1963 Italian Grand Prix Explained

The 1963 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on 8 September 1963. It was the seventh of ten races in both the 1963 World Championship of Drivers and the 1963 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. At this race, Scottish driver Jim Clark clinched the World Championship crown with three races to go, the first time anyone had done so.

The organisers had planned to run on the full 10 km circuit but the very bumpy (and in some places ruined) nature of the banked concrete curves provoked much criticism and also caused accidents. Therefore, at the drivers' request, for the next day it was decided to revert to the 5.75 km road layout.

This race was Scuderia Ferrari's 100th start in a World Championship event as a team.^[1] Jim Clark became the first driver to win the World Drivers' Championship with 3 races left to go. Lotus-Climax also won the Constructors' Championship.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor			Gap
				Q1	Q2
1	4	John Surtees	Ferrari	1:39.58	1:37.3	—
2	12	Graham Hill	BRM	1:39.75	1:38.5	+1.2
3	8	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax	1:39.68	1:39.0	+1.7
4	10	Richie Ginther	BRM	1:41.2	1:39.2	+1.9
5	24	Dan Gurney	Brabham-Climax	1:44.2	1:39.2	+1.9
6	2	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	1:40.1	1:40.1	+2.8
7	22	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Climax	3:25.4	1:40.4	+3.1
8	18	Bruce McLaren	Cooper-Climax	No time	1:40.5	+3.2
9	6	Mike Spence	Lotus-Climax	No time	1:40.9	+3.6
10	32	Innes Ireland	BRP-BRM	No time	1:41.6	+4.3
11	58	Jo Bonnier	Cooper-Climax	No time	1:41.9	+4.6
12	42	Masten Gregory	Lotus-BRM	No time	1:42.1	+4.8
13	20	Tony Maggs	Cooper-Climax	No time	1:42.2	+4.9
14	16	Phil Hill	ATS	1:48.5	1:42.7	+5.4
15	38	Chris Amon	Lola-Climax	No time	1:42.9	+5.6
16	54	Jo Siffert	Lotus-BRM	2:35.9	1:43.3	+6.0
17	30	Jim Hall	Lotus-BRM	No time	1:43.8	+6.5
18	40	Mike Hailwood	Lola-Climax	1:46.2	1:43.9	+6.6
19	48	Bob Anderson	Lola-Climax	No time	1:44.2	+6.9
20	66	Maurice Trintignant	BRM	No time	1:44.4	+7.1
21	64	Mário de Araújo Cabral	Cooper-Climax	1:55.0	1:44.8	+7.5
22	50	Ian Raby	Gilby-BRM	No time	1:45.1	+7.8
23	34	Tony Settember	Scirocco-BRM	No time	1:45.9	+8.6
24	28	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	No time	1:46.4	+9.1
25	14	Giancarlo Baghetti	ATS	1:54.9	1:46.8	+9.5
26	62	Ernesto Brambilla	Cooper-Maserati	2:00.1	1:50.3	+13.0
27	46	André Pilette	Lotus-Climax	1:58.7	1:53.7	+16.4
28	44	Roberto Lippi	de Tomaso-Ferrari	2:03.9	2:03.9	+26.6
Source:[2] [3]

Notes

• – Only 20 cars were permitted to take the start. Chris Amon's practice accident left him hospitalised, leaving him unable to take the start. This would have promoted Mário de Araújo Cabral, who was 21st in qualifying, onto the starting grid. However, on race day, Giancarlo Baghetti, who was 25th quickest in qualifying, lined up on the starting grid. A race report from the time speculated that this was as a result of the race organisers arranging for Baghetti to start so there could be an additional Italian driver in the race.^[4]

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	8	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax	86	2:24:19.6	3	9
2	10	Richie Ginther	BRM	86	+ 1:35.0	4	6
3	18	Bruce McLaren	Cooper-Climax	85	+ 1 lap	8	4
4	32	Innes Ireland	BRP-BRM	84	Engine	10	3
5	22	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Climax	84	+ 2 laps	7	2
6	20	Tony Maggs	Cooper-Climax	84	+ 2 laps	13	1
7	58	Jo Bonnier	Cooper-Climax	84	+ 2 laps	11
8	30	Jim Hall	Lotus-BRM	84	+ 2 laps	16
9	66	Maurice Trintignant	BRM	83	+ 3 laps	19
10	40	Mike Hailwood	Lola-Climax	82	+ 4 laps	17
11	16	Phil Hill	ATS	79	+ 7 laps	14
12	48	Bob Anderson	Lola-Climax	79	+ 7 laps	18
13	6	Mike Spence	Lotus-Climax	73	Oil Pressure	9
14	24	Dan Gurney	Brabham-Climax	64	Fuel System	5
15	14	Giancarlo Baghetti	ATS	63	+ 23 laps	20
16	12	Graham Hill	BRM	59	Clutch	2
Ret	54	Jo Siffert	Lotus-BRM	40	Oil Pressure	15
Ret	2	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	37	Gearbox	6
Ret	42	Masten Gregory	Lotus-BRM	26	Engine	12
Ret	4	John Surtees	Ferrari	16	Engine	1
DNS	38	Chris Amon	Lola-Climax		Practice Accident
DNQ	64	Mário de Araújo Cabral	Cooper-Climax
DNQ	50	Ian Raby	Gilby-BRM
DNQ	34	Tony Settember	Scirocco-BRM
DNQ	28	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche
DNQ	62	Ernesto Brambilla	Cooper-Maserati
DNQ	46	André Pilette	Lotus-Climax
DNQ	44	Roberto Lippi	de Tomaso-Ferrari
WD	26	Gerhard Mitter	Porsche
WD	36	Ian Burgess	Scirocco-BRM
WD	52	Günther Seiffert	Lotus-BRM
WD	56	Carlo Abate	Porsche
WD	60	Gaetano Starrabba	Lotus-Maserati

Notes

• This was the Formula One World Championship debut for British driver Mike Spence and Italian driver Ernesto Brambilla.

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Jim Clark	51
1	2	Richie Ginther	24
1	3	John Surtees	22
2	4	Bruce McLaren	14
1	5	Graham Hill	13
Source: [5]

Constructors' Championship standings

	Pos	Constructor	Points
	1	Lotus-Climax	51 (52)
1	2	BRM	28
1	3	Ferrari	22
	4	Cooper-Climax	21
	5	Brabham-Climax	15
Source:

• Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. Only the best 6 results counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

Notes and References

1. Privateer Ferrari's entry in 1950 French Grand Prix, which is often a source of incorrect count for their races as a team (as opposed to as a manufacturer) doesn't count towards the team's participation.
2. Web site: 1963 Italian GP Qualification. www.chicanef1.com. 12 August 2020.
3. Web site: 1963 Italian Grand Prix. Motor Sport Magazine. 12 August 2020.
4. Web site: 1963 Italian Grand Prix race report: Clark and Lotus rule supreme. Motor Sport Magazine. October 1963. Jenkinson. Dennis. 12 August 2020.
5. Web site: Italy 1963 - Championship • STATS F1. www.statsf1.com. 1 March 2019.