The 1966 Italian Grand Prix was a

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

motor race held at

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

on 4 September 1966. It was race 7 of 9 in both the 1966 World Championship of Drivers and the 1966 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The race was the 36th

Italian Grand Prix The Italian Grand Prix () is the fifth oldest national Grand Prix motor racing, motor racing Grand Prix (after the French Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and the Russian Grand Prix), having been held since 1921 ...

and the 32nd to be held at Monza. The race was held over 68 laps of the five kilometre circuit for a race distance of 391 kilometres. The race was won by Italian driver

Ludovico Scarfiotti Ludovico Scarfiotti (18 October 1933 – 8 June 1968) was an Italian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Scarfiotti won the 1966 Italian Grand Prix with Ferrari. In endurance racing, Scarfiotti won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and ...

driving a Ferrari 312 in his only Grand Prix victory. Scarfiotti led home his British team mate Mike Parkes by five seconds. Parkes only just defeated New Zealand racer

Denny Hulme Denis Clive Hulme (18 June 1936 – 4 October 1992) was a New Zealand racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Bear", Hulme won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Brabham, and won eight Grands Pri ...

in his Brabham BT20, the pair separated by less than half a second. While series points leader

Jack Brabham Sir John Arthur Brabham (2 April 1926 – 19 May 2014) was an Australian racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Brabham won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in , and , ...

stopped with an oil leak in his Brabham BT19 on lap seven, he secured his third world championship, and the unique achievement of becoming world champion in a car of his own make, when his only remaining points rival

John Surtees John Norman Surtees (11 February 1934 – 10 March 2017) was a British racing driver and motorcycle road racer, who competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from to , and Formula One from to . Surtees was a seven-time Grand Prix motorcycl ...

stopped with a fuel leak in his Cooper T81 24 laps later.

Race report

was odds-on favourite for the Championship – only

could stop him and only then by winning all three remaining races. He was prevented from doing so by an impressive performance from his former employers

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

at their home track.

Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

had brought a new 370 bhp 3 litre V12 engine for

Richie Ginther Paul Richard "Richie" Ginther (5 August 1930 – 20 September 1989) was an American racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Ginther won the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix with Honda. Born in Hollywood, Ginther competed in Formula One f ...

, whilst

Dan Gurney Daniel Sexton Gurney (April 13, 1931 – January 14, 2018) was an American racing driver, engineer and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of motorspo ...

had his

Weslake Weslake & Co also known as Weslake Research and Development was founded by Harry Weslake, described as England's greatest expert on cylinder head design, with premises in Rye, East Sussex, England. Weslake is most famous for its work with Bentley ...

engine and

Graham Hill Norman Graham Hill (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver, rower and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "Mr. Monaco", Hill won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles ...

had the BRM H16.

Lorenzo Bandini Lorenzo Bandini (21 December 1935 – 10 May 1967) was an Italian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Bandini won the 1964 Austrian Grand Prix with Ferrari. In endurance racing, Bandini won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in , as w ...

and Mike Parkes led from the start, whilst Hill's engine gave up on the first lap, followed in retirement by

Jackie Stewart Sir John Young "Jackie" Stewart (born 11 June 1939) is a British former racing driver, sports broadcasting, broadcaster and motorsport executive from Scotland, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Flying Scottish people, Scot" ...

on lap 5 with a fuel leak, and then Brabham on lap 8 with an engine failure which coated the car in oil.

Jim Clark James Clark (4 March 1936 – 7 April 1968) was a British racing driver from Scotland, who competed in Formula One from to . Clark won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles with Lotus, and—at the time of his death—held the ...

in the H16 Lotus was moving strongly through the field. On lap 17,

had a horrific accident, crashing heavily into the trees and being very fortunate to escape with his life. Once Clark had pitted,

, Parkes, Surtees and Hill disputed the lead until Surtees withdrew with a split petrol tank which was pouring it all over his tyres and ending his championship chances.

had fought through the field to third place. But the race was Scarfiotti's, as he became the first Italian to win for Ferrari at

since

Alberto Ascari Alberto Ascari (13 July 1918 – 26 May 1955) was an Italian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Ascari won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with Ferrari, and won 13 Grands Prix across ...

in 1952. Parkes completed Ferrari's joy as he pipped Hulme by 0.3 seconds to claim second spot. Amidst all the celebrations, Jack Brabham was crowned champion. Apart from three NART entries in this race was the last time a Ferrari car was entered by a privateer team when

Giancarlo Baghetti Giancarlo Baghetti (; 25 December 1934 – 27 November 1995) was an Italian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Baghetti won the 1961 French Grand Prix in a privateer Ferrari 156, and remains the only driver to win a Formula ...

drove a private car entered by the British

Reg Parnell Reginald Parnell (2 July 1911 – 7 January 1964) was a racing driver and team manager from Derby, England. He participated in seven Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, achieving one podium, and scoring a total of nine championship point ...

team.

Classification

Qualifying

*Clark, Geki, and Spence switched numbers for the race when they are driving the same cars. *Phil Hill's car was driven by Gurney in practice, but he would drive car #30 of

Eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

for the race.

Race

Notes

was only the third Italian to win his home Grand Prix, after

Nino Farina Emilio Giuseppe "Nino" Farina (; 30 October 1906 – 30 June 1966) was an Italian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Farina won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in its inaugural season with Alfa Romeo, and won fiv ...

and

. * This was the Formula One World Championship debut for British engine supplier

Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Constructors' Championship standings * Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. Only the best 5 results counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

References

{{F1GP 60-69

Italian Grand Prix 1966 in Italian motorsport