Driver changes

Three future champions made their debuts in 1965:

• Jackie Stewart replaced Richie Ginther at BRM, after the American driver was invited to join the Honda F1 team.
• Denny Hulme was signed by Brabham, racing with team owner Jack Brabham and veteran Dan Gurney.
• Having entered one race in 1964, Jochen Rindt was offered a full-time seat at Cooper, after 1961 champion Phil Hill had retired from single-seater racing.

Calendar changes

• The South African Grand Prix was moved forward a week, which meant it would not be the last round of 1964 but the first round of 1965.
• The French Grand Prix was moved from Rouen-Les-Essarts to Charade Circuit for a year.
• The British Grand Prix was moved from Brands Hatch to Silverstone, in keeping with the event-sharing arrangement between the two circuits.
• The Dutch Grand Prix was moved from the middle of May to the middle of July.
• The Austrian Grand Prix was run as a sports car race.^[3]

Rounds 1 to 3

For the first time, the championship started in South Africa, and it did on the very first day of the year. Sixteen drivers were invited to the event and guaranteed a place on the grid. There were four places remaining, but fourteen drivers applied. Through pre-qualifying and subsequent qualifying, the grid was filled. The drivers started in order of their fastest qualifying times: 1963 champion Jim Clark in his Lotus-Climax was on pole position, ahead of 1964 champion John Surtees (Ferrari) and 1959 and 1960 champion Jack Brabham (Brabham). After the start, Clark led away with his teammate Mike Spence up to second. Not many changes in positions happened after that, until Brabham's engine started misfiring, leaking oil, and sending Spence in a spin on the next lap. The podium was taken by Clark, Surtees and 1962 champion Graham Hill (BRM). Spence and Brabham finished fourth and eighth, respectively.^[4]

Just short of a full five months later, the Monaco Grand Prix was held and for this race, the organisers guaranteed one place on the grid for each factory team. The rest of the applicants had to be fast enough during qualifying to gain a starting ticket. In disagreement, Lotus decided to withdraw from the event, instead entering the Indianapolis 500 a day later. Hill started on pole position, ahead of Brabham and Hill's teammate Jackie Stewart. Brabham fell back and the two BRMs led away. Hill lost a lot of time when he had to avoid a backmarker, going up the escape road and having to push his car back onto the track. On lap 30, Stewart spun coming out of the fastest corner, before Brabham's Climax engine seized. Hill made it back into the lead, ahead of the Ferraris of Bandini and Surtees. Richard Attwood crashed in the hairpin, the leaders narrowly avoiding him, before Paul Hawkins crashed into the harbour. His car sank to the bottom but Hawkins was unhurt, as was Attwood. Hill took the win, ahead of Bandini and Stewart, after Surtees ran out of fuel with a lap to go.^[5]

For the Belgian Grand Prix, Hill started on pole again, ahead of Clark and Stewart. Rain fell and everyone held a safe distance from the car in front, expect Clark, who took the lead through the most dangerous corner on the track, the Masta Kink. He quickly pulled out a big lead and even lapped Hill. Stewart finished second, ahead of Bruce McLaren, Brabham and Hill. Attwood crashed at Masta, his Lotus breaking in half and catching fire, but the driver escaping with only minor burns.^[6]

After his Grand Slam in Belgium, Jim Clark (Lotus) was leading the Drivers' Championship with 18 points, ahead of Graham Hill (BRM, 15) and debutant Jackie Stewart (BRM, 11). In the Manufacturers' Championship, BRM was leading with 19 points, ahead of Lotus (18) and Ferrari (12).

Rounds 4 to 7

The French Grand Prix was run for the first time at the Circuit de Charade, which was described as a quicker, twistier version of the Nürburgring.^[7] Championship leader Jim Clark qualified his Lotus on pole position, ahead of two "number two drivers": Jackie Stewart (BRM) and Lorenzo Bandini (Ferrari). Their respective team leaders, Graham Hill and John Surtees, started thirteenth and fourth. Except from Bandini's accident on lap 36, the race finished as it started: Clark claimed another Grand Slam victory, ahead of Stewart and Surtees. Hill recovered to fifth.^[8]

