James Clark (4 March 1936 – 7 April 1968) was a Britishracing driver from Scotland, who competed inFormula One from1960 to1968. Clark won twoFormula One World Drivers' Championship titles withLotus, and—at the time ofhis death—held therecords for mostwins (25),pole positions (33), andfastest laps (28), amongothers. InAmerican open-wheel racing, Clark won theIndianapolis 500 in1965 with Lotus, becoming the first non-American winner of the race in49 years.
Born inFife and raised in theScottish Borders, Clark started his racing career inroad rallying andhillclimbing. By 1958, Clark had graduated tosports car racing in national competition withBorder Reivers, racing theJaguar D-Type andPorsche 356, where he attracted the attention ofLotus founderColin Chapman. Driving aLotus Elite, Clark finished second-in-class at the24 Hours of Le Mans in1959. Clark made hisformula racing debut the following year inFormula Junior, winning the championship ahead of reigning seven-timeGrand Prix motorcycle racing World ChampionJohn Surtees. After immediately impressing inFormula Two, Clark was promoted to Formula One with Lotus for the remainder of the1960 season alongside Surtees andInnes Ireland, making his debut at theDutch Grand Prix and scoring his maiden podium four races later inPortugal; Clark finished third overall at Le Mansthat year.
Following multiple further podiums in1961, Lotus fielded the highly-successful25 chassis from1962 onwards. Clark took his maiden win at the1962 Belgian Grand Prix, achieving further wins athis home Grand Prix in Great Britain and in theUnited States, as he finished runner-up to career rivalGraham Hill. After winning a then-record seven Grands Prix during his1963 campaign, Clark won his maiden title, earning widespread acclaim forhis dominant performances. Despite winning the most races thefollowing season, reliability issues with theLotus 33 saw him fall to third in the standings. However, the chassis would excel in the hands of Clark in1965, as he took six victories in another record-breaking season. Lotus then struggled to adapt to the3-litre engine era, with Clark only able to win theUnited States Grand Prix duringhis second title defence.1967 was far more successful for Lotusunder Cosworth power, with Clark taking four wins throughout the season but again let down by poor reliability.
While leading the1968 World Drivers' Championship,Clark died as a result of an accident during a Formula Two race at theHockenheimring. Clark held theFormula One records for the mostrace wins until1973,pole positions until1989, andfastest laps also until1989. He still holds several records in 2024, including themost grand slams (8). A versatile driver, Clark found immense success outside of formula racing insports cars,touring cars, andAmerican open-wheel racing. Clark was a champion in theBritish Saloon Car Championship, winning every race he entered in1964, as well as inFrench andBritish Formula Two. He was a three-time champion of theTasman Series, winning in1965,1967 and1968, with a record 15 wins in 32 starts. Inrallying, he entered theRally of Great Britain in 1966. His successes in 1965—winning championships in Formula One, the Tasman Series, French Formula Two, and British Formula Two—make him the only driver in history to have won multiple championships in a single season alongside a World Drivers' Championship. Clark was inducted into theInternational Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990.
James Clark was born into a farming family at Kilmany House Farm,Fife, the youngest child of five, and the only boy. In 1942, the family moved to Edington Mains Farm, nearDuns,Berwickshire, in theBorders. He was educated at primary schools in Kilmany and then inChirnside. Following three years of preparatory schooling atClifton Hall School inEdinburgh he was sent toLoretto School inMusselburgh, East Lothian.[1]
Although his parents were opposed to the idea, Clark started his racing in localroad rally andhill climb events driving his ownSunbeam-Talbot, and proved a fearsome competitor right from the start. On 16 June 1956, in his first event, he was behind the wheel of aDKWsonderklasse atCrimond, Scotland. By 1958, Clark was driving for the localBorder Reivers team for Ian Scott-Watson, racingJaguar D-Types andPorsches in national events, and winning 18 races. OnBoxing Day 1958, Clark raced against the man who would launch him to superstardom. Driving aLotus Elite, he finished second toColin Chapman in a ten-lapgrand touring race atBrands Hatch.[2]
Driving a Lotus Elite, Clark finished tenth at the1959 24 Hours of Le Mans; he partnered withJohn Whitmore and the ex-Bruce Halford Lister Jaguar, winning theBo'ness Hill Climb.[3] Chapman was sufficiently impressed to give Clark a ride in one of hisFormula Junior (FJ) cars. In March 1960, the first race for the newly introduced FJ took place atGoodwood. Clark finished first aheadJohn Surtees andTrevor Taylor.[4] Clark had made an earlier FJ appearance in a one-off race at Brands Hatch on Boxing Day, 1959, driving a Gemini-B.M.C. for Graham Warner of the Chequered Flag garage,Chiswick.[5]
