The 1967 Formula One season was the 21st season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 18th World Championship of Drivers, the 10th International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, and six non-championship races open to Formula One cars. The World Championship was contested over eleven races between 2 January and 22 October 1967.
Denny Hulme won the Drivers' Championship in a Brabham-Repco. Brabham was also awarded the International Cup for F1 Manufacturers. , this is the only championship won by a New Zealand driver. Hulme also became the first driver in World Championship history to win the title without having scored a pole position during the season.
Lorenzo Bandini crashed during the Monaco Grand Prix. Losing an early lead of the race and trying to get back to the front, the Ferrari driver clipped the chicane at the harbour front and then hit a hidden mooring. The car turned over and exploded in flames. It took marshals several minutes to extricate Bandini from the burning wreck and three days later, the Italian died. British driver Bob Anderson died during a test at Silverstone. His Brabham slid off the track in wet conditions and hit a marshals post, suffering serious chest and neck injuries and later dying in hospital.
Teams and drivers The following teams and drivers competed in the 1967 FIA World Championship. A pink background denotes additional Formula 2 entrants to the German Grand Prix on the very long Nürburgring track.
Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Tyre Driver Rounds Brabham Racing Organisation Brabham-Repco BT20 Repco 620 3.0 V8 Jack Brabham 1 Denny Hulme1–3BT194Repco 740 3.0 V8 Jack Brabham2–3BT244–11 Denny Hulme 5–11 Cooper Car Company Cooper-Maserati T81 Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12 Pedro Rodríguez 1–7 Alan Rees6 Jochen Rindt 1–2, 8T81B3Maserati 10/F1 3.0 V124–5, 10 Richard Attwood8 Pedro Rodríguez11 Jacky Ickx9T8610 Jochen Rindt 6–7, 9 Owen Racing Organisation BRM P83 BRM P75 3.0 H16 Mike Spence All Jackie Stewart1, 3–4, 6P1157–11P261BRM P60 2.1 V8 2, 5 Team LotusLotus-BRM33BRM P60 2.1 V8 Graham Hill2 43 BRM P75 3.0 H16 1 Jim Clark 1 Lotus-Climax 33 Climax FWMV 2.0 V8 2 Lotus-Ford 49 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 3–11 Graham Hill 3–11 Eppie Wietzes 8 Giancarlo Baghetti 9 Moisés Solana 10–11 48 Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4 Jackie Oliver 7 Anglo American Racers Eagle-Climax T1F Climax FPF 2.8 L4 Dan Gurney 1 Eagle-Weslake T1G Weslake 58 3.0 V12 2–11 Richie Ginther 2 Bruce McLaren 5–7 Ludovico Scarfiotti 9 Honda Racing Honda RA273 Honda RA273E 3.0 V12 John Surtees 1–4, 6–7RA3009–11 Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team Cooper-Maserati T81 Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12 Jo Siffert All DW Racing Enterprises Brabham-Climax BT11 Climax FPF 2.8 L4 Bob Anderson 1–4, 65 Joakim Bonnier Racing Team Cooper-Maserati T81 Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12 Jo Bonnier 1, 4, 6–11 Reg Parnell Racing Lotus-BRM 25 BRM P60 2.1 V8 Piers Courage 1 Chris Irwin 3 BRM P261 Piers Courage 2BRM P66 3.0 H166 Chris Irwin4, 6P83BRM P75 3.0 H16 5, 7–11 John Love Cooper-Climax T79 Climax FPF 2.8 L4 John Love 1 Sam Tingle LDS-Climax Mk 3 Climax FPF 2.8 L4 Sam Tingle 1 Scuderia Scribante Brabham-Climax BT11 Climax FPF 2.8 L4 Dave Charlton 1 Luki Botha Brabham-Climax BT11 Climax FPF 2.8 L4 Luki Botha 1 Matra Sports Matra-Ford MS5Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4 Johnny Servoz-Gavin 2 Jean-Pierre Beltoise2MS7 10–11 Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren-BRM M4B BRM P111 2.1 V8 Bruce McLaren 2–3M5ABRM P101 3.0 V128–11 Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 312/67 Ferrari 242 3.0 V12 Lorenzo Bandini 2 Chris Amon 2–11 Jonathan Williams 11 Ludovico Scarfiotti 3–4312 Mike Parkes3–4 Guy Ligier Cooper-Maserati T81 Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12 Guy Ligier 4–5 Brabham-Repco BT20 Repco 620 3.0 V8 6–7, 9–11 Bernard White Racing BRM P261 BRM P60 2.1 V8 David Hobbs 6, 8 Charles Vögele Racing Cooper-ATS T77 ATS 2.7 V8 Silvio Moser 6 Bayerische