1968 French Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Jacky Ickx earned his first World Championship victory with an assured wet-weather drive at Rouen. John Surtees finished second and Jackie Stewart third, but Jo Schlesser’s fatal accident made this a deeply sombre French Grand Prix.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Jochen Rindt	Brabham
Pole time	1:56.1
Fastest lap	Pedro Rodriguez	BRM
Fastest-lap time	2:11.500 on lap 19
First	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari
Second	John Surtees	Honda
Third	Jackie Stewart	Matra

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
4 July 1968	Thursday timed practice	17:20–18:10
5 July 1968	Friday final qualifying	Approximately 17:00–18:20
7 July 1968	Sunday morning testing	08:00; finish unconfirmed
7 July 1968	Race	16:00

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 6 leading the 1968 F1 World Championship on 24 points, with Jackie Stewart on 12. Lotus – Ford headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 29 points.

Race entries

Schlesser drove Honda’s new air-cooled V8 car after Surtees judged it unready and continued with the established V12 machine. Vic Elford made his championship debut for Cooper, alongside Servoz-Gavin. Large rear wings appeared on the works Lotus cars, while several other teams continued their own aerodynamic experiments.

Thursday timed practice

Rindt immediately exploited his knowledge of Rouen to set a formidable pace. The session began and ended earlier than advertised, leaving teams frustrated by the limited running. Elford suffered a fuel-pump failure, Brabham struggled with fuel delivery, and Oliver’s driveshaft joint overheated. Schlesser cautiously explored the unfamiliar Honda, while Surtees ran strongly in the V12 car.

Friday final qualifying

Rindt’s engine problems prevented him from repeating Thursday’s performance, but his earlier time remained enough for pole. Oliver escaped a major crash that tore the rear of his Lotus away and left him unable to start. Elford suffered an engine failure, while Stewart improved to second and Ickx retained third. No Saturday practice was held because of the road-closure arrangements.

Qualifying Classification

Thursday and Friday timed practice decided the grid. Rindt secured his first pole; Oliver’s accident left Lotus without a second race starter.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	2	Jochen Rindt	Brabham	1:56.1
2	28	Jackie Stewart	Matra	1:57.3
3	26	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	1:57.7
4	8	Denny Hulme	McLaren	1:57.7
5	24	Chris Amon	Ferrari	1:57.8
6	10	Bruce McLaren	McLaren	1:58.0
7	16	John Surtees	Honda	1:58.2
8	6	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	1:58.9
9	12	Graham Hill	Lotus	1:59.1
10	20	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	1:59.3
11	14	Jackie Oliver	Lotus	2:00.2
12	34	Jo Siffert	Lotus	2:00.3
13	22	Richard Attwood	BRM	2:00.8
14	4	Jack Brabham	Brabham	2:00.8
15	36	Piers Courage	BRM	2:01.1
16	32	Johnny Servoz-Gavin	Cooper	2:01.2
17	18	Jo Schlesser	Honda	2:04.5
18	30	Vic Elford	Cooper	2:05.5

Sunday morning testing

A final test session was available on Sunday morning after Saturday had been reserved for preparation. The short qualifying sessions had left several teams with substantial work, including Cooper’s engine repairs. The contemporary account does not provide a separate timed classification for this running.

What happened in the 1968 French Grand Prix?

Ickx chose full wet-weather tyres and took the lead during the opening lap as rain intensified. Schlesser crashed on lap three, and the Honda overturned and caught fire. He was killed, overshadowing the remainder of the event.

Rodriguez and Surtees challenged Ickx, briefly moving ahead during a heavy downpour, but the Ferrari driver regained control. Debris caused punctures for several competitors, while Hill retired with a broken driveshaft. Rodriguez later lost ground through repeated gearbox trouble.

Ickx won ahead of Surtees and Stewart. Elford drove steadily to fourth on his debut, with Hulme fifth and Courage sixth. It was Ferrari’s first championship victory since 1966, achieved on an afternoon remembered above all for Schlesser’s death.

After the race, Graham Hill headed the drivers’ standings with 24 points, followed by Jacky Ickx on 16. Lotus – Ford led the constructors’ table on 29, with McLaren – Ford on 19.

1968 French Grand Prix race results

The 1968 French Grand Prix was held on 7 July 1968, with a scheduled start of 16:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	26	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	60	2:25:40.9	9
2	16	John Surtees	Honda	60	+ 1:58.6	6
3	28	Jackie Stewart	Matra	59	+ 1 lap	4
4	30	Vic Elford	Cooper	58	+ 2 laps	3
5	8	Denny Hulme	McLaren	58	+ 2 laps	2
6	36	Piers Courage	BRM	57	+ 3 laps	1
7	22	Richard Attwood	BRM	57	+ 3 laps	0
8	10	Bruce McLaren	McLaren	56	+ 4 laps	0
9	6	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	56	+ 4 laps	0
10	24	Chris Amon	Ferrari	55	+ 5 laps	0
11	34	Jo Siffert	Lotus	54	+ 6 laps	0
NC	20	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	53	+ 7 laps	0
Ret	2	Jochen Rindt	Brabham	45	Fuel leak	0
Ret	4	Jack Brabham	Brabham	15	Fuel pump	0
Ret	12	Graham Hill	Lotus	14	Halfshaft	0
Ret	32	Johnny Servoz-Gavin	Cooper	14	Accident	0
Ret	18	Jo Schlesser	Honda	2	Fatal accident	0
DNS	14	Jackie Oliver	Lotus		Accident in practice	0

1968 French Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	20	Pedro Rodriguez	BRM	19	2:11.500

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 French Grand Prix.

1968 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Graham Hill	British	Lotus	24
2	Jacky Ickx	Belgian	Ferrari	16
3	Jackie Stewart	British	Matra	16
4	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	McLaren / McLaren	12
5	Pedro Rodríguez	Mexican	BRM	10
6	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	McLaren	9
7	Jim Clark	British	Lotus	9
8	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	French	Matra / Matra	9
9	Richard Attwood	British	BRM	6
10	John Surtees	British	Honda	6
11	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Italian	Cooper	6
12	Lucien Bianchi	Belgian	Cooper	5
13	Jochen Rindt	Austrian	Brabham	4
14	Brian Redman	British	Cooper / Cooper	4
15	Chris Amon	New Zealander	Ferrari	4
16	Vic Elford	British	Cooper	3
17	Jackie Oliver	British	Lotus	2
18	Silvio Moser	Swiss	Brabham	2
19	Piers Courage	British	BRM	1
–	Jo Siffert	Swiss	Cooper / Lotus	0
–	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	Cooper / McLaren	0
–	John Love	Rhodesian	Brabham	0
–	Jackie Pretorius	South African	Brabham	0
–	Dan Gurney	American	Eagle / Brabham	0
–	Jack Brabham	Australian	Brabham	0
–	Johnny Servoz-Gavin	French	Matra / Cooper	0
–	Sam Tingle	Rhodesian	LDS	0
–	Basil van Rooyen	South African	Cooper	0
–	Jo Schlesser	French	Honda	0
–	Andrea de Adamich	Italian	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	29
2	McLaren – Ford	19
3	Ferrari	19
4	Matra – Ford	19
5	BRM	17
6	Cooper – BRM	12
7	Matra	6
8	Honda	6
9	Brabham – Repco	6
10	McLaren – BRM	2
—	Cooper – Maserati	0
—	Brabham – Climax	0
—	Eagle – Weslake	0
—	LDS – Repco	0
—	Cooper – 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