1968 Monaco Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Graham Hill claimed his fourth Monaco victory, holding off an impressive Richard Attwood as only five cars finished. Lucien Bianchi took third for Cooper after an afternoon of accidents and mechanical failures.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Graham Hill	Lotus
Pole time	1:28.2
Fastest lap	Richard Attwood	BRM
Fastest-lap time	1:28.100 on lap 80
First	Graham Hill	Lotus
Second	Richard Attwood	BRM
Third	Lucien Bianchi	Cooper

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
23 May 1968	Thursday timed practice	14:00; finish unconfirmed
24 May 1968	Friday morning timed practice	08:00; finish unconfirmed
25 May 1968	Saturday final qualifying	Afternoon; start unconfirmed
26 May 1968	Race	Start time unconfirmed

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 3 leading the 1968 F1 World Championship on 15 points, with Jim Clark on 9. Lotus – Ford headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 18 points.

The harbour chicane had been tightened and the scheduled distance reduced from 100 laps to 80 after the previous year’s fatal accident involving Lorenzo Bandini. Ferrari did not attend. Lotus introduced its revised 49B as aerodynamic development began to become more visible.

Race entries

Johnny Servoz-Gavin replaced the injured Stewart in the Matra-Cosworth, while Beltoise drove Matra’s new V12-powered car. Attwood joined the works BRM team after Chris Irwin’s serious sports-car accident. Bianchi substituted for Redman at Cooper, and Oliver made his championship debut in a Formula One Lotus.

Thursday timed practice

Hill quickly established himself at the front, while Servoz-Gavin impressed on his first outing in a three-litre Grand Prix car. Transmission failures disrupted several teams: Siffert, Surtees and Scarfiotti all lost running, and Gurney’s engine failed. Beltoise switched between Matra’s V12 cars as oil leaks and temperature problems complicated their debut.

Friday morning timed practice

Hill improved again, although clipping a kerb damaged a wheel. Siffert and Servoz-Gavin challenged strongly, but broken driveshafts, gearbox problems and oil leaks continued across the field. Lotus fitted stronger gearbox side plates to Oliver’s car. Hulme left before the session ended to qualify at Indianapolis, missing Saturday’s running.

Saturday final qualifying

Rain initially limited improvement, and teams concentrated on repairs and wet-weather preparation. As the roads dried, Bianchi improved enough to secure a starting place, leaving Bonnier and Moser out. Servoz-Gavin tried to repeat his earlier time under his race number but encountered a grabbing brake. Hill’s Friday lap remained unbeaten.

Qualifying Classification

Ten invited entries had guaranteed places. The remaining drivers competed for six grid slots, so Bonnier and Moser missed out despite recording faster laps than some invited starters. The published session times must be read alongside that selection rule.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	9	Graham Hill	Lotus	1:28.2
2	11	Johnny Servoz-Gavin	Matra	1:28.8
3	17	Jo Siffert	Lotus	1:28.8
4	8	John Surtees	Honda	1:29.1
5	3	Jochen Rindt	Brabham	1:29.2
6	15	Richard Attwood	BRM	1:29.6
7	14	Bruce McLaren	McLaren	1:29.6
8	1	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	1:29.7
9	4	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	1:30.4
10	12	Denny Hulme	McLaren	1:30.4
11	16	Piers Courage	BRM	1:30.6
12	2	Jack Brabham	Brabham	1:31.2
13	10	Jackie Oliver	Lotus	1:31.7
14	7	Lucien Bianchi	Cooper	1:31.9
15	6	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Cooper	1:32.9
16	19	Dan Gurney	Eagle	1:32.9
DNQ	18	Jo Bonnier	McLaren	1:32.1
DNQ	21	Silvio Moser	Brabham	1:32.4

What happened in the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix?

Servoz-Gavin led away, but a driveshaft failure ended his race after only a few laps. McLaren and Oliver were involved in an opening-lap collision, and further retirements rapidly thinned the field. Hill inherited the lead and managed the race from the front.

Attwood kept the Lotus under pressure and finished just 2.2 seconds behind, also setting the fastest lap. Bianchi took third, four laps down, with Scarfiotti fourth and Hulme fifth. Both Attwood and Bianchi achieved their only World Championship podium finishes.

Hill’s second consecutive victory strengthened his championship lead and reinforced his remarkable Monaco record. The result also rewarded BRM and Cooper for surviving a meeting that had exposed so many mechanical weaknesses.

After the race, Graham Hill headed the drivers’ standings with 24 points, followed by Denny Hulme on 10. Lotus – Ford led the constructors’ table on 27, with McLaren – Ford on 8.

1968 Monaco Grand Prix race results

The 1968 Monaco Grand Prix was held on 26 May 1968.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	9	Graham Hill	Lotus	80	2:00:32.3	9
2	15	Richard Attwood	BRM	80	+ 2.2	6
3	7	Lucien Bianchi	Cooper	76	+ 4 Laps	4
4	6	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Cooper	76	+ 4 Laps	3
5	12	Denny Hulme	McLaren	73	+ 7 Laps	2
Ret	8	John Surtees	Honda	16	Gearbox	0
Ret	4	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	16	Accident	0
Ret	16	Piers Courage	BRM	12	Chassis	0
Ret	17	Jo Siffert	Lotus	11	Differential	0
Ret	1	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	11	Accident	0
Ret	19	Dan Gurney	Eagle	9	Engine	0
Ret	3	Jochen Rindt	Brabham	8	Accident	0
Ret	2	Jack Brabham	Brabham	7	Suspension	0
Ret	11	Johnny Servoz-Gavin	Matra	3	Halfshaft	0
Ret	14	Bruce McLaren	McLaren	0	Accident	0
Ret	10	Jackie Oliver	Lotus	0	Accident	0

1968 Monaco Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	15	Richard Attwood	BRM	80	1:28.100

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 Monaco Grand Prix.

1968 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Graham Hill	British	Lotus	24
2	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	McLaren / McLaren	10
3	Jim Clark	British	Lotus	9
4	Richard Attwood	British	BRM	6
5	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Italian	Cooper	6
6	Jochen Rindt	Austrian	Brabham	4
7	Brian Redman	British	Cooper / Cooper	4
8	Lucien Bianchi	Belgian	Cooper	4
9	Chris Amon	New Zealander	Ferrari	3
10	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	French	Matra / Matra	3
–	Jo Siffert	Swiss	Cooper / Lotus	0
–	John Surtees	British	Honda	0
–	John Love	Rhodesian	Brabham	0
–	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	McLaren	0
–	Pedro Rodríguez	Mexican	BRM	0
–	Piers Courage	British	BRM	0
–	Jackie Pretorius	South African	Brabham	0
–	Dan Gurney	American	Eagle	0
–	Jacky Ickx	Belgian	Ferrari	0
–	Jack Brabham	Australian	Brabham	0
–	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	Cooper / McLaren	0
–	Jackie Stewart	British	Matra	0
–	Johnny Servoz-Gavin	French	Matra	0
–	Sam Tingle	Rhodesian	LDS	0
–	Basil van Rooyen	South African	Cooper	0
–	Jackie Oliver	British	Lotus	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	27
2	McLaren – Ford	8
3	Cooper – BRM	8
4	BRM	6
5	Brabham – Repco	4
6	Ferrari	3
7	Matra – Ford	3
8	McLaren – BRM	2
—	Cooper – Maserati	0
—	Honda	0
—	Brabham – Climax	0
—	Eagle – Weslake	0
—	LDS – Repco	0
—	Cooper – Climax	0
—	Matra	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