The 1966 Formula One season was the 20th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 17th World Championship of Drivers, the 9th International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, and four non-championship races open to Formula One cars. The World Championship was contested over nine races between 22 May and 23 October 1966.
Jack Brabham won the Drivers' Championship in a Brabham-Repco. It was his third and last championship, and first since , setting the record for the largest gap between World Championship wins in the history of the sport at six years but would be broken in with Niki Lauda taking his third championship seven years after his second. Brabham was also awarded the International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, their first title. , 1966 is the only time the World Championship has been won by a driver in a car of his own construction and bearing his own name.
John Taylor collided with Formula Two driver Jacky Ickx during the German Grand Prix. Taylor was badly burned in the accident and succumbed to his injuries four weeks later.
The season saw "the return to power", with the FIA doubling the maximum allowed engine displacement from 1.5 to 3 litres.
Championship teams and drivers The following teams and drivers competed in the 1966 FIA World Championship.
Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Tyre Driver Rounds Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren-Ford M2B Ford 406 3.0 V8 Bruce McLaren 1, 8–9 McLaren-Serenissima Serenissima M166 3.0 V8 2, 4–5 Team Lotus Lotus-Climax 33 Climax FWMV 2.0 V8 Jim Clark 1–6 Geki 7 Peter Arundell 8 Pedro Rodríguez 3, 9 Lotus-BRM 4333 BRM P75 3.0 H16BRM P60 2.0 V8 8 Peter Arundell 2–7, 9 Jim Clark 7–9 Lotus-Ford 44 Ford Cosworth SCA 1.0 L4 Gerhard Mitter 6 Pedro Rodríguez 6 Piers Courage 6 Reg Parnell Racing Lotus-BRM 33 BRM P60 2.0 V8 Mike Spence All Ferrari 246 Ferrari 228 2.4 V6 Giancarlo Baghetti 7 Brabham Racing Organisation Brabham-Repco BT19BT20 Repco 620 3.0 V8 Jack Brabham All Denny Hulme 3–9 Brabham-Climax BT22 Climax FPF 2.8 L4 1–2 Chris Irwin 4 Cooper Car Company Cooper-Maserati T81 Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12 Richie Ginther 1–2 Jochen Rindt All Chris Amon 3 John Surtees 3–9 Moisés Solana 9 Owen Racing Organisation BRM P261P83 BRM P60 2.0 V8 BRM P75 3.0 H16 Graham Hill All Jackie Stewart 1–2, 4–9 R.R.C. Walker Racing Team Brabham-BRM BT11 BRM P60 2.0 V8 Jo Siffert 1 Cooper-Maserati T81 Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12 2–5, 7–9 DW Racing Enterprises Brabham-Climax BT11 Climax FPF 2.8 L4 Bob Anderson 1, 3–7 Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 246312/66 Ferrari 228 2.4 V6Ferrari 218 3.0 V12 Lorenzo Bandini 1–3, 5–8 John Surtees 1–2 Mike Parkes 3, 5–7 Ludovico Scarfiotti 6–7 Anglo-Suisse Racing Team Cooper-Maserati T81 Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12 Jo Bonnier 1–2, 5–9 Brabham-Climax BT22 Climax FPF 2.8 L4 3 BT7 Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 4 Team Chamaco Collect BRM P261 BRM P60 2.0 V8 Bob Bondurant 1–2, 4, 6–7 Vic Wilson 2 Phil Hill Lotus-Climax 25 Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 Phil Hill 1 McLaren-Ford M3A Ford 406 3.0 V8 2 Guy Ligier Cooper-Maserati T81 Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12 Guy Ligier 1–6 Anglo American Racers Eagle-Climax Mk1 Climax FPF 2.8 L4 Dan Gurney 2–6, 9 Phil Hill 7 Bob Bondurant 8 Eagle-Weslake Weslake 58 3.0 V12 Dan Gurney 7–8 Bob Bondurant 9 David Bridges Brabham-BRM BT11 BRM P60 2.0 V8 John Taylor 3–6 Shannon