The 1965 United States Grand Prix was the ninth and penultimate round the 1965 FIA Formula One World Championship, held at the Watkins Glen circuit on the 3rd of October.[1] Officially recognised as the VIII United States Grand Prix, the 1965 edition of the USGP saw New York born racer Dan Gurney just fall shy of a historic home victory.[1]
The World Championship had already been tied up in favour of Scottish racer Jim Clark and his backers Team Lotus, but the F1 circus still arrived at near-enough full strength for the blast around the picturesque Glen.[1] Qualifying had long been a staple for Clark, but he was beaten to pole by long time rival Graham Hill, while Richie Ginther was the best American starter in the V12 Honda.[1]
When the flag dropped on Sunday, Hill managed to beat Clark off the line to take an early lead, with his team mate Jackie Stewart elbowing his way up to third.[1] The two leaders, however, were set to enter a private duel for the lead, with Clark snatching the lead on lap two before Hill retaliated on lap five.[1]
Over the course of the race, Hill and Clark were able to pull clear from Stewart and Lorenzo Bandini, and when Clark and Stewart retired the Englishman was all on his own.[1] Bandini fell to Gurney and Jack Brabham in quick succession, and it was the New Yorker who set off after Hill, prompting the Englishman to make a rare mistake.[1]
Gurney, however, was unable to capitalise, running off the circuit at the same spot a few laps later to fall back behind teammate Brabham.[1] A brief inter team battle followed before Gurney once again set about catching Hill, but time ran out well before the New Yorker could get within attacking distance.[1] Brabham claimed third ahead of Bandini, while Pedro Rodríguez and Jochen Rindt completed the points.[1]
Background
Despite the World Championship being settled in Germany, the F1 paddock headed to Watkins Glen, known for its brilliant autumnal scenery.[2] Unfortunately, autumn was slow to reach North America so the trees were only just starting to change colour, rather flattening the aesthetic appeal of the weekend.[2] Regardless, the now annual party in the Glen was set to be an exciting battle despite the above factors, with the venue popular with drivers and fans alike.[2]
An eighteen strong invitation based entry list was submitted for the US Grand Prix of 1965, with almost a quarter of the field running Ferrari cars.[2] Two would run for the factory team, John Surtees and Lorenzo Bandini returning to the Glen to run in the familiar scarlet colours, while the North American Racing Team entered two cars for Pedro Rodríguez and Bob Bondurant.[2] In the week before the race, however, the F1 world was rocked when Surtees suffered a huge accident in a CanAm race at Mosport Park which left the Englishman with a badly broken leg.[2]
The pace setting British teams were invited as usual, although only one of them would run a third driver for the US weekend.[2] That would be Team Lotus, who drafted in Mexican racer Moisés Solana to link up with Champion Jim Clark and Mike Spence, all three using Lotus 33s.[2] In contrast, their major rivals BRM would only run two cars for Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart, with a third chassis held in reserve.[2]
Brabham-Climax were back with their "full-time" lineup, with New Yorker Dan Gurney going into his home race with team owner Jack Brabham back in the second car.[2] Cooper-Climax were in the midst of another poor season, with rumours that lead driver Bruce McLaren would leave, although he would partner Jochen Rindt at the Glen.[2] Honda were also back to battle, fielding their two American drivers Richie Ginther and Ronnie Bucknum, although they had a freshly built spare with a longer wheelbase, a step towards their 1966 design.[2]
Into the limited privateer field, and it was only the major privateer runners who were invited, or could indeed afford to ship their equipment over the Atlantic.[2] The RRC Walker Racing Team would field Jo Bonnier and Jo Siffert as usual in their two Brabham cars, Siffert having got a fresh engine from BRM for the final two races.[2] The other outfit was Reg Parnell Racing, who had Richard Attwood and Innes Ireland in their cars for the late season blast.
With the World Championship already settled, the focus was on who would finish runner-up, and Stewart's maiden victory in Italy meant that he was just a single point off of teammate Hill. With two races to go those two were set for a private inter-team scrap for the position, as Surtees was in the hospital and unable to compete in the final two rounds. Gurney completed the top five, while Attwood was the last man on the board after a maiden point at Monza.
Like their driver Clark, Team Lotus had already swept to victory in the Intercontinental Cup for Manufacturers with maximum points. BRM were also sorted out for the year, finishing second regardless of whether Ferrari could win both of the final two races, while Brabham were too far back. Cooper were six points away from the Australian owned team in fifth, while Brabham-BRM, Honda and Lotus-BRM rounded out the table.
Entry list
The full entry list for the 1965 United States Grand Prix is outlined below:
Practice Overview
Qualifying
Report
Qualifying Results
Grid
Race
Report
Results
Milestones
- Bob Bondurant started his first Grand Prix.
- Tenth career victory for Graham Hill.
- BRM collected their twelfth win.
- Also their tenth fastest lap.
- Dan Gurney and Jack Brabham earned Climax their 99th and 100th podium finishes.
Standings
Although it was mathematically impossible for Graham Hill to finish ahead of Jim Clark when dropped scores were applied, the Englishman headed into the season finale in Mexico with a chance of outscoring the Scot overall. A seven point gap between Clark's 54 strong tally and Hill's total of 47 (officially 40) meant the Englishman would overtake him on total points scored if the Scot failed to score. Elsewhere, Jackie Stewart was confirmed to be in third place, too far out of reach of Dan Gurney, while the badly injured John Surtees completed the top five.
Hill's victory meant that BRM had unofficially outscored Lotus-Climax with a race to go, breaking through the 60 point mark while the Norfolk squad only had 54. Unfortunately, the dropped score rule also applied to the Intercontinental Cup for Manufacturers, so Lotus were already Champions, with a nine point gap back to the BRM squad. Ferrari were under serious threat from Brabham-Climax for third, the two separated by just two points, while Cooper-Climax completed the top five.
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References
Images and Videos:
References:
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 'GRAND PRIX RESULTS: UNITED STATES GP, 1965', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2016), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr140.html, (Accessed 27/07/2016)
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 M.J.T., 'Grand Prix of the United States:Hat-trick for Hill', motorsportmagazine.com, (Motor Sport Magazine, 01/11/1965), http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/november-1965/42/grand-prix-united-states, (Accessed 27/07/2016)
- ↑ 'United States 1965: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), http://www.statsf1.com/en/1965/etats-unis/engages.aspx, (Accessed 26/07/2016)
| V T E |  United States Grand Prix
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|---|---|---|
| Circuits | Sebring (1959), Riverside (1960), Watkins Glen (1961–1980), Phoenix (1989–1991), Indianapolis (2000–2007), Austin (2012–present) |  |
| Formula One Races | 1959 • 1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 • 1970 • 1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 • 1980 • 1981–1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992–1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008–2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 • 2018 • 2019 • | |
| Non-F1 races | 1908 • 1909 • 1910 • 1911 • 1912 • 1913 • 1914 • 1915 • 1916 • 1917–1957 • 1958 | |
| See also | Miami Grand Prix • Las Vegas Grand Prix • United States Grand Prix West • Indianapolis 500 • Detroit Grand Prix • Caesars Palace Grand Prix • Dallas Grand Prix • Questor Grand Prix |
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