Clark made hisFormula One (F1) Grand Prix debut, part-way through the1960 season, during the1960 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on 6 June. Lotus had lost Surtees, who took part to theIsle of Man TT series; alongsideInnes Ireland andAlan Stacey, Clark was one of the acceptable substitute.[6] He retired on lap 49 with final drive failure. His second Formula One race was the1960 Belgian Grand Prix, held at the extremely fast and dangerousSpa-Francorchamps circuit; there, he got a taste of reality when two fatal accidents occurred (Chris Bristow andAlan Stacey). Clark, who finished fifth and scored his firstpoints finish, was later quoted as saying in a 1964 interview: "I was driving scared stiff pretty much all through the race."[7]
In1961, Clark was involved in one of the worst accidents in the history ofF1 racing. In the1961 Italian Grand Prix on 10 September atMonza,Wolfgang von Trips in hisFerrari collided with Clark's Lotus.[8][9] Von Trips's car became airborne and crashed into a side barrier, fatally throwing von Trips out of the car and killing fifteen spectators.[10][11] Clark and his car were subjected to an investigation;[12] he was initially accused of manslaughter, before the charges were dropped.[13] At the time, Clark described the accident by saying: "Von Trips and I were racing along the straightaway and were nearing one of the banked curves, the one on the southern end. We were about 100 metres from the beginning of the curve. Von Trips was running close to the inside of the track. I was closely following him, keeping near the outside. At one point von Trips shifted sideways so that my front wheels collided with his back wheels. It was the fatal moment. Von Trips's car spun twice and went into the guardrail along the inside of the track. Then it bounced back, struck my own car and bounced down into the crowd."[14] In his later testimony, he recalled the collision had become unavoidable, saying: "Trips was head of me, driving on the center of the track. Suddenly he slowed down. Since my Lotus was faster than the Ferrari, I tried to overtake him. In the same instant the Ferrari surprisingly pulled to the left, and a collision became unavoidable..."[15]
Clark's first Drivers' World Championship came driving theLotus 25 in1963,[16] winning seven out of the ten races and Lotus its first Constructors' World Championship.[17][18] The1963 Indianapolis 500 saw Clark's debut in the series; he finished in second position behind Parnelli Jones and wonIndianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year honours.[19] The 1963 Indy 500 result remains controversial. Before the race,United States Auto Club (USAC) officials had told the drivers that they wouldblack flag any car that was seen to be leaking oil onto the track. Late in the race, Jones' front-engined roadster developed a crack in the oil tank and began to leak oil. With the track surface already being slippery this resulted in a number of cars spinning and led to popular driverEddie Sachs crashing into the outside wall. USAC officials were set to black flag Jones after the Sachs crash until his car ownerJ. C. Agajanian ran down pit lane and somehow convinced them that the oil leak was below the level of a known crack and would not leak any further. Colin Chapman later accused USAC officials of being biased because Clark and Lotus were a British team with a rear-engine car. Many, including journalist and authorBrock Yates, believed that had it been an American driver and car in second place instead of Clark in the British built Lotus, officials would have black flagged Jones. Despite this, neither Lotus nor their engine supplierFord protested the result, reasoning that winning as a result of a disqualification when Jones had led for 167 of the races 200 laps (Clark led for 28 laps) and had set the lap record speed of 151.541 mph (243.9 km/h) on lap 114, would not be well received by the public.[20][21][22]
In1964, Clark came within just a few laps of retaining his World Championship crown. Just as in 1962, an oil leak from the engine robbed him of the title, this time conceding toJohn Surtees. Tyre failure damaging the Lotus's suspension put paid to that year's attempt at the1964 Indianapolis 500.[23] He made amends and won the Championship again in1965, and also won the1965 Indianapolis 500 in theLotus 38. He had to miss the prestigious1965 Monaco Grand Prix to compete at Indianapolis but made history by driving the firstmid-engined car to win at the fabled Brickyard, as well as becoming the only driver to date to win both the Indy 500 and the F1 title in the same year. Other drivers, includingGraham Hill,Mario Andretti,Emerson Fittipaldi, andJacques Villeneuve, also won both crowns but not in the same year.[24][25]
1966Aug.jpg)
The FIA decreed that from1966 new 3-litre engine regulations would come into force, and Lotus were less competitive. Starting with a 2-litreCoventry-Climax engine in theLotus 33, Clark did not score points until the1966 British Grand Prix and a third place at the1966 Dutch Grand Prix. From the1966 Italian Grand Prix onwards, Lotus used the highly complexBRM H16 engine in theLotus 43 car, with which Clark won the1966 United States Grand Prix. He also picked up another second place at the1966 Indianapolis 500, this time behind Hill.
