1968 Dutch F1 Grand Prix Race Report & Results
Event: Dutch Grand Prix
Track: Circuit Zandvoort
Weather: wet, persistent rain
Jackie Stewart won his 3rd F1 World Championship race at the 1968 Dutch Grand Prix. The Matra-Ford Cosworth driver started from 5th on the grid and won on the Zandvoort circuit for the 1st time. It was also his 1st win of the season and the 1st win for the Matra F1 team.
Zandvoort, the Matra breakthrough
The 1968 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on Sunday 23 June was the first F1 World Championship victory for the Matra constructor team. The 90-lap race was held in persistent rain across the dunes; the new Dunlop wet-weather tyres fitted exclusively to the Matra entries gave Jackie Stewart and Jean-Pierre Beltoise an enormous advantage over the Firestone- and Goodyear-shod opposition. Stewart took the chequered flag 1 minute 34 seconds clear of his French team-mate, with Pedro Rodriguez third in the BRM.
Practice on Friday's dry track had put Chris Amon on his third pole position of the year with the Ferrari, with Rindt second on the grid in the Brabham. From the green flag Hill led briefly from Stewart, with the Lotus 49B ahead of the Matra-Cosworth into Tarzan. Stewart took the lead on lap 4 and held it to the chequered flag.
The wet-weather pneus
The defining feature of the day was the new Dunlop deep-rain pattern fitted to the Matras. The British tyre maker had developed a proper wet-weather compound with a wide central groove for water dispersal, the first true purpose-built F1 wet tyre. Beltoise drove past most of the field in his V12 Matra, taking the lead briefly on lap 11 and finishing second. Stewart, despite a still-painful wrist from his earlier F2 accident, drove a measured wet-weather masterpiece.
The race was also notable for Dan Gurney's introduction of the full-face helmet to F1, the so-called "scaphandre" (diving helmet) that would become standard within five years. Bruce McLaren crashed out at Tarzan, as did Hill on lap 81 from third. Of 19 starters, only nine were classified.
Standings
Hill remained championship leader on 24 points; Stewart's 9 points moved him to 12, jumping into second in the standings. The 1968 season was now firmly the Hill-Stewart-Hulme three-way fight that would define the rest of the year. The next round at the Rouen-les-Essarts circuit in two weeks would test the new wet-weather technology again.
Classification 1968 Dutch F1 GP
| Pos | # | Driver | Team | Time | Laps | Grid | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 |  Jackie Stewart |  Matra | 2:46:11.200 | 90 | 5 | 9 |
| 2 | 17 | Jean-Pierre Beltoise | Matra | 2:47:45.130 | 90 | 16 | 6 |
| 3 | 15 |  Pedro Rodríguez | BRM | +1 lap | 89 | 11 | 4 |
| 4 | 10 |  Jacky Ickx |  Ferrari | +2 laps | 88 | 6 | 3 |
| 5 | 22 |  Silvio Moser | Brabham | +3 laps | 87 | 7 | 2 |
| 6 | 9 |  Chris Amon | Ferrari | +5 laps | 85 | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | 16 | Richard Attwood | BRM | +5 laps | 85 | 15 | 0 |
| 8 | 19 |  Jo Bonnier | McLaren | +8 laps | 82 | 19 | 0 |
| 9 | 3 | Graham Hill | Team Lotus | Accident | 81 | 3 | 0 |
| NC | 4 | Jackie Oliver | Team Lotus | Not Classified | 80 | 10 | 0 |
| DNF | 18 |  Dan Gurney | Brabham | Throttle | 63 | 12 | 0 |
| DNF | 21 | Jo Siffert | Team Lotus | Gearbox | 55 | 13 | 0 |
| DNF | 7 | John Surtees |  Honda | Alternator | 50 | 9 | 0 |
| DNF | 20 | Piers Courage | BRM | Spun Off | 50 | 14 | 0 |
| DNF | 6 |  Jochen Rindt | Brabham | Ignition | 39 | 2 | 0 |
| DNF | 5 |  Jack Brabham | Brabham | Spun Off | 22 | 4 | 0 |
| DNF | 2 | Bruce McLaren | McLaren | Accident | 19 | 8 | 0 |
| DNF | 1 | Denny Hulme | McLaren | Ignition | 10 | 7 | 0 |
| DNF | 14 | Lucien Bianchi | Cooper-BRM | Accident | 9 | 18 | 0 |
Fastest lap: 1:45.910 min by Jean-Pierre Beltoise (Matra MS11) in lap 6
✅ Check out 1968 F1 Championship Standings
✅ Check out 1968 F1 Teams & Drivers
✅ Check out All Time F1 Drivers Rankings
✅ Check out All Time F1 Driver Records
✅ Check out All Time F1 Teams Rankings
