco	0
—	Cooper – Climax	0
—	Eagle – Climax	0

Drivers and constructors counted their best 5 results from rounds 1–6 and their best 5 from rounds 7–12. Only the highest-placed eligible car for each constructor could score constructor points.

1968 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1968 South African Grand Prix	Kyalami, Midrand	1 January
2	1968 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuito del Jarama, San Sebastián de los Reyes	12 May
3	1968 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	26 May
4	1968 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	9 June
5	1968 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	23 June
6	1968 French Grand Prix	Rouen-les-Essarts, Rouen	7 July
7	1968 British Grand Prix	Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown	20 July
8	1968 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	4 August
9	1968 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	8 September
10	1968 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Saint-Jovite	22 September
11	1968 United States Grand Prix	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York	6 October
12	1968 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	3 November