During1967, Lotus and Clark used three completely different cars and engines. The Lotus 43 performed poorly at the opening1967 South African Grand Prix, so Clark used an old Lotus 33 at the1967 Monaco Grand Prix, retiring withsuspension failure. Lotus then began its fruitful association withFord-Cosworth. Their first car, theLotus 49 featuring the most successfulF1 engine in history, theFord-Cosworth DFV, won its first race at the1967 Dutch Grand Prix, driven by Clark. He won with it again at the 1967British,United States, andMexican Grands Prix, and at the1968 South African Grand Prix.
Concurrent with competing in the F1 World Drivers' Championship, Clark competed with Lotus in theAustralasia-basedTasman Series, run for older F1 cars. He was series champion in1965,1967, and1968. He won fourteen races in all, a record for the series. This included winning the1968 Australian Grand Prix at theSandown International Raceway inMelbourne, where he defeated theFerrari 246T ofChris Amon by just 0.1 seconds after 55 laps of the 3.1 km (1.92 mi) circuit, the closest finish in the history of theAustralian Grand Prix. The 1968 Tasman Series and Australian Grand Prix would prove to be his last major wins before his untimely death, which occurred on 7 April 1968.[26]
In what would be the first of seven victories for Clark and Team Lotus that year, he won the1963 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps in extremely foggy and rainy conditions. After starting eighth on the grid, he passed all of the cars in front of him, including early leaderGraham Hill. About 17 laps into the race, with the rain coming down harder than ever, Clark had lapped the entire field except forBruce McLaren, and was almost five minutes ahead of McLaren and his Cooper.[27][28] In the1967 Italian Grand Prix at Monza after starting from pole, Clark was leading in his Lotus 49 (chassis R2), when a tyre punctured. He lost a lap while having the wheel changed in the pits. Rejoining sixteenth, he advanced through the field, progressively lowering the lap record and eventually equalling his pole time of 1m 28.5s, to regain the lost lap and the lead. He was narrowly ahead of Brabham and Surtees starting the last lap. As his car had not been filled with enough fuel, it faltered and finally coasted across the finish line in third place.[29]
In his Indianapolis 500 win, Clark led for 190 of the 200 laps, with a then-record average speed of over 150 mph (240 km/h),[30][31] to become the first non-American in almost half a century to win the race.[32][33][34] In1963 and1965, Clark equalledAlberto Ascari's record for the highest percentage of possible championship points in a season (100%).[35] Leading 71.47% of the laps in 1963, Clark long held the record for the highest percentage of laps in the lead in a season and only lost it in2023 toMax Verstappen.[36][37] He still holds the Grand Chelem record; as of July 2023, only 26 drivers had secured a Grand Chelem, of which there had been 66 in total. Clark's record is that he had the most races taking pole, fastest lap, race win, and leading every lap, achieving this eight times in a 32-race span over three years (the1962 British Grand Prix, the1963 Dutch Grand Prix that he won by more than a full lap, the1963 French Grand Prix, the1963 Mexican Grand Prix, the1964 British Grand Prix, the1965 South African Grand Prix, the1965 French Grand Prix, and the1965 German Grand Prix). Clark is also one of three drivers (the other being Ascari andSebastian Vettel have achieved the feat in consecutive races. Alongside Vettel and Verstappen, Clark is the only drivers to achieve a Grand Chelem in three consecutive years, and is the sole driver to accomplish this feat for four consecutive years (1962–1965).[38] Clark finished his career with 274 totalpoints.[39]
On 7 April 1968, Clark died in a racing accident at theHockenheimring in West Germany.[40] During the four-month gap between the first race, which Clark won, and second of the1968 season, drivers would compete in other racing formulas. Clark was originally slated to drive in theBOAC 1000 km sportscar race at Brands Hatch but instead chose to drive in theDeutschland Trophäe, aFormula Two race, for Lotus at the Hockenheimring, primarily due to contractual obligations withFirestone. Although the race has sometimes been described as a "minor race meeting", the entry list was impressive with top-running Matras for the French driversJean-Pierre Beltoise andHenri Pescarolo, Tecnos forCarlo Facetti andClay Regazzoni, Team Brabhams forDerek Bell andPiers Courage, a Ferrari forChris Amon, and McLarens forGraeme Lawrence andRobin Widdows. Team Lotus driversGraham Hill and Clark were in Gold Leaf Team Lotuses and a youngMax Mosley was also in the race, moving up from the Clubman series. The event was run in two heats.[41]
On the fifth lap of the first heat, Clark'sLotus 48 veered off the track and crashed into the trees. He suffered a broken neck and skull fracture, and died before reaching the hospital. The cause of the crash was never definitively identified; investigators concluded it was most likely due to a deflating rear tyre. Clark's death affected the racing community terribly, with fellow F1 drivers and close friends, such as Hill, Surtees, Amon,Jackie Stewart,Dan Gurney, andJack Brabham, all being personally affected by the tragedy. People came from all over the world to Clark's funeral.Colin Chapman was devastated and publicly stated that he had lost his best friend. The 1968 F1 Drivers' Championship was subsequently won by Hill, his Lotus teammate, who pulled the heartbroken team together and held off Stewart for the crown, which he later dedicated to Clark. There is also a large memorial to Clark at Hockenheim today; because the track has been reduced in length and the old course reforested, the actual location of the crash is in a heavily wooded area.