Racing Cars Shannon-Climax SH1 Climax FPE 3.0 V8 Trevor Taylor 4 J.A. Pearce Engineering Ltd Cooper-Ferrari T73 Ferrari Tipo 168 3.0 V12 Chris Lawrence 4, 6 Caltex Racing Team Brabham-Ford BT18 Ford Cosworth SCA 1.0 L4 Kurt Ahrens Jr. 6 Tyrrell Racing Organisation Matra-BRM MS5 BRM P80 1.0 L4 Hubert Hahne 6 Matra-Ford Ford Cosworth SCA 1.0 L4 Jacky Ickx 6 Roy Winkelmann Racing Brabham-Ford BT18 Ford Cosworth SCA 1.0 L4 Hans Herrmann 6 Alan Rees 6 Matra Sports Matra-Ford MS5 Ford Cosworth SCA 1.0 L4 Jo Schlesser 6 Jean-Pierre Beltoise 6 Silvio Moser Brabham-Ford BT16 Ford Cosworth SCA 1.0 L4 Silvio Moser 6 Honda R & D Company Honda RA273 Honda RA273E 3.0 V12 Richie Ginther 7–9 Ronnie Bucknum 8–9 Chris Amon Racing Brabham-BRM BT11 BRM P60 1.9 V8 Chris Amon 7 Bernard White Racing BRM P261 BRM P60 1.9 V8 Innes Ireland 8–9
Pink background denotes F2 entrants to the German Grand Prix
Team and driver changes
Dubbed "the return to power", the new formula of 3 litre naturally-aspirated engines was met with enthusiasm. Not all projects were finished in time for the start of the season, however. Following the corporate takeover by Jaguar Cars in 1963, Coventry Climax was forced to get out of racing engine business at the end of 1965 season, despite winning their latest championship in , so most British teams had to find new contracts:Setright, L.J.K. "Lotus: The Golden Mean", in Northey, Tom, ed. World of Automobiles (London: Orbis, 1974), Volume 11, p. 1232. Brabham partnered with Australian engineering company Repco. Their 3-litre V8 was ready in time. Cooper worked with Maserati to receive an updated version of their engines. Lotus had put their hope in a new Climax H16 engine designed by Coventry Climax, but Climax was forced to abandon its development and the engine was never released. So they began the season with a hastily prepared and uncompetitive 2 litre version of Climax FWMV V8. (The team would return to their winning form after a switch to Cosworth DFV engines for .) Peter Arundell was back at Lotus, having recovered from his crash during the season. Mike Spence, who had replaced him in , was signed by the private Reg Parnell Racing team.
Two teams made their debut this year: Bruce McLaren had left Cooper to set up his own team. He entered the McLaren M2B, designed by Robin Herd. During the season, McLaren trialled a Ford V8 and a Serenissima V8, switching around multiple times but not finding the right recipe. Dan Gurney departed from Brabham to also enter his own team. He had worked with famous car designer Carroll Shelby since to set up All American Racers. They built an F1 chassis, dubbed the 'Eagle Mk1', and Gurney drove the car himself. The chassis was delayed until the second race of the season and the new Weslake 3 litre V12 was only ready with three races left. They used 2.75L Climax FPF four cylinder until then.
Mid-season changes Honda missed a good part of the races in 1966 but was back on the grid with a new 3 litre V12 engine in the Italian Grand Prix. Richie Ginther left Cooper after two races to make his return to the Japanese team. champion John Surtees was not allowed by Ferrari operations manager Eugenio Dragoni to enter the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. Fiat chairman Gianni Agnelli favoured his nephew Ludovico Scarfiotti. When CEO Enzo Ferrari also did not support Surtees, the Brit left the team, thereby also abandoning his F1 drive. Mike Parkes and Scarfiotti, who both did drive the Le Mans race, were promoted to the F1 team, while Surtees took Ginther's place at Cooper.