Motoren Werke AG Lola-BMW T100 BMW M10 2.0 L4 Hubert Hahne 7 Gerhard Mitter Brabham-Ford BT23 Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4 Gerhard Mitter 7 Roy Winkelmann Racing Brabham-Ford BT23 Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4 Alan Rees 7 Ecurie Ford-France Matra-Ford MS5 Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4 Jo Schlesser 7 Ron Harris Racing Team Protos-Ford F2 Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4 Brian Hart 7 Kurt Ahrens Jr. 7 Lola Cars Lola-BMW T100 BMW M10 2.0 L4 David Hobbs 7 David Bridges Lola-Ford T100 Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4 Brian Redman 7 Tyrrell Racing Organisation Matra-Ford MS5 Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4 Jacky Ickx 7 Mike Fisher Lotus-BRM 33 BRM P60 2.1 V8 Mike Fisher 8, 11 Castrol Oils Ltd Eagle-Climax T1F Climax FPF 2.8 L4 Al Pease 8 Tom Jones Cooper-Climax T82 Climax FWMV 2.0 V8 Tom Jones 8
Team and driver changes After his success in the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, Chris Amon was offered a seat at the Ferrari F1 team. It would be the New Zealander's first full-time F1 drive since . Pedro Rodríguez was signed by Cooper, after 1964 champion John Surtees moved to Honda. Honda's drivers Richie Ginther and Ronnie Bucknum left the sport. champion Graham Hill moved from BRM to Lotus, replacing Peter Arundell. Mike Spence was hired as his replacement at BRM, having gained experience with their V8 engine at Reg Parnell's privateer team.
Mid-season changes Ferrari driver Lorenzo Bandini suffered a fatal crash during the Monaco Grand Prix. The team brought back last year's drivers Mike Parkes and Ludovico Scarfiotti for two races and then reduced their operations to just one car for Chris Amon. Bruce McLaren had switched from Ford to BRM engines over the winter. He was supposed to get V12 engines for the McLaren M5A, but when those were delayed, he had to start the season in a modified Formula Two car powered by a BRM V8. After having worked with engine suppliers Climax and BRM since , Lotus switched to newly developed Cosworth DFV's from the third race of this year. The project was funded by the Ford Motor Company. Pedro Rodríguez suffered a crash in the 1967 Mediterranean Grand Prix, a Formula Two race at Autodromo di Pergusa, and took about two months to recover. Richard Attwood and Jacky Ickx fell in for him at Cooper. It was Ickx's F1 debut, while he would go on to win the F2 championship that year as well. Matra introduced their first Formula One chassis, the MS7, in the last two races of the season, with their Formula Two driver Jean-Pierre Beltoise granted the drive.
Calendar Round Grand Prix Circuit Date 1 South African Grand Prix Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit, Midrand 2 January 2 Monaco Grand Prix Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo 7 May 3 Dutch Grand Prix Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort 4 June 4 Belgian Grand Prix Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot 18 June 5 French Grand Prix Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans 2 July 6 British Grand Prix Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone 15 July 7 German Grand Prix Nürburgring, Nürburg 6 August 8 Canadian Grand Prix Mosport Park, Bowmanville 27 August 9 Italian Grand Prix Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza 10 September 10 United States Grand Prix Watkins Glen International, New York 1 October 11 Mexican Grand Prix Magdalena Mixhuca, Mexico City 22 October
Calendar changes The South African Grand Prix returned to the calendar but it was held at the Kyalami Circuit instead of the Prince George Circuit. The Dutch Grand Prix was brought forward from mid July to early June, ahead of the Belgian and French Grand Prix. The French Grand Prix was moved to the Bugatti version of the Circuit de la Sarthe, replacing Reims-Gueux. The British Grand Prix was moved from Brands Hatch to Silverstone, in keeping with the event-sharing arrangement between the two circuits. The Canadian Grand Prix was hosted for the first time, at Mosport Park near Toronto.