[42] There was initial speculation as to whether the accident was caused by a driver error or a deflating rear tyre, and Lotus were investigated thoroughly by aircraft crash investigators for three weeks. Many drivers, including Surtees and Brabham, were convinced that the crash was caused by a deflating rear tyre and were adamant that it was not a driver error—simply because they believed Clark was not capable of making such a mistake. In the words of Andrew Marriott of the classic journalMotor Sport who was covering the race as a young reporter, "Deaths in the sport were a regular occurrence in those days, but surely someone of Clark's sublime talent and skill? People reckoned that the rear tyre had deflated, and there is another theory that the mechanical metering unit on the Cosworth FVA engine had seized and caused Clark to crash."[41]
There have been many stories about the tyres on Jim Clark's car lasting four races. This is true, but also the brake pads lasted three times longer than those of any other driver. Derek Wild used to say that you could put all the gearboxes on the bench in front of him in random order and he could tell which gearbox came out of Jim's car as it showed less signs of wear. The point is that the standard of preparation was no different between Jim's car and the number two car. It was just that the man was very "soft" on his car and so he tended to last the race distance as a result.
At the time of his death in 1968, the 32-year-old Clark had achieved 33 pole positions and had won 25 races from his 72 Grand Prix starts in championship races. He had more Grand Prix wins (25) and pole positions (33) than any other driver, including five-time World ChampionJuan Manuel Fangio, despite winning three fewer World Championships; he also won most of the races he finished and was often winning, or in a podium position, when he had to retire due to mechanical failures, without which he could have equalled, if not beaten, Fangio's World Championship record. Fangio himself called Clark the greatest driver ever.[44]
Although many of his records in total numbers were later eclipsed in part due to more races started and improved reliability, Clark's percentage-related ones remain either unbeaten or near the top.[45] In 59 entries and 58 races (he missed a race weekend due to an injury), Clark achieved 33 poles (56.9%), 34 finishes (58.6%), 25 wins (43.1% wins to races, 73.5% wins to finishes), and 8 Grand Chelems (pole position, fastest lap, race win, and led every lap of the race); in those 34 races he finished, Clark led 70.3% of the laps and 68.0% of the distance. Some of his Grand Chelems and percentage records persist into the 21st century.[46] Clark's record of seven wins in a season was not equalled until1984 whenAlain Prost won seven races forMcLaren, and was not broken untilAyrton Senna won eight races in the1988 season, also for McLaren (Senna's teammate that year was Prost who again equalled the old record by winning seven races). Clark's record is favourable compared to Prost and Senna's as the 1963 season only consisted of 10 rounds while 1984 and 1988 were run over 16 rounds, giving Prost a success rate of 43.75% and Senna a 50% winning ratio compared to Clark's 70% success rate.[7] Clark's 71-year record of highest percentage of laps in the lead in a season was only broken in 2023 byMax Verstappen.[47][48][49] Despite his total numbers being eclipsed, Clark is considered among the greatest Formula One drivers, with fellow Scot and three-time World ChampionJackie Stewart still considering Clark and Fangio the greatest Formula One drivers ever.[50]
Clark is remembered for his ability to drive and win in all types of cars and series,[51] including aLotus-Cortina, with which he won the 1964British Touring Car Championship,Champ Car World Series,rallying, where he took part in the 1966RAC Rally of Great Britain in a Lotus Cortina, andsports cars. He competed in the24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1959, 1960, and 1961, finishing second in class in 1959 driving a Lotus Elite, and finishing third overall in 1960, driving anAston Martin DBR1. He took part in aNASCAR event, driving a 7-litreHolman Moody Ford at theAmerican 500 at the banked speedway atRockingham on 29 October 1967. Qualifying in 25th place (out of 44), he worked his way up to 12th before retiring with engine failure.[52] Clark was able to master difficult Lotus sportscar prototypes, such as theLotus 30 and40. He also had an ability to adapt to whichever car he was driving. Often other top drivers would struggle to find a good car setup, Clark would usually set competitive lap times with whatever setup was provided and ask for the car to be left as it was. At the1963 Belgian Grand Prix, he won by nearly five minutes over the second-place finisher, the widest gap on record.[53] Clark wrote an autobiography, which was published just after his first world championship, titledJim Clark at the Wheel. The book was updated after his Indy 500 victory.[54] Of what made Clark such a good driver, Stewart said: "He was so smooth, he was so clean, he drove with such finesse. He never bullied a racing car, he sort of caressed it into doing the things he wanted it to do."[55] When Clark died, fellow driverChris Amon said: "If it could happen to him, what chance do the rest of us have? I think we all felt that. It seemed like we'd lost our leader."[56][57]
