The 1962 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Rouen-Les-Essarts on 8 July 1962. It was race 4 of 9 in both the 1962 World Championship of Drivers and the 1962 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The race was won by Dan Gurney, his first Formula One victory, driving a Porsche, that company's only win as a constructor in a Formula One championship race coming after three years of racing. It was the third time that the French Grand Prix was held at Rouen, the previous time being 1957.
Race Phil Hill, running second in the championship, was in the stands with a camera around his neck; a metalworkers' strike in Italy meant that Ferrari could not take part. This left Graham Hill the fastest on track, taking the lead at the start and also setting a new lap record. The leading pack also included John Surtees (Lola), Jim Clark (Lotus), and Bruce McLaren (Cooper). These four pulled steadily away from Jack Brabham (Lotus) and Dan Gurney (Porsche). After only nine laps Brabham was out of the race with a broken rear suspension, while McLaren lost fourth gear and spun off the track, rejoining the race far down the field. Surtees retired four laps later with ignition problems, but was later back on the track in eighth place. Hill had pulled out a twenty-second lead ahead of Clark, but on the thirtieth lap he made contact with Jackie Lewis' Cooper when lapping him, allowing Clark to pass. Hill gave chase, netting the lap record, and re-took the lead on lap 33. On the next lap, Clark retired with a broken front suspension. Hill and BRM looked sure to win, but on lap 42 he retired in the hairpin with fuel injection and throttle linkage troubles; he lost several laps and ended up in last place after also having stopped in the hairpin to pick up the engine cover that he had left behind during his earlier visit there.
All of a sudden Gurney found himself in the lead, he made no mistakes and gained what was to be Porsche's only Grand Prix victory with their own car. Tony Maggs had second-place handed to him in what was only his second race in a V8 Cooper, while Surtees' Lola kept giving him trouble. With only fourth gear left, he was passed by Richie Ginther on the 43rd lap.Blunsden, p. 16 Ginther's car had refused to start, setting him a half lap back at the start, but as cars ahead of him all began to break he drove harder and harder. His troubles were not over, however, with five laps left his throttle wire snapped and he had to control it with his hand - rather troublesome since his BRM's gear shifter was also on the right hand side.Blunsden, p. 14 McLaren was forced to make another pit stop, but managed to get by the troubled Surtees on the last lap. The last points-scoring position went to the ever-steady Carel Godin de Beaufort in his uncompetitive Porsche 718 from 1961.
Other contenders were Jo Bonnier, who had gearbox and engine troubles. He later retired with fuel starvation, but got the car started and was classified as the last finisher, in tenth. Maurice Trintignant had to make a number of pit stops in his Rob Walker Lotus 24. Trevor Taylor had not been able to practice and was taking it comparatively easy when his throttle return spring broke, leaving it fully open. After a pit stop, he finished eighth, six laps down. A rather confusing race ended even worse - Surtees was trying to eke his crippled car into the pits but was hindered by a wall of gendarmes, who were refusing to move. Trintignant moved over to the left, but Taylor arrived at a high speed and rear-ended Trintignant. Both cars ended up in the hay bales, badly damaged, but amazingly no one was injured.Blunsden, p. 17
At the end, Phil Hill took his countryman Gurney aside and thanked him for "driving so well for him", as both of his closest competitors ended the race without any points.
Classification Qualifying PosNoDriverConstructorGapQ1Q21 12 Jim Clark Lotus-Climax2:16.7 2:14.8—2 8 Graham Hill BRM2:15.9 2:15.0 +0.23 22 Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax2:52.0 2:15.4 +0.64 26 Jack Brabham Lotus-Climax2:17.5 2:16.1 +1.35 18 John Surtees Lola-Climax2:16.3 2:16.3 +1.56 30 Dan Gurney Porsche2:16.5 2:17.1 +1.77 34 Masten Gregory Lotus-BRM2:19.4 2:17.3 +2.58 36 Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax2:19.1 2:17.5 +2.79 32 Jo Bonnier Porsche2:21.1 2:17.9 +3.110 10 Richie Ginther BRM2:18.2 2:19.9 +3.411 24 Tony Maggs Cooper-Climax2:18.6 No time +3.812 14 Trevor Taylor Lotus-Climax2:19.1 No time +4.313 28 Maurice Trintignant Lotus-Climax2:23.1 2:20.8 +6.014 20 Roy Salvadori Lola-Climax2:21.3 No time +6.515 40 Jo Siffert Lotus-BRM2:27.9 2:23.4 +8.616 42 Jackie Lewis Cooper-Climax2:25.5 2:26.5 +10.717 38 Carel Godin de Beaufort Porsche2:27.2 2:26.5 +11.7 Source:
Race
Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 30 Dan Gurney Porsche 54 2:07:05.5 6 9 2 24 Tony Maggs Cooper-Climax 53 + 1 Lap 11 6 3 10 Richie Ginther BRM 52 + 2 Laps 10 4 4 22 Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 51 + 3 Laps 3 3 5 18 John Surtees Lola-Climax 51 + 3 Laps 5 2 6 38 Carel Godin de Beaufort Porsche 51 + 3 Laps 17 1 7 28 Maurice Trintignant Lotus-Climax 50 + 4 Laps 13 8 14 Trevor Taylor Lotus-Climax 48 + 6 laps 12 9 8 Graham Hill BRM 44 + 10 Laps 2 10 32 Jo Bonnier Porsche 43 Gearbox 9 12 Jim Clark Lotus-Climax 34 Suspension 1 42 Jackie Lewis Cooper-Climax 28 Accident 16 20 Roy Salvadori Lola-Climax 21 Oil Pressure 14 34 Masten Gregory Lotus-BRM 15 Overheating 7 26 Jack Brabham Lotus-Climax 11 Suspension 4 40 Jo Siffert Lotus-BRM 6 Clutch 15 36 Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax 1 Puncture 8 16 Peter Arundell Lotus No Car - Tony Marsh BRM No Car - Colin Davis Porsche - Carlo Abate Lotus-Climax - Ian Burgess Cooper-Climax
Scuderia Ferrari withdrew from the event, and their allocated numbers of 2, 4 and 6 were not used. No drivers were named by the team as having been entered.
Notes
This was the first Formula One World Championship podium for South African driver Tony Maggs, and the first for a South African driver. This was the first Formula One World Championship Grand Prix win for Porsche as a constructor and as an engine supplier.
Championship standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings PosDriverPoints 1 Graham Hill 16 2 Phil Hill 14 1 3 Bruce McLaren 12 1 4 Jim Clark 9 18 5 Dan Gurney 9Source:
Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 BRM 20 2 2 Cooper-Climax 17 1 3 Lotus-Climax 15 1 4 Ferrari 14 1 5 Porsche 12Source:
Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References