1968 French Grand Prix

Championship standings

Hill leads the championship. Stewart’s win in the Netherlands has closed the gap after Hill’s blank result at Spa.

Previous race

Stewart won at Zandvoort for Matra — the first championship victory for a French constructor in Formula One history. Jean-Pierre Beltoise was a surprise second after fighting through the midfield in wet conditions, with Rodríguez third for BRM. Hill had a spin on lap 61 and retired on lap 82 while running fourth.

Entrants

The French Grand Prix returns to the fast, narrow Rouen-Les-Essarts circuit in the forested hills of Normandy after a four-year absence. Honda France enters the brand-new RA302 — an experimental air-cooled V8 — for French driver Jo Schlesser, a 40-year-old racer competing in only his third Grand Prix. Works Honda driver John Surtees tested the RA302 but declined to race it, judging it not suitable for competition; Soichiro Honda himself is visiting France to promote European sales, which influenced the decision to race the unproven car. Surtees runs the older RA301. Cooper field Vic Elford, making his Formula One debut, and Johnny Servoz-Gavin in place of the late Scarfiotti and the injured Redman. Dan Gurney is absent — no engines available for his Eagle. Jackie Oliver walked away from a 125 mph accident in qualifying, but the Lotus could not be repaired in time; Oliver does not start.

An Alpine-Renault Formula One car had been expected to debut at the French team’s home race, but Renault abandoned the project when their engine was found to be 100 horsepower short of the opposition.

Practice

Jochen Rindt took his first-ever pole position, with Stewart and Ickx alongside him on the front row. Hulme and Amon shared the second row; Championship leader Hill qualified ninth.