Clark is buried in the village ofChirnside inBerwickshire.[58] A memorial stone can be found at the Hockenheimring circuit, moved from the site of his crash to a location closer to the modern track,[42] and a life-size statue of him in racing overalls stands by the bridge over a small stream in the village of his birth, Kilmany in Fife.[59][60][61] The Jim Clark Motorsport Museum can be found inDuns.[62] The Jim Clark Trophy was introduced in the1987 season and for drivers of cars with naturally aspirated engines but was discontinued after turbo-charged engines were restricted in 1988 and dropped for1989. The now Jim Clark Memorial Award is an annual award given by the Association of Scottish Motoring Writers to Scots who have contributed significantly to transport andmotorsport.[63] TheJim Clark Rally is an annual event held in Berwickshire.[64] Clark was an inaugural inductee into theScottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.[65] In 2020,The Economist ranked all champion drivers of F1 history by the relative importance of car quality to driver skill, based on a study by Andrew Bell of the University of Sheffield. This ranking considers the relative statistical significance of the car maker's contributions. Clark ranked second, behind only Fangio.[66] Objectivemathematical models,[67][68] such as Eichenberger and Stadelmann (2009, 2nd), original F1metrics (2014, 1st),[69] Bellet al. (2015, 2nd),FiveThirtyEight (2018, 12th), and updated F1metrics (2019, 6th), put Clark consistently among the greatest Formula One drivers ever.[70][71][72] In 2024,Motor Sport ranked Clark as the greatest racing driver of all time.[73]
In 1965, Clark was awarded theAmerican Broadcasting Company'sWide World of Sports Athlete of the Year. He was inducted into theIndianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in 1988.[74] He was also inducted into theInternational Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990.[75] That same year, he was inducted into theMotorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1990.[76] He was inducted into theScottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2002, a member of their inaugural class.[65] In 1964 he was awarded anOBE.[77]
 |
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | 24 Hours of Le Mans | Border Reivers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 10th |
| 1960 | Formula One | Team Lotus | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 10th |
| Formula Junior | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1st | ||
| Formula Two | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | ||
| 24 Hours of Le Mans | Border Reivers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | N/A | 3rd | |
| 1961 | Formula One | Team Lotus | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 7th |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans | Border Reivers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | DNF | |
| 1962 | Formula One | Team Lotus | 9 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 30 | 2nd |
| 1963 | Formula One | Team Lotus | 10 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 54 | 1st |
| USAC Championship Car | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1200 | 6th | ||
| British Saloon Car Championship – Class D | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 12th | ||
| British Saloon Car Championship – Class B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 9th | ||
| 1964 | Formula One | Team Lotus | 10 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 32 | 3rd |
| British Saloon Car Championship – Class B | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 48 | 1st | ||
| British Formula Two | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | NC | ||
| USAC Championship Car | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | N/A | NC | ||
| 1965 | Formula One | Team Lotus | 9 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 54 | 1st |
| Tasman Series | 8 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 35 | 1st | ||
| British Saloon Car Championship – Class C | 6 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 30 | 3rd | ||
| Trophées de France | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 31 | 1st | ||
| British Formula Two | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 23 | 1st | ||
| Australian Drivers' Championship | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | NC | ||
| USAC Championship Car | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1000 | 10th* | ||
| 1966 | Formula One | Team Lotus | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 6th |
| Tasman Series | 8 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 25 | 3rd | ||
| British Saloon Car Championship – Class C | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 34 | 2nd | ||
| Trophées de France | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 6th | ||
| British Formula Two | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5th | ||
| USAC Championship Car | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | N/A | NC | ||
| British Sports Car Championship | Felday Engineering Ltd. | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
| 1967 | Formula One | Team Lotus | 11 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 41 | 3rd |
| Tasman Series | 8 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 45 | 1st | ||
| European Formula Two | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | NC‡ | ||
| USAC Championship Car | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | ||
| Vollstedt Enterprises | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 1968 | Formula One | Team Lotus | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 11th |
| Tasman Series | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 1st | ||
| Gold Leaf Team Lotus | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | ||||
| European Formula Two | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC‡ |
* Clark won the1965 Indianapolis 500.
