The 1962 South African Grand Prix, formally titled the 9th International RAC Grand Prix of South Africa, 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.
| 1962 South African Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 9 of 9 in the 1962 Formula One season | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 29 December 1962 | ||
| Official name | 9th International RAC Grand Prix of South Africa | ||
| Location | Prince George Circuit East London, South Africa | ||
| Course | Temporary road circuit | ||
| Course length | 3.920 km (2.436 miles) | ||
| Distance | 82 laps, 321.415 km (199.718 miles) | ||
| Weather | Dry, windy | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver |
| Lotus-Climax | |
| Time | 1:29.3 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | Jim Clark | Lotus-Climax | |
| Time | 1:31.0 on lap 3 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First |
| BRM | |
| Second |
| Cooper-Climax | |
| Third |
| Cooper-Climax | |
| Lap leaders | |||
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 | Qualifying times | Gap | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | |||||
| 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 Johnstone1 | BRM | — | — | — | — |
| Source: | |||||||
- ^1 – 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.
- † — 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 | |||
Source: | |||||||
Final Championship standings
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- 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.
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