User:Readro/64FGP

The 1964 French Grand Prix (formally the L Grand Prix de l'A.C.F.) was a Formula One motor race held on October 22, 1964 at the Rouen-Les-Essarts circuit, Rouen, France. It was the 4th race of the 1964 Formula One season. The race, contested over 57 laps, was won by Dan Gurney for the Brabham team after starting from second position. Graham Hill, who started the Grand Prix from sixth position, finished second in a BRM car, with Jack Brabham third in the other Brabham.

Background
Heading into the race weekend, there was speculation as to the future of Formula One. It had been suggested that some races were processional and that instead of having just one race, Formula One could move to a system with heat races and a final. The CSI, the body responsible for the running of Formula One at the time, announced that for the 1966 season, there would be no minimum or maximum weight limits for Grand Prix cars powered by a rotary or turbine engine. They were still working on a system that in theory would equalise the performance of these cars with the then current piston engined cars.

The Rouen circuit had been partially resurfaced prior to the Grand Prix, leaving out the Nouveau Monde and la Sciere hairpins and the section of the circuit from the final hairpin to the pit straight.

The Rob Walker Racing Team and Scuderia Centro Sud did not enter the Grand Prix. Privately entered cars were Jo Siffert's Brabham-BRM, Bob Anderson's Brabham-Climax and Maurice Trintignant's BRM.

Practice
Practice sessions were held on the Thursday and Friday prior to the Grand Prix with each driver's fastest lap time contributing to their place on the grid. Ferrari did not participate in the session on Thursday, along with Mike Hailwood, who was practicing for the Dutch TT, a motorcycle race which was set to take place on the Saturday. He would go on to win the race for motorcycles with an engine displacement of 500 cc on an MV Agusta. Although triumphant, an airline strike meant that he had to drive through the night to reach Rouen in time for Sunday's race.

During the first session, Lotus driver Jim Clark started the session in a Lotus 33, but alternated between that its predecessor, the Lotus 25. Brabham's Dan Gurney posted a lap of 2:10.1, which stood as the quickest lap until just before the end of the session, when Clark set a time of 2:09.6. Third was Lotus' other driver, Peter Arundell, two seconds slower than Clark. Fourth was ex-world champion Graham Hill in a BRM, half a second behind Arundell and fifth was Jack Brabham in the second Brabham, 0.2 seconds slower than Hill.

Race
The start of the race was due at 3:15 local time (UTC+1), and conditions were overcast and cloudy. Prior to the start, Clark's Lotus was leaking oil but the start was delayed, which enabled Clark's Lotus to be pushed to the pole position on the grid. The race started and Clark held on to the lead, followed by Gurney.

Gurney took the Brabham team's first win in a World Championship Grand Prix. This meant that Jack Brabham became the first man to be a winning driver and owner of a winning manufacturer. As well as being Brabham's first win, the race was also the first Grand Prix win for a Hewland gearbox. Graham Hill finished second for BRM, 24 seconds behind Gurney, with Jack Brabham third in the other works Brabham.

Practice
Bold formatting denotes a driver's best time over both practice sessions


 * Notes
 * †: Revson drove Hailwood's car in Thursday's practice session whilst Hailwood was practicing for the Dutch TT.

Standings after the race
Note, only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.


 * Drivers' Championship standings


 * Constructors' Championship standings