‡ Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points
| Year | Team | Co-drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 |  Border Reivers | John Whitmore | Lotus Elite Mk.14-Climax | GT 1.5 | 257 | 10th | 2nd |
| 1960 | Border Reivers | Roy Salvadori | Aston Martin DBR1/300 | S 3.0 | 306 | 3rd | 3rd |
| 1961 | Border Reivers | Ron Flockhart | Aston Martin DBR1/300 | S 3.0 | 132 | DNF | DNF |
| 1962 | Team Lotus | Trevor Taylor | Lotus 23-Cosworth | P 1.0 | 0 | WD‡ | WD |
Source:[78] | |||||||
‡Colin Chapman withdrew the entry following a dispute with the scrutineers about the car's eligibility.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | WDC | Pts[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Team Lotus | Lotus18 | Climax FPF 2.5 L4 | ARG | MON | 500 | NED Ret | BEL 5 | FRA 5 | GBR 16 | POR 3 | ITA | USA 16 | 10th | 8 | ||
| 1961 | Team Lotus | Lotus21 | Climax FPF 1.5 L4 | MON 10 | NED 3 | BEL 12 | FRA 3 | GBR Ret | GER 4 | ITA Ret | USA 7 | 7th | 11 | ||||
| 1962 | Team Lotus | Lotus25 | Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 | NED 9 | MON Ret | BEL 1 | FRA Ret | GBR 1 | GER 4 | ITA Ret | USA 1 | RSA Ret | 2nd | 30 | |||
| 1963 | Team Lotus | Lotus25 | Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 | MON 8 | BEL 1 | NED 1 | FRA 1 | GBR 1 | GER 2 | ITA 1 | USA 3 | MEX 1 | RSA 1 | 1st | 54 (73) | ||
| 1964 | Team Lotus | Lotus25 | Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 | MON 4 | NED 1 | BEL 1 | FRA Ret | GBR 1 | ITA Ret | 3rd | 32 | ||||||
| Lotus33 | GER Ret | AUT Ret | USA 7 | MEX 5 | |||||||||||||
| 1965 | Team Lotus | Lotus33 | Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 | RSA 1 | MON | BEL 1 | GBR 1 | NED 1 | GER 1 | ITA 10 | USA Ret | MEX Ret | 1st | 54 | |||
| Lotus25 | FRA 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1966 | Team Lotus | Lotus33 | Climax FWMV 2.0 V8 | MON Ret | BEL Ret | FRA DNS | GBR 4 | NED 3 | GER Ret | 6th | 16 | ||||||
| Lotus43 | BRM P75 3.0H16 | ITA Ret | USA 1 | MEX Ret | |||||||||||||
| 1967 | Team Lotus | Lotus43 | BRM P75 3.0H16 | RSA Ret | 3rd | 41 | |||||||||||
| Lotus33 | Climax FWMV 2.0 V8 | MON Ret | |||||||||||||||
| Lotus49 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0V8 | NED 1 | BEL 6 | FRA Ret | GBR 1 | GER Ret | CAN Ret | ITA 3 | USA 1 | MEX 1 | |||||||
| 1968 | Team Lotus | Lotus49 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0V8 | RSA 1 | ESP | MON | BEL | NED | FRA | GBR | GER | ITA | CAN | USA | MEX | 11th | 9 |
Source:[79] | |||||||||||||||||
Clark holds the followingFormula One records:
| Record | Achieved | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most grand slams | 8 | 1965 German Grand Prix | [80] |
| Most grand slams in a season | 3[N 1] | 1963 | [80] |
| Most consecutive grand slams | 2[N 2] | 1963 Dutch Grand Prix –1963 French Grand Prix | [80] |
| Most seasons with a grand slam | 4[N 3] | 1962–1965 | [80] |
| Most consecutive seasons with a grand slam | 4[N 4] | 1962–1965 | [80] |
| Highest percentage of possible championship points in a season | 100%[N 5] | 1963,1965 | |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Team Lotus | Lotus18 | Climax FPF 2.5 L4 | GLV | INT | SIL Ret | LOM 2 | OUL Ret | ||||||||||||||||
| 1961 | Team Lotus | Lotus18 | Climax FPF 1.5 L4 | LOM 6 | GLV | PAU 1 | BRX Ret | VIE | AIN 9 | SYR 6 | NAP | LON | DAN 7 | |||||||||||
| Lotus21 | SIL 2 | SOL 7 | KAN Ret | MOD 4 | FLG 4 | OUL Ret | LEW | VAL | RAN 1 | NAT 1 | RSA 1 | |||||||||||||
