1962 South African Grand Prix Explained

Type:	F1
Country:	South Africa
Grand Prix:	South African
Flag Suffix:	1928
Date:	29 December,
Year:	1962
Official Name:	9th International RAC Grand Prix of South Africa
Race No:	9
Season No:	9
Location:	Prince George Circuit East London, South Africa
Course:	Temporary road circuit
Course Mi:	2.436
Course Km:	3.920
Distance Laps:	82
Distance Mi:	199.718
Distance Km:	321.415
Weather:	Dry, windy
Pole Driver:	Jim Clark
Pole Team:	Lotus-Climax
Pole Time:	1:29.3
Pole Country:	UK
Fast Driver:	Jim Clark
Fast Team:	Lotus-Climax
Fast Time:	1:31.0
Fast Lap:	3
Fast Country:	UK
First Driver:	Graham Hill
First Team:	BRM
First Country:	UK
Second Driver:	Bruce McLaren
Second Team:	Cooper-Climax
Second Country:	NZ
Third Driver:	Tony Maggs
Third Team:	Cooper-Climax
Third Country:	South Africa
Third Flag Suffix:	1928

The 1962 South African Grand Prix, formally titled the 9th International RAC Grand Prix of South Africa,^[1] was a Formula One motor race held at East London on 29 December 1962. It was the ninth and final race in both the 1962 World Championship of Drivers and the 1962 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 82-lap race was won by Graham Hill driving a BRM, the Englishman taking his first Drivers' Championship in the process, with New Zealander Bruce McLaren and local driver Tony Maggs second and third, respectively, in works Cooper-Climaxes.

Hill went into the race with a nine-point lead in the Drivers' Championship over Scotland's Jim Clark, driving a works Lotus-Climax. A Clark win would give him the championship regardless of Hill's performance because only the top 5 results counted for the championship. After taking pole position, Clark led comfortably until an oil leak 20 laps from the finish forced him to retire, handing the championship to Hill. The win also gave BRM their first and only Manufacturers' Cup.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor				Gap
Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Q1	Q2	Q3	Gap
1	1	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax	1:38.5	1:29.8	1:29.3†	—
2	3	Graham Hill	BRM	1:33.1	1:30.0	1:29.6	+0.3
3	10	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Climax	No time	1:32.3	1:31.0	+1.7
4	11	Innes Ireland	Lotus-Climax	No time	1:33.6	1:31.1	+1.8
5	6	John Surtees	Lola-Climax	1:35.5	1:36.1	1:31.5	+2.2
6	9	Tony Maggs	Cooper-Climax	1:39.7	1:31.7	1:32.7	+2.4
7	4	Richie Ginther	BRM	1:34.0	1:32.8	1:31.7	+2.4
8	8	Bruce McLaren	Cooper-Climax	No time	1:33.0	1:31.7	+2.4
9	2	Trevor Taylor	Lotus-Climax	No time	1:32.7	(1:30.9)†	+3.4
10	20	Neville Lederle	Lotus-Climax	No time	1:36.0	1:33.6	+4.3
11	7	Roy Salvadori	Lola-Climax	1:37.0	1:35.4	No time	+6.1
12	18	John Love	Cooper-Climax	No time	1:36.4	1:37.6	+7.1
13	14	Ernie Pieterse	Lotus-Climax	No time	1:37.3	1:36.8	+7.5
14	21	Doug Serrurier	LDS-Alfa Romeo	1:38.7	1:37.2	1:36.8	+7.5
15	22	Mike Harris	Cooper-Alfa Romeo	1:40.2	No time	1:39.1	+9.8
16	15	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	No time	1:39.3	1:39.2	+9.9
17	5	Bruce Johnstone	BRM	—	—	—	—
Source:^[2]

– Bruce Johnstone was unable to set a time in qualifying due to engine problems, and consequently had to start from the back of the grid.^[3]
† — Jim Clark (1:28.9) and Trevor Taylor posted faster times in their back-up machines, fitted with fuel-injection engines, but these cars were discarded for the race due to reliability issues.