Regulation changes After Lorenzo Bandini's fatal accident, the FIA banned circuit organisers from using straw bales along the track and TV crews from flying their helicopters too low, as both had contributed to the fire flaring up.
Championship report Rounds 1 to 4 Coming down from his third World Championship in , Jack Brabham started this year off as well, with a pole position at the South African Grand Prix. Teammate Denny Hulme started second and two-time World Champion Jim Clark lined up in third in his Lotus. Hulme took the lead at the start, while Clark fell back to sixth. In a race of attrition, the crowd saw Rhodesian driver John Love take the lead. When he had to stop for extra fuel, however, it was Pedro Rodríguez who won in his Cooper. Love finished second, ahead of John Surtees in a Honda. Hulme and Brabham finished several laps down but still in the points, since there were just six classified finishers in total.
From 1967 to , there was four months between the first and second race of the championship, and most teams would usually run the first race with old designs, or not even participate. This year, Ferrari, McLaren and Matra started their year with the Monaco Grand Prix. Lotus had planned to run revolutionary new Cosworths, but they were not ready in time. Jack Brabham scored pole position like in South Africa, but again lost the lead at the start, this time to long-time Ferrari driver Lorenzo Bandini. Before long, Hulme took over at the front and increased his lead to 15 seconds. Desperately trying to get closer, Bandini struck the barrier in the chicane at the harbour front and mounted the straw bales. The car landed upside down and exploded in flames. Bandini would succumbed to his injuries three days later. Hulme won the race, one lap ahead of Graham Hill (Lotus) and two ahead of Chris Amon (Ferrari). Like in the first race, there were just six finishers.
When Lotus could finally run the new Cosworth engines in the Dutch Grand Prix, their pace was significantly better than before and Hill snatched pole position. A surprising Dan Gurney in the Eagle started second, reigning champion Brabham in third. After drivers had to avoid a wandering marshal on the grid, the positions at the front remained rather the same, until Gurney made a pit stop. Hill's engine suddenly seized on lap 11, but teammate Clark was charging, getting up to second on lap 15 and taking the lead from Brabham on the next lap. He kept increasing his lead with a second per lap and easily won, ahead of the teammates Brabham and Hulme. Behind them finished the three Ferraris.
Qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix ended up with quite the same drivers at the front, except Brabham could only manage seventh. Clark, Gurney and Hill occupied the front row. Clark was the only one of the three with a good start, however. During the first lap, Mike Parkes crashed his Ferrari and was thrown out. He broke a leg and wrist and would not return to Formula One. At the front of the field, Clark was followed by Stewart (BRM) and Amon (Ferrari), before Amon fell back and Gurney took third. Then, Clark had to pit to change a spark plug and Stewart ran into trouble with his gearbox, and Gurney took the lead. After setting a new lap record, the American driver won, over a minute ahead of Stewart and Amon.
Four different winners led to a close fight at the top of the Drivers' Championship. Denny Hulme (Brabham) was first with 16 points, ahead of Pedro Rodríguez (Cooper) and Chris Amon (Ferrari) with 11. In the battle for the Manufacturers' Cup, Brabham had scored 18 points, ahead of Cooper (14) and Ferrari (11).
Rounds 5 to 7 For the French Grand Prix, the front row consisted of champion Graham Hill (Lotus), triple World Champion Jack Brabham (Brabham) and winner of the last race, Dan Gurney (Eagle). But after just 5 laps, it was fourth-starting Jim Clark who led the field. Before the race reached half distance, however, both Lotuses had retired. The Cosworth engines deemed fast but unreliable. After Gurney retired as well with a fuel leak, which left Brabham and his teammate Hulme to finish first and second. Jackie Stewart finished third in his BRM, a lap down on the leader. For the third time this year, there were just six classified finishers.