| 1962 | Team Lotus | Lotus21 | Climax FPF 1.5 L4 | CAP 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Lotus24 | Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 | BRX Ret | LOM 1 | LAV | GLV | PAU Ret | AIN 1 | INT 2 | NAP | |||||||||||||||
| Lotus25 | MAL Ret | CPL | RMS Ret | SOL Ret | KAN | MED | DAN | OUL 1 | MEX 11 | RAN 1 | NAT 2 | |||||||||||||
| 1963 | Team Lotus | Lotus25 | Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 | LOM 2 | GLV | PAU 1 | IMO 1 | SYR | AIN 3 | INT 1 | ROM | SOL NC | KAN 1 | MED | AUT Ret | OUL 1 | RAN 16 | |||||||
| 1964 | Team Lotus | Lotus25 | Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 | DMT Ret | NWT 1 | SYR | INT Ret | MED 2 | RAN | |||||||||||||||
| Lotus33 | AIN Ret | SOL 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1965 | Team Lotus | Lotus33 | Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 | ROC Ret | SYR 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Lotus25 | SMT 1 | INT | MED 2 | RAN | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1966 | Team Lotus | Lotus33 | Climax FWMV 2.0 V8 | RSA | SYR | INT | OUL 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1967 | Team Lotus | Lotus49 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0V8 | ROC | SPR | INT | SYR | OUL | ESP 1 | |||||||||||||||
Source:[79] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position)
| USAC Championship Car results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | Pos. | Pts | |||||||
| 1963 | Team Lotus | Lotus29 | Ford 255 ciV8 | TRE | INDY 2 | MIL | LAN | TRE | ISF | MIL 1 | DSF | INF | TRE 21 | SAC | PHX | 6th | 1200 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1964 | Team Lotus | Lotus34 | Ford 255 ciV8 | PHX | TRE | INDY 24 | MIL | LAN | TRE | ISF | MIL | DSF | INF | TRE 18 | SAC | PHX | NC | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 1965 | Team Lotus | Lotus38 | Ford 255 ciV8 | PHX | TRE | INDY 1 | MIL | LAN | PPR | TRE | IRP | ATL | LAN | MIL | ISF | MIL | DSF | INF | TRE | SAC | PHX | 10th | 1000 | ||||||||||
| 1966 | STP Gas Treatment | Lotus38 | Ford 255 ciV8 | PHX | TRE | INDY 2 | MIL | LAN | ATL | PPR | IRP | LAN | ISF | MIL | DSF | INF | TRE | SAC | PHX | NC | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 1967 | Team Lotus | Lotus38 | Ford 255 ciV8 | PHX | TRE | INDY 31 | MIL | LAN | PPR | MOS | MOS | IRP | LAN | MTR | MTR | ISF | MIL | DSF | INF | TRE | SAC | HAN | PHX | NC | 0 | ||||||||
| Vollstedt Enterprises | Vollstedt 67 | RSD 22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source:[79] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Lotus | Ford | 5 | 2 | Team Lotus |
| 1964 | Lotus | Ford | 1 | 24 | Team Lotus |
| 1965 | Lotus | Ford | 2 | 1 | Team Lotus |
| 1966 | Lotus | Ford | 2 | 2 | STP Gas Treatment |
| 1967 | Lotus | Ford | 16 | 31 | Team Lotus |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; results initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Team Lotus | Lotus32B | Climax FPF 2.5 L4 | PUK Ret | LEV 1 | WIG 1 | TER 1 | WAR 1 | SAN 2 | LON 5 | LAK1 1 | 1st | 35 (44) |
| 1966 | Team Lotus | Lotus39 | Climax FPF 2.5 L4 | PUK Ret | LEV 2 | WIG Ret | TER Ret | WAR 1 | LAK 3 | SAN 2 | LON 7 | 3rd | 25 |
| 1967 | Team Lotus | Lotus33 | Climax FWMV 2.0 V8 | PUK 2 | LEV1 1 | WIG 1 | TER1 1 | LAK 1 | WAR 2 | SAN 1 | LON 2 | 1st | 45 |
| 1968 | Team Lotus | Lotus49T | Ford Cosworth DFW 2.5V8 | PUK Ret | LEV Ret | 1st | 44 | ||||||
| Gold Leaf Team Lotus | WIG 1 | TER 2 | SUR 1 | WAR 1 | SAN 1 | LON 5 | |||||||
Source:[79] | |||||||||||||
1Lakeside in 1965 and Levin and Teretonga in 1967 did not count towards Tasman Cup points.