The British Grand Prix was run at Silverstone, where Clark scored another pole position, ahead of Hill and Honda driver Richie Ginther. At the start, Ginther challenged Clark for the lead, but fell back to fourth and then retired on lap 26. Surtees was fighting for third place against Lotus driver Mike Spence, while his team leader suddenly slowed down. The Climax engine was losing oil and Clark was coasting round the corners, only using power on the straights. Hill did anything within his might to chase his rival down, but the Lotus hang on to finish with 3 seconds to spare. Surtees came in third.^[9]

The Dutch Grand Prix was run just a week later and all eyes were on Clark. It was his rival Hill, however, that scored pole position. Clark started in second, Ginther again in third. Moments before the flag fell, Lotus team owner Colin Chapman was involved in a brawl with the Dutch police. It would result in his arrest and a two-day imprisonment. The race went on unhindered, however, and saw Ginther take the lead. On lap 5, Hill and Clark were back at the front, with the Lotus soon getting ahead. Hill then lost second place to his teammate Stewart and third place to Brabham driver Dan Gurney. Clark scored his fifth win of the season, ahead of Stewart, his fourth podium, and Gurney, his first podium of the year.^[10]

It was Clark on top again during qualifying for the German Grand Prix, with more than 3 seconds over the BRMs of Stewart and Hill. At the start, Surtees's gearbox went wrong and he fell back. It would lead to his retirement on lap 11. Clark and Hill were fighting for the lead, while Stewart's suspension failed and he handed third place to Gurney. Clark broke the lap record a couple of times and won his fifth consecutive race. It was the first time since Jack Brabham in 1960 that a driver achieved this feat. Hill was second, Gurney third.^[11]

Jim Clark (Lotus) was still leading the Drivers' Championship, now at 54 points, ahead of Graham Hill (BRM, 30) and Jackie Stewart (BRM, 25). Hill would have to win the remaining three races to prevent Clark from becoming champion. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Lotus led with 54 points, ahead of BRM (39) and Scuderia Ferrari (21).

Rounds 8 to 10

Championship favourite Jim Clark (Lotus) achieved his fifth pole position of the year at the Italian Grand Prix, ahead of John Surtees for Ferrari and Jackie Stewart for BRM. At the start, Surtees had problems with his clutch, so Clark and Stewart were followed by Graham Hill, who had to finish first to stay in the race for the championship. The top three were engaged in a slipstream battle and the lead changed hands lap after lap. With ten laps to go, Clark suddenly stopped with a failing fuel pump, so Hill and Stewart were free to fight over the win in equal machinery. Going into the last lap, Hill touched the grass with his outer wheels, almost spinning but certainly valuable seconds. Stewart won his first race, with Hill in second and Dan Gurney in third. Despite Clark's retirement, Hill's second place meant that the 1965 championship was now decided.^[12]

Hill started on pole for the United States Grand Prix, ahead of Clark and Honda driver Richie Ginther. Clark quickly grabbed the lead but soon retired with a broken piston. As it had happened more often, Ginther fell back, while his American rival Gurney went up the order. He came within four seconds of Hill when the Brit slid off the track, but when he made a mistake himself, his team leader Jack Brabham took second place. The Australian challenged Hill for the lead, but was unable to get by, and then became the third top-runner to take to the grass. The order at the finish was Hill, Gurney, Brabham. Lotus clinched the Manufacturers' Championship, seeing that BRM could no longer catch them in the last race. ^[13]

The season ended with the Mexican Grand Prix, where Clark scored another pole position, ahead of Americans Gurney and Ginther. The Honda driver took the lead at the start, while Stewart got up to second, before being passed by Mike Spence. His teammate Clark suffered his third consecutive retirement, before Stewart went out at the half-way point, and Hill's engine gave out with ten laps to go. Gurney passed Spence for second place and came within 3 seconds of the leader, but Ginther held on to his and Honda's first win.^[14]

Jim Clark (Lotus) was awarded the 1965 Drivers' Championship after scoring 54 points, ahead of Graham Hill (BRM, 40) and Jackie Stewart (BRM, 33). Lotus clinched the Manufacturers' Championship as well, with 54 points, ahead of BRM (45), with Brabham just overtaking Ferrari for third place (27 and 26 points, respectively).

Grands Prix

More information Round, Grand Prix ...

