Revealed: Every Grand Prix hosted by F1 during the holiday season

Back in the early days of Formula 1, when a season consisted of a single-digit number of races that all took place on the same continent, scheduling a season with ample respect for the holiday season was a fairly simple task.

But in the late 1950s, things changed. The F1 calendar began to spread to Africa and the Americas, necessitating a change in the racing schedules — and the penciling in of ample time to ship cars overseas. The result? A handful of races scheduled for the holiday season — all of which we’ll be looking at today.

1959 United States Grand Prix

In an attempt to call itself a World — and not just a European — championship upon its founding in 1950, Formula 1 included the Indianapolis 500 on its calendar each year. An overwhelming majority of drivers never bothered to make the trek out to the States for a race that was run on a distinct set of rules using distinct cars, and so the first real United States Grand Prix didn’t take place until 1959.

That year, the event was hosted at Sebring International Raceway in Florida; originally intended to be the opening round of the season, it ended up as the season-ending event — and title decider.

Heading into the race, the title was coming down to a three-way battle. Jack Brabham led the championship with 31 points, while Stirling Moss boasted 25.5 points and Tony Brooks 23. It was mathematically possible for all three drivers to be crowned the 1959 Drivers’ Champion — and it was all coming down to the wire in the United States.

It looked as if it would be an easy victory for Jack Brabham, but then, just 400 yards from the finish line, his Cooper sputtered to a stop. There was no fuel left in the tank.

Desperate, Brabham leaped from his car and began shoving it up the hill to the finish line. He was passed by Bruce McLaren, Maurice Trintignant, and Tony Brooks — but Brabham crossed the line in fourth.

It was enough to earn him three points, as well as the WDC.

1962 South African Grand Prix

Two months after October’s US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, the 1962 Formula 1 season was scheduled to come to an end. On December 29, just a few days after Christmas, the South African Grand Prix made its Formula 1 debut, taking place at the Prince George Circuit in East London.

Graham Hill entered the race as the title favorite considering his nine-point lead over Jim Clark — but the points system at the time meant that if Clark took a victory, he would also take the title regardless of where Hill finished.

As it transpired, Clark led the race until, 20 laps from the finish, an oil leak forced him to retire. Hill took the victory and the title instead.

1963 South African Grand Prix

The Clark/Hill rivalry continued into 1963, but as the season progressed, it became clear that Jim Clark was simply unstoppable. He secured his WDC with three races remaining — meaning that his 28th of December stop in South Africa was part of an extensive victory tour.

And what a tour it was! Clark took his seventh win of the season, leading from pole position, and ended the year the 54 points to Graham Hill’s 29.

This race would be the last F1 race held in December until the 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

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1965 South African Grand Prix

South Africa was once again supposed to hold the season finale in 1965, but the race was delayed by a week — ultimately meaning that it would become the first of 10 races in 1965, and it would take place on January 1.

The tides of technological innovation moved a little slower back then, and there was no time for any of the F1 teams to introduce a brand-new car for the first race of the 1965 season, considering it took place one day after the end of 1964.

It was a dominant performance for Team Lotus’ Jim Clark, who led from pole position and took a 30-second victory over Graham Hill.

The second race of the 1965 season was the Monaco Grand Prix, which took place on May 30 — nearly six months after the season opener!

1967 South African Grand Prix

In 1966, the South African Grand Prix was relegated to non-championship status, but that title returned in 1967 with a new venue. Instead of Prince George Circuit, the Formula 1 grid headed to Kyalami for a January 2 event.

The event was won by Pedro Rodriguez, making him the first Mexican driver to win a race and take a podium position.

Again, the next race of the season was Monaco, which took place on May 7.

1968 South African Grand Prix

The 1968 South African Grand Prix was the final Formula 1 race to take place during the holiday season, with the event once again being hosted on New Year’s Day.

Sadly, it was to be a bittersweet weekend. Jim Clark once again dominated the event and broke several records in the process, including: leading the most Grands Prix (43), leading the most laps (1,943), having the most perfect weekends (11), securing the most pole positions (33), and taking the most wins (25). The Scotsman usurped the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio at the top of the record books.

Sadly, it was the final Formula 1 race in which Clark would ever compete. In April of 1968, he was killed at the Hockenheimring in Germany, bringing to an end an impressive era of dominance in Formula 1.

It was also the final F1 race of Mike Spence, a British racer who took two non-championship Formula 1 victories in his career. He was killed in May testing for the Indianapolis 500.

The next race of the year was the Spanish Grand Prix, hosted at Jarama on May 12.

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