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	3	Graham Hill	BRM	82	2:08:03.3	2	9
2	8	Bruce McLaren	Cooper-Climax	82	+ 49.8	8	6
3	9	Tony Maggs	Cooper-Climax	82	+ 50.3	6	4
4	10	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Climax	82	+ 53.8	3	3
5	11	Innes Ireland	Lotus-Climax	81	+ 1 Lap	4	2
6	20	Neville Lederle	Lotus-Climax	78	+ 4 Laps	10	1
7	4	Richie Ginther	BRM	78	+ 4 Laps	7
8	18	John Love	Cooper-Climax	78	+ 4 Laps	12
9	5	Bruce Johnstone	BRM	76	+ 6 Laps	17
10	14	Ernie Pieterse	Lotus-Climax	71	+ 11 Laps	13
11	15	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	70	Fuel System	16
Ret	1	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax	62	Oil Leak	1
Ret	21	Doug Serrurier	LDS-Alfa Romeo	62	Radiator	14
Ret	7	Roy Salvadori	Lola-Climax	56	Fuel Leak	11
Ret	22	Mike Harris	Cooper-Alfa Romeo	31	Wheel Bearing	15
Ret	6	John Surtees	Lola-Climax	26	Engine	5
Ret	2	Trevor Taylor	Lotus-Climax	11	Gearbox	9
WD	12	Gary Hocking	Lotus-Climax		Driver killed prior to event
WD	16	Syd van der Vyver	Lotus-Climax		Car damaged
WD	17	Tony Settember	Emeryson-Climax
WD	19	Sam Tingle	Lotus-Climax		Driver competing elsewhere

Notes

This was the Formula One World Championship debut for South African drivers Neville Lederle, Ernie Pieterse, Doug Serrurier, Bruce Johnstone and Syd van der Vyver; and for Rhodesian drivers John Love, Mike Harris, Gary Hocking and Sam Tingle. It was also the first race for a Rhodesian driver.
LDS also made its debut in the Formula One World Championship in this race, being the first South African constructor.
This race was the 100th Formula One World Championship Grand Prix, excluding the eleven Indianapolis 500 races that were held between 1950-1960. In those 100 races:
- Maurice Trintignant was the most experienced, having raced 75 of them, but also having the most retirements at 35.
- Juan Manuel Fangio had achieved 29 pole positions, 23 fastest laps, 24 Grands Prix wins, 35 podium places, and 5 World Championships.
- Ferrari was the most constant constructor and engine supplier, having raced 94 of them (93 as a constructor), BRM had had a record 12 retirements as a constructor. A Maserati-powered car had retired the race a record 13 times.
- Ferrari also achieved 38 pole positions, 34 fastest laps, 35 Grands Prix wins, 128 podium places and 5 Drivers' World Titles in this timespan.
- British engine supplier Coventry Climax had achieved 2 Constructors' World Titles.

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Graham Hill	42 (52)
	2	Jim Clark	30
	3	Bruce McLaren	27 (32)
	4	John Surtees	19
	5	Dan Gurney	15
Source:^[4]

Constructors' Championship standings

	Pos	Constructor	Points
	1	BRM	42 (56)
	2	Lotus-Climax	36 (38)
	3	Cooper-Climax	29 (37)
	4	Lola-Climax	19
	5	Porsche	18 (19)
Source:

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.

Notes and References

Web site: Motor Racing Programme Covers: 1962 . The Programme Covers Project . 10 July 2017.
Web site: 1962 South African GP Qualification. chicanef1.com. 12 August 2020.
Web site: 1962 South African Grand Prix race report: Graham the champion. Motor Sport Magazine. February 1963. Tee. Michael. 12 August 2020.
Web site: South Africa 1962 - Championship. statsf1.com. 20 March 2019.