1968 United States Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Jackie Stewart won at Watkins Glen to keep his championship challenge alive, finishing ahead of Graham Hill and John Surtees. Mario Andretti made an immediate impression by taking pole for his first World Championship start.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Mario Andretti	Lotus
Pole time	1:04.20
Fastest lap	Jackie Stewart	Matra
Fastest-lap time	1:05.220 on lap 52
First	Jackie Stewart	Matra
Second	Graham Hill	Lotus
Third	John Surtees	Honda

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
4 October 1968	Friday timed practice	13:00–17:00
5 October 1968	Saturday final qualifying	Start time unconfirmed
6 October 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 11 leading the 1968 F1 World Championship on 33 points, with Denny Hulme on 33. Lotus – Ford headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 47 points.

Race entries

Andretti joined Lotus and Bobby Unser drove for BRM after their aborted Monza starts. Bell replaced the injured Ickx at Ferrari. Stewart had both Matra-Cosworth cars available, while Pescarolo practised as a reserve rather than receiving a race start. Gurney continued with the McLaren.

Friday timed practice

Cold weather and showers initially interrupted running before Stewart and Amon emerged at the front. Unser crashed his BRM, requiring a replacement car, and Surtees suffered both a puncture and transmission trouble. Rindt’s rear wing came loose, while Hill’s pace was compromised by clutch problems. Numerous engine changes followed overnight.

Saturday final qualifying

Oliver escaped a heavy crash after a rear wheel failed, leaving him unable to race. Lotus fitted replacement wheels before Hill and Andretti continued. Courage also crashed, and Stewart’s broken front stub axle prevented him from defending his Friday time. Andretti seized the opportunity with a late pole lap, ahead of Stewart and Hill.

Qualifying Classification

Andretti took pole for his first championship start. Oliver did not start after Saturday’s accident; reserve practice participation did not guarantee a place in the race.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	12	Mario Andretti	Lotus	1:04.20
2	15	Jackie Stewart	Matra	1:04.27
3	10	Graham Hill	Lotus	1:04.28
4	6	Chris Amon	Ferrari	1:04.37
5	1	Denny Hulme	McLaren	1:04.57
6	4	Jochen Rindt	Brabham	1:04.81
7	14	Dan Gurney	McLaren	1:05.23
8	3	Jack Brabham	Brabham	1:05.25
9	5	John Surtees	Honda	1:05.32
10	2	Bruce McLaren	McLaren	1:05.69
11	8	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	1:06.10
12	16	Jo Siffert	Lotus	1:06.17
13	21	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	1:06.96
14	22	Piers Courage	BRM	1:07.02
15	7	Derek Bell	Ferrari	1:07.06
16	11	Jackie Oliver	Lotus	1:07.46
17	18	Vic Elford	Cooper	1:08.56
18	17	Jo Bonnier	McLaren	1:08.93
19	9	Bobby Unser	BRM	1:09.60
20	19	Lucien Bianchi	Cooper	1:09.77

What happened in the 1968 United States Grand Prix?

Stewart led from the start, with Andretti initially pursuing him. Damage to the Lotus’s nose forced Andretti to stop for repairs, and clutch failure later ended his debut. Amon also lost ground, while Hulme’s accident put an end to his race and hurt his title hopes.

Hill moved into second but could not match Stewart’s pace. Behind them, Gurney and Surtees fought for third. Gurney’s late tyre and fuel difficulties allowed Surtees to take the position on the final lap.

Stewart led every lap and won ahead of Hill, Surtees and Gurney. Siffert finished fifth despite a fuel stop, with McLaren sixth. Hill retained the championship lead, but Stewart closed the gap and Hulme remained mathematically in contention for the finale.

After the race, Graham Hill headed the drivers’ standings with 39 points, followed by Jackie Stewart on 36. Lotus – Ford led the constructors’ table on 53, with Matra – Ford on 45.

1968 United States Grand Prix race results

The 1968 United States Grand Prix was held on 6 October 1968.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	15	Jackie Stewart	Matra	108	1:59:20.29	9
2	10	Graham Hill	Lotus	108	+ 24.68	6
3	5	John Surtees	Honda	107	+ 1 lap	4
4	14	Dan Gurney	McLaren	107	+ 1 lap	3
5	16	Jo Siffert	Lotus	105	+ 3 laps	2
6	2	Bruce McLaren	McLaren	103	+ 5 laps	1
Ret	22	Piers Courage	BRM	93	Out of fuel	0
Ret	1	Denny Hulme	McLaren	92	Accident	0
NC	19	Lucien Bianchi	Cooper	88	+ 20 laps	0
Ret	3	Jack Brabham	Brabham	77	Engine	0
Ret	4	Jochen Rindt	Brabham	73	Engine	0
Ret	18	Vic Elford	Cooper	71	Engine	0
Ret	8	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	66	Suspension	0
NC	17	Jo Bonnier	McLaren	62	+ 46 laps	0
Ret	6	Chris Amon	Ferrari	59	Water pump	0
Ret	21	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	44	Transmission	0
Ret	9	Bobby Unser	BRM	35	Engine	0
Ret	12	Mario Andretti	Lotus	32	Clutch	0
Ret	7	Derek Bell	Ferrari	14	Engine	0
DNS	11	Jackie Oliver	Lotus	0	Non starter	0
DNS	20	Henri Pescarolo	Matra	0	Non starter	0

1968 United States Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	15	Jackie Stewart	Matra	52	1:05.220

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 United States Grand Prix.

1968 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Graham Hill	British	Lotus	39
2	Jackie Stewart	British	Matra	36
3	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	McLaren / McLaren / McLaren	33
4	Jacky Ickx	Belgian	Ferrari	27
5	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	McLaren / McLaren	16
6	Pedro Rodríguez	Mexican	BRM	15
7	John Surtees	British	Honda	12
8	Jo Siffert	Swiss	Cooper / Lotus	11
9	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	French	Matra / Matra	11
10	Chris Amon	New Zealander	Ferrari	10
11	Jim Clark	British	Lotus	9
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	Dan Gurney	American	Eagle / Brabham / McLaren	3
21	Jackie Oliver	British	Lotus	2
22	Jack Brabham	Australian	Brabham	2
23	Silvio Moser	Swiss	Brabham	2
24	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	Cooper / McLaren	1
–	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
–	Bobby Unser	American	BRM	0
–	Bill Brack	Canadian	Lotus	0
–	Mario Andretti	American	Lotus	0
–	Derek Bell	British	Ferrari	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	53
2	Matra – Ford	45
3	McLaren – Ford	43
4	Ferrari	32
5	BRM	25
6	Cooper – BRM	14
7	Honda	12
8	Brabham – Repco	10
9	Matra	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