Formula 1

About the season

On 7 April 1968, Jim Clark - the defining driver of the era - was killed in a Formula 2 race at Hockenheim; the exact cause remains debated (a tyre deflation is suspected), and his death shook the entire sport. Just weeks after Clark's death, Lotus introduced the red-white-and-gold livery of Gold Leaf cigarettes in place of British racing green - the first time a commercial sponsor determined the paint scheme of a Formula One car. Tall, wing-shaped aerodynamic devices spread through the field this season (Ferrari showed the first one at Spa), delivering dramatic extra grip but proving structurally unreliable. At the French Grand Prix at Rouen-Les-Essarts, Jo Schlesser was killed driving the experimental, magnesium-bodied, air-cooled Honda RA302 - a car Honda's regular driver John Surtees had refused to race on safety grounds. Mike Spence, brought back to Lotus after Clark's death, was killed practising for the Indianapolis 500 in the revolutionary gas-turbine Lotus 56. Graham Hill won the title for Lotus, helping steady the team through the loss of Clark. Graham Hill won the 1968 Drivers' Championship with 48 points (Lotus-Ford), 12 points ahead of the runner-up. Lotus-Ford won the Constructors' Championship with 62 points, 13 points ahead of the runner-up. Across 12 completed races this season, there were 137 retirements. 7 different drivers won a race this season. Graham Hill took the most race wins, 3 in total. Clark won the season-opening race, the South African Grand Prix. The closest finish of the season came at the Monaco Grand Prix, with a gap of just 2.200 seconds. Beltoise made the biggest gain of the season at the Dutch Grand Prix, from grid position 16 to finishing 2 (up 14 places). The most dominant win of the season came at the German Grand Prix, with a margin of 243.2 seconds. The season's biggest upset win came from Hulme at the Italian Grand Prix, starting from grid position 7. The Canadian Grand Prix saw the most retirements of the season, with 15 drivers failing to finish. Hill won the Mexican Grand Prix, the final race of the season.