The 1963 Formula One season was the 17th season of

FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backs ...

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

motor racing. It featured the 14th

World Championship of Drivers, the sixth International Cup for F1 Manufacturers FIA Yearbook, 1974 page 121 and numerous non-championship

races. The World Championship commenced on 26 May, and ended on 28 December after ten races. Jim Clark 1965

Season summary

Jim Clark James Clark Jr. OBE (4 March 1936 – 7 April 1968) was a British Formula One racing driver from Scotland, who won two World Championships, in 1963 and 1965. A versatile driver, he competed in sports cars, touring cars and in the Indianap ...

won his first championship with seven wins to two by

Graham Hill Norman Graham Hill (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver and team owner, who was the Formula One World Champion twice, winning in and as well as being runner up on three occasions (1963, 1964 and 1965). Despite ...

and one by

John Surtees John Surtees, (11 February 1934 – 10 March 2017) was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver. On his way to become a seven-time Grand Prix motorcycle World Champion, he won his first title in 1956, and followed with ...

in a revised Ferrari. This record number of wins in a season was not equalled until

Alain Prost Alain Marie Pascal Prost (; born 24 February 1955) is a French retired racing driver and Formula One team owner. A four-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, from 1987 until 2001 he held the record for most Grand Prix victories until Micha ...

won seven races in driving a

McLaren MP4/2 The McLaren MP4/2 was a Formula One car produced by McLaren for the 1984 season. An iteration of it, the MP4/2B, was used in the 1985 season, and a slightly updated version, the MP4/2C, raced in the 1986 season for McLaren. It was closely base ...

, and it was not beaten until when

Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna da Silva (; 21 March 1960 – 1 May 1994) was a Brazilian racing driver who won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in , , and . Senna is one of three Formula One drivers from Brazil to win the World Championship and ...

won eight races in the McLaren MP4/4 (his teammate Prost again won seven races in 1988). However, unlike 1963 which only consisted of ten races, both the 1984 and 1988 seasons consisted of 16 races giving Clark a better winning ratio (70%) than either Prost (43.75%) or Senna (50%). The ATS venture, founded by ex-Ferrari workers, was a failure which damaged

Phil Hill Philip Toll Hill Jr. (April 20, 1927 – August 28, 2008) was an American automobile racing driver. He was one of two American drivers to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, and the only one who was born in the United States ( ...

's Grand Prix career. It was unrelated to the late 1970s German operation which was marginally more successful.

Championship calendar

Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1963

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. All teams competed with tyres supplied by Dunlop.

World Drivers' Championship standings

Points were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis at each round, with only the best six round results retained. * ''Italics'' indicate fastest lap * Bold indicates pole position ‡ No points awarded as Hill's car was pushed at the start line.

International Cup for F1 Manufacturers standings

Points were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis at each round with only the best six round results retained. Only the best placed car from each manufacturer at each round was eligible to score points. *Bold results counted to championship totals. ‡ No points awarded as Hill's car was pushed at the start line.

Non-championship races

Other Formula One races, which did not count towards the World Championship, were also held in 1963.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:1963 Formula One Season Formula One seasons Articles containing video clips