| 1962 British Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 21 July 1962 | ||
| Official name | 15th RAC British Grand Prix | ||
| Location | Aintree Motor Racing Circuit Aintree,England | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 4.828 km (3.000 miles) | ||
| Distance | 75 laps, 362.100 km (225.000 miles) | ||
| Weather | Sunny | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Lotus-Climax | ||
| Time | 1:53.6 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |  Jim Clark | Lotus-Climax | |
| Time | 1:55.0 on lap 36 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Lotus-Climax | ||
| Second | Lola-Climax | ||
| Third | Cooper-Climax | ||
Lap leaders | |||
The1962 British Grand Prix was aFormula Onemotor race held atAintree on 21 July 1962. It was race 5 of 9 in both the1962 World Championship of Drivers and the1962 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. This was the last race at Aintree. From1963 onwards, the race would be held atSilverstone orBrands Hatch. ScotsmanJim Clark dominated the race, driving aLotus 25. It was considered a power track,[clarification needed] benefitting the light and powerful Lotus and Lola cars in particular.Ferrari were still sidelined due to the Italian metal workers' strike but managed to send one car forPhil Hill.[1]
It was not a particularly exciting race, with Clark leading from start to finish and fairly large gaps between the cars.[1] Out of the twentyone starters, six still had four-cylinder engines while the rest were multi-cylinder cars. These cars were in a sort of class of their own, withJackie Lewis finishing best of the four-cylinder cars.[2]John Surtees' Lola started and finished in second place, in spite of having lost second gear on the tenth lap.Dan Gurney was hopeful after winning inFrance and at the non-championshipSolitude race in the preceding two weeks. He began the race in third but had a slipping clutch and slid steadily down the field, ending in ninth position.[3] His teammateJo Bonnier had to retire with a broken transmission.Bruce McLaren (Cooper) passed Gurney after twelve laps and finished in third.[3]Graham Hill pushed his BRM hard but had to settle for fourth, and was threatened byJack Brabham in the closing stages. Brabham, however, had burns on his right foot since lap 40 and was in a lot of pain. He finished fifth, ahead ofTony Maggs' Cooper.[1] Brabham had hoped to start in his own car after his mechanics had worked days and nights, but at 3 am the morning before the race it was discovered that they had been supplied with the wrong exhaust system. TheBrabham BT3 had to wait untilNürburgring two weeks later to make its first appearance.[4]
Innes Ireland had perhaps the day's biggest disappointment. After having qualified hisClimax-enginedUDT/LaystallLotus 24 on the first row, the gear shifter bent on his first lap, leaving him with only three gears. He had to pit immediately after start and finished last, after having spent several laps repairing the car.[1]Trevor Taylor was anxious to have a good race after several recent collisions and started well. Soon, however, he had to pit with a loose carburettor, and only managed an eighth place in hisLotus 24. Phil Hill's Ferrari, meanwhile, was totally outclassed by the British cars in spite of its new six-speed gearbox. He never ran higher than tenth and had to retire with ignition troubles.[1]
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Qualifying times | Gap | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | |||||
| 1 | 20 | Jim Clark | Lotus-Climax | 1:55.6 | 1:54.0 | 1:55.0 | 1:53.6 | — |
| 2 | 24 | John Surtees | Lola-Climax | 1:55.8 | 1:55.0 | 1:54.2 | 1:58.8 | +0.6 |
| 3 | 32 | Innes Ireland | Lotus-Climax | 1:55.2 | 1:55.8 | 1:54.4 | No time | +0.8 |
| 4 | 16 |  Bruce McLaren | Cooper-Climax | 2:02.0 | 1:56.6 | 1:54.6 | 1:54.6 | +1.0 |
| 5 | 12 | Graham Hill | BRM | 1:55.8 | No time | 1:55.0 | 1:54.6 | +1.0 |
| 6 | 8 |  Dan Gurney | Porsche | 1:55.2 | 1:54.8 | 1:56.8 | 1:55.8 | +1.2 |
| 7 | 10 |  Jo Bonnier | Porsche | 1:56.0 | 1:55.2 | 2:00.6 | 1:55.4 | +1.6 |
| 8 | 14 | Richie Ginther | BRM | 1:55.2 | 1:55.6 | 1:55.2 | 1:56.8 | +1.6 |
| 9 | 30 |  Jack Brabham | Lotus-Climax | No time | 1:55.8 | 1:56.0 | 1:55.4 | +1.8 |
| 10 | 22 | Trevor Taylor | Lotus-Climax | 1:56.8 | 1:56.4 | 1:56.0 | 1:56.4 | +2.4 |
| 11 | 26 | Roy Salvadori | Lola-Climax | 1:57.4 | 1:57.4 | 1:56.2 | 1:59.0 | +2.6 |
| 12 | 2 | Phil Hill | Ferrari | 1:58.6 | 1:57.8 | 1:56.6 | 1:56.2 | +2.6 |
| 13 | 18 |  Tony Maggs | Cooper-Climax | No time | 2:06.0 | 1:59.0 | 1:57.0 | +3.4 |
| 14 | 34 | Masten Gregory | Lotus-Climax | 1:58.0 | 1:57.2 | 1:58.6 | 1:57.4 | +3.6 |
| 15 | 42 | Jackie Lewis | Cooper-Climax | 2:08.6 | 2:02.4 | 2:00.4 | 1:59.4 | +5.8 |
| 16 | 36 | Ian Burgess | Cooper-Climax | No time | 2:01.6 | 2:01.6 | 2:00.6 | +7.0 |
| 17 | 54 |  Carel Godin de Beaufort | Porsche | 2:02.0 | 2:01.4 | No time | 2:01.4 | +7.8 |
| 18 | 48 | Tony Shelly | Lotus-Climax | 2:03.6 | 2:02.4 | 2:08.2 | No time | +8.8 |
| 19 | 40 | Tony Settember | Emeryson-Climax | 2:06.0 | 2:03.2 | 2:02.4 | 2:03.6 | +8.8 |
| 20 | 46 | Jay Chamberlain | Lotus-Climax | No time | 2:05.6 | 2:04.6 | 2:03.4 | +9.8 |
| 21 | 44 |  Wolfgang Seidel | Lotus-BRM | No time | No time | 2:25.6 | 2:11.6 | +18.0 |
| Source:[5] | ||||||||
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| Previous race: 1962 French Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 1962 season | Next race: 1962 German Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1961 British Grand Prix | British Grand Prix | Next race: 1963 British Grand Prix |