Calendar Round Grand Prix Circuit Date 1 Monaco Grand Prix Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo 22 May 2 Belgian Grand Prix Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot 12 June 3 French Grand Prix Reims-Gueux, Gueux 3 July 4 British Grand Prix Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown 16 July 5 Dutch Grand Prix Circuit Park Zandvoort, Zandvoort 24 July 6 German Grand Prix Nürburgring, Nürburg 7 August 7 Italian Grand Prix Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza 4 September 8 United States Grand Prix Watkins Glen International, New York 2 October 9 Mexican Grand Prix Magdalena Mixhuca, Mexico City 23 October
Calendar changes The South African Grand Prix at the Prince George Circuit was relegated to non-championship status, because 1.5 litre engines were allowed on the grid while that was no longer the case in the F1 championship. The French Grand Prix was moved from the Charade Circuit to Reims-Gueux. The British Grand Prix was moved from Silverstone to Brands Hatch, in keeping with the event-sharing arrangement between the two circuits.
Regulation changes
Technical regulations A new engine formula was introduced, heralded as "the return of power". The maximum allowed engine displacement was doubled from 1.5 to 3 litres for naturally-aspirated engines. Compressed engines (using a turbocharger or supercharger) were allowed for the first time since , with a maximum engine displacement of 1.5 litres. The minimum weight was raised from to .
Sporting regulations Driver completing less than 90% of the race distance would not be classified and did not receive points, even if they finished in the top six. The maximum race distance was reduced from to .
Championship report
Rounds 1 to 3 The 1966 season started off with the Monaco Grand Prix. The twisty track seemed for a large part to negate the difference in power between the 3 litre Ferrari engines and the 2 litre BRM and Climax engines (used by Lotuses). and champion Jim Clark qualified on pole position in the Lotus-Climax, ahead of champion John Surtees for Ferrari. On the second row started the two BRMs of Jackie Stewart and champion Graham Hill. At the start, Clark's car got jammed in first gear and was passed by everyone. Surtees and Stewart created a gap to the rest of the field. Under normal circumstances, the Ferrari would soon leave the BRM behind, but Surtees' rear axle failed and he retired on lap 16. Stewart was out on his own, followed by Jochen Rindt in the Cooper-Maserati and Hill, before Lorenzo Bandini rose up to second place in the Ferrari. Clark was charging back to the front of the field, but spent a lot of time behind Hill. Clark dove through into the first corner to take third place - Rindt had retired with engine failure - but the Lotus's left-rear suspension failed later in the lap and the reigning champion was out of the race. Stewart held on to take his second career win, ahead of Bandini and Hill. Bob Bondurant finished in fourth place to get three BRMs in the points. Behind came three Coopers but none of them were classified and did not receive championship points.
At first, Stewart was setting the pace during practice for the Belgian Grand Prix, but on the high-speed circuit, Surtees qualified on pole in his Ferrari, more than three seconds ahead of Rindt in the Cooper-Maserati. Stewart started third, while Clark could only manage tenth. As the flag was waved, rain was falling at the far end of the track. Stewart and Hill crashed in the Masta Kink, already known as the most dangerous corner, and the Scot got trapped under his car in a pool of leaking fuel for 25 minutes. Both Hill and Bondurant, who had crashed as well, borrowed a spectator's toolkit to free him. Another five cars retired within the first lap of the race, including Clark. Surtees led the race, ahead of Rindt and Bandini, and that became the finishing order as well. Behind them finished and champion Jack Brabham and Rindt's teammate Richie Ginther. Two other drivers were still running but were not classified, making it two races in a row that championship points were held back under the new rule. Following his crash, Stewart became a strong advocate of improving driver safety in not only Grand Prix but motor racing in general.
When Surtees was not granted a drive with Ferrari in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, he left the Italian team and, with that, gave up his F1 drive as well. He found a seat at Cooper, where Ginther had left to return to his old team Honda. Bandini qualified on pole for the French Grand Prix, with old teammate Surtees and new teammate Mike Parkes beside him on the first row. At the start, Surtees fell back with fuel pick-up issues, before he retired on lap 5. Brabham got up to second place, the only driver able to follow Bandini's pace. On lap 32, the Australian inherited the lead as the Ferrari's throttle cable broke. The Italian took a piece of string from a straw bale lining the track and tied it to his throttle, operating it by hand and actually nursing his car back to the pits, but finished out of the points. Brabham won the race, ahead of Parkes in his first race and Brabham's teammate Denny Hulme.