(Races inbold indicate pole position, races initalic indicate fastest lap.)
For reasons of space, only those Formula Two events which Clark attended are shown.
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Team Lotus | Lotus18 | ClimaxFPF | BRX Ret | AIN Ret1 | SOL 8 | BRH 1 | |||||||||
| 1964 | Ron Harris Team Lotus | Lotus32 | CosworthSCA | PAU 1 | NÜR 1 | MAL 1 | PAL 10 | RMS 4 | BRH 1 | KAN 2 | ALB Ret | OUL 2 | ||||
| 1965 | Ron Harris Team Lotus | Lotus35 | CosworthSCA | MAL DNS2 | SNE 3 | PAU 1 | LON 1 | RMS 3 | ROU 1 | KAN Ret | BRH 1 | OUL 6 | ALB 1 | |||
| 1966 | Ron Harris Team Lotus | Lotus35 | CosworthSCA | OUL DNS2 | SMT Ret | PAU 7 | ||||||||||
| Lotus44 | BAR Ret | KAN 3 | FIN 3 | MNT 2 | BUG 6 | ALB NC | BRH 3 | |||||||||
| 1967 | Team Lotus | Lotus48 | CosworthFVA | PAU 4 | BAR 1 | NÜR Ret | ZOL 2 | RMS Ret | ROU Ret | TUL Ret | JAR 1 | KAN 3 | PER Ret | FIN 1 | HÄM 3 | ALB 3 |
| 1968 | Gold Leaf Team Lotus | Lotus48 | CosworthFVA | BAR Ret | HOC Ret | |||||||||||
Source:[81] | ||||||||||||||||
1Innes Ireland took over Clark's car and finished in 9th place.
2 Races cancelled due to bad weather.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | DC | Pts | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Alan Brown Racing Ltd | Ford Galaxie | D | SNE | OUL | GOO | AIN | SIL | CRY | SIL | BRH ovr:1 cls:1 | BRH | OUL | 12th | 18 | 6th | |
| Team Lotus | Ford Cortina Lotus | B | SNE ovr:2 cls:1 | 9th | |||||||||||||
| 1964 | Team Lotus | Ford Cortina Lotus | B | SNE ovr:2 cls:1 | GOO ovr:2 cls:1 | OUL ovr:1 cls:1 | AIN ovr:3 cls:1 | SIL ovr:3 cls:1 | CRY ovr:1† cls:1† | BRH ovr:2 cls:1 | OUL ovr:1 cls:1 | 1st | 48 | 1st | |||
| 1965 | Team Lotus | Ford Cortina Lotus | C | BRH Ret | OUL | SNE ovr:5 cls:2 | GOO ovr:1 cls:1 | SIL | CRY ovr:2† cls:1† | BRH DSQ | OUL ovr:1 cls:1 | 7th | 30 | 3rd | |||
| 1966 | Team Lotus | Ford Cortina Lotus | C | SNE ovr:3 cls:1 | GOO ovr:4 cls:1 | SIL | CRY | BRH | BRH ovr:1 cls:1 | OUL ovr:1† cls:1† | BRH ovr:? cls:3 | 5th | 34 | 2nd | |||
Source:[82] | |||||||||||||||||
† Events with two races staged for the different classes.
.
.JPG)
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | BRDC International Trophy Winner 1963 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year 1963 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Formula One World Champion 1963 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | British Touring Car Champion 1964 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Indianapolis 500 Winner 1965 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Formula One World Champion 1965 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Tasman Series Champion 1965 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Tasman Series Champion 1967–1968 | Succeeded by |
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Hawthorn Memorial Trophy 1963 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Hawthorn Memorial Trophy 1965 | Succeeded by |
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mike Hawthorn 29 years, 192 days (1958 season) | Youngest Formula One World Drivers' Champion 27 years, 188 days (1963 season) | Succeeded by Emerson Fittipaldi 25 years, 273 days (1972 season) |
| Preceded by Juan Manuel Fangio 24 wins (1950 –1958) | Most Grand Prix wins 25 wins, 25th at the1968 South African GP | Succeeded by Jackie Stewart 27 wins, 26th at the1973 Dutch GP |