Round	Grand Prix	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Winning constructor	Tyre	Report
1	South African Grand Prix	Jim Clark	Jim Clark	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax	D	Report
2	Monaco Grand Prix	Graham Hill	Graham Hill	Graham Hill	BRM	D	Report
3	Belgian Grand Prix	Graham Hill	Jim Clark	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax	D	Report
4	French Grand Prix	Jim Clark	Jim Clark	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax	D	Report
5	British Grand Prix	Jim Clark	Graham Hill	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax	D	Report
6	Dutch Grand Prix	Graham Hill	Jim Clark	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax	D	Report
7	German Grand Prix	Jim Clark	Jim Clark	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax	D	Report
8	Italian Grand Prix	Jim Clark	Jim Clark	Jackie Stewart	BRM	D	Report
9	United States Grand Prix	Graham Hill	Graham Hill	Graham Hill	BRM	D	Report
10	Mexican Grand Prix	Jim Clark	Dan Gurney	Richie Ginther	Honda	G	Report

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World Drivers' Championship standings

Points towards the 1965 World Championship of Drivers were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis to the top six finishers at each round. Only the best six round results could be retained.

More information Pos., Driver ...

Pos. Driver RSA MON BEL FRA GBR NED GER ITA USA MEX Pts.[lower-alpha 1] 1 Jim Clark 1 1 1 1 1 1 10 Ret Ret 54 2 Graham Hill 3 1 (5) (5) 2 (4) 2 2 1 Ret 40 (47) 3 Jackie Stewart (6) 3 2 2 5 2 Ret 1 Ret Ret 33 (34) 4 Dan Gurney Ret 10 Ret 6 3 3 3 2 2 25 5 John Surtees 2 4 Ret 3 3 7 Ret Ret 17 6 Lorenzo Bandini 15 2 9 8 Ret 9 6 4 4 8 13 7 Richie Ginther Ret 6 Ret Ret 6 14 7 1 11 8 Mike Spence 4 7 7 4 8 Ret 11 Ret 3 10 = Bruce McLaren 5 5 3 Ret 10 Ret Ret 5 Ret Ret 10 10 Jack Brabham 8 Ret 4 DNS 5 3 Ret 9 11 Denny Hulme 8 4 Ret 5 Ret Ret 5 = Jo Siffert 7 6 8 6 9 13 Ret Ret 11 4 5 13 Jochen Rindt Ret DNQ 11 Ret 14 Ret 4 8 6 Ret 4 14 Pedro Rodríguez 5 7 2 = Ronnie Bucknum Ret Ret Ret Ret 13 5 2 = Richard Attwood Ret 14 13 12 Ret 6 10 6 2 — Jo Bonnier Ret 7 Ret Ret 7 Ret 7 7 8 Ret 0 — Frank Gardner 12 Ret Ret 8 11 Ret Ret 0 — Masten Gregory Ret 12 8 Ret 0 — Bob Anderson NC 9 DNS 9 Ret Ret DNS 0 — Innes Ireland 13 Ret Ret 10 9 Ret DNS 0 — Paul Hawkins 9 10 Ret 0 — Bob Bondurant 9 Ret 0 — Peter de Klerk 10 0 — Tony Maggs 11 0 — Ian Raby 11 DNQ 0 — Moisés Solana 12 Ret 0 — Lucien Bianchi 12 0 — Nino Vaccarella 12 0 — Sam Tingle 13 0 — Roberto Bussinello DNQ 13 0 — David Prophet 14 0 — Chris Amon Ret DNS Ret 0 — John Love Ret 0 — Mike Hailwood Ret 0 — John Rhodes Ret 0 — Gerhard Mitter Ret 0 — Giancarlo Baghetti Ret 0 — Geki Ret 0 — Giorgio Bassi Ret 0 — Willy Mairesse DNS 0 — Alan Rollinson DNS 0 — Ludovico Scarfiotti DNS 0 — Trevor Blokdyk DNQ 0 — Doug Serrurier DNQ 0 — Neville Lederle DNQ 0 — Brausch Niemann DNQ 0 — Ernie Pieterse DNQ 0 — Brian Gubby DNQ 0 — Jackie Pretorius DNPQ 0 — Clive Puzey DNPQ 0 — Dave Charlton DNPQ 0 Pos. Driver RSA MON BEL FRA GBR NED GER ITA USA MEX Pts.

Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Other points position Blue Other classified position Not classified, finished (NC) Purple Not classified, retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Excluded (EX) Did not arrive (DNA) Withdrawn (WD) Did not enter (cell empty) Text formatting Meaning Bold Pole position Italics Fastest lap

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