Graham Hill won the 1963 Monaco Grand Prix after race leader Jim Clark retired with a gearbox failure on lap 78, deciding the outcome late in the race.
Key Facts
- Race date
- 26 May 1963
- Total laps
- 100 laps
- Winner
- Graham Hill (BRM P57)
- Pole position
- Jim Clark
- Championship round
- Race 1 of 10
- Clark's retirement lap
- 78 lap
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Jim Clark took pole position and dominated the 1963 Monaco Grand Prix, overtaking Graham Hill for the lead on lap 18 and pulling away from the field. Clark appeared set for a comfortable victory as the race entered its final quarter, with Hill running second.
The 100-lap Formula One race at Monaco on 26 May 1963 saw Clark lead the majority of the event before his Lotus suffered a broken gearbox on lap 78, forcing his retirement. Graham Hill, who had led early alongside BRM teammate Richie Ginther, inherited the lead and drove to the finish. Ginther and Bruce McLaren completed the podium, with John Surtees fourth.
Hill's victory gave him a strong start in the 1963 World Championship of Drivers, the first of ten rounds that season. Clark's mechanical failure denied him what seemed a certain win and redistributed championship points among the BRM and Cooper drivers who completed the race.