F1 history during the 60's - technical progress of Grand Prix racing

Sixties brought the Grand Prix world large technical progress. Formula 1 cars from the early fifties, which still look like the cars that raced before the war, for two decades have changed completely. At the end of sixsties, cars have already begun to resemble some of today's Formula 1 cars. 

Sixties also brought a few new major champions. Among them, the two greatest were Jim Clark and Graham Hill. As already reported, in late fifties  a number of British teams started to came to Formula 1. One of the largest and most important for that time to the F1 history was Lotus. Its founder, Colin Chapman, English engineer, gave the sport and the whole car world something that has forever changed it - self-supporting body. On that way, the ride became much smoother, because the construction of each wheel was placed on the body for itself.

This revolutionary technical design of Lotus, brought its driver Jim Clark (on the right) two World titles in 1963 and 1965. In 1965 Clark became the first driver from Europe who has won at Indy 500 - the famous American race, which was still a part of the F1 calendar at that time. If you can say that a driver marked the decade, then it was Clark. They said that he was always driving to win, and that he never calculated the race. Even the great Fangio once said that Clark was bigger driver than he was. Unfortunately, his racing career and his life ended in disaster in 1968 at the Hockenheim circuit in Germany. The world has lost a great champion that day.

In addition to Clark, it should be mentioned and Graham Hill, who has won two World Championships in years 1962 and 1968, and who is currently the only driver in f1 history who has won three the most prestigious races - Indy 500, Monaco Grand Prix and 24 Hours Le Mans. It should also be said, that in the mid-sixties, driver from New Zealand, Bruce McLaren founded the McLaren racing team. McLaren and Lotus, as it turned out, were going to be some of the greatest teams in Formula One for decades.

In the second half of the decade, Jack Brabham became the only driver who won the championship title with his own team. That was in year 1966, and one year later, his driver Denny Hulme from New Zealand, have won another championship title for the Brabham team. Jack Brabham was the first team owner who use spoilers on his car, so that car would get the air pressure from above.

At the end of that decade in F1 history full of technical progress and the great drivers, appeared the young driver from Scotland - Jackie Stewart, who have won his first title in year 1969, and showing great talent for driving, he indicated what is going to be in the decade to come.