For the first time in fifty-eight years we got an all British podium. This ocurred at the Circuit de Barcelona on June 14th with drivers, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Lando Norris.

A lot has changed over the years, but the stories between the drivers remained relatively the same.

The 1968 United States Grand Prix

Three British drivers – all at different points in their careers – won at the Watkins Glen circuit in the United States. These men were Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill, and John Surtees. One on the cusp of winning it all, one chasing a second title, and one at the end of his career. In 1968 Formula One ran a bit differently, instead of having all sessions of qualifying in one day, it took place over two days (the friday and saturday).

Jackie Stewart

Stewart was the fastest all weekend, but unfortunately lost a bit of luck in qualifying when he broke a stub axle and lost his pole position to Mario Andretti. However, during the race Andretti had to retire due to a clutch issue on the second lap. Which then granted Stewart his place back where he lead the rest of the race.

Stewart ended up winning the race by twenty-four seconds. This race was Stewarts third win in a season where -for most of it- he had been driving with a broken hand.

Graham Hill

Hill had bad luck before he had even reached the first corner in the grand prix. He braked hard after passing Andretti, causing his steering column to shoot up and pin his fingers to the dashboard. To add to the pressure – Hill was in charge of holding the team together after losing teammate Jim Clark earlier in the season.

He had better luck throughout the race, ending up in second behind Stewart. His steering column was never fixed, and he got his position by staying consistent. When the race concluded, they found that Hills car had less than a pint of fuel left in its tank. This was a podium his team very much needed.

John Surtees

Surtees’ story is a bit different, he didn’t out perform lap after lap. For most of the race he was competing for fourth and fifth. He ran behind Dan Gurney who was having tyre issues that he was unaware of for most of the race. Surtees used that to his advantage and patiently closed the gap lap-by-lap and made it up to third on the second-to-last lap.

Surtees’ result was built on outlasting the rival with worse mechanical luck rather than on pure skill. It is important to note, Surtees remains to be the only driver who has won a championship on two and four wheels.

In 1968, British drivers dominated the sport. So fifty-eight years later, the same thing happened- it was more about three talented drivers who happened to have the same nationality, rather than a nationality dominating the sport.

Similarities between 1968 and 2026

Norris & Hill

Both coming off of a championship win.

Russell & Stewart

Neither had won a championship but have the pace and results to suggest it may happen.

Hamilton & Surtees

Both late in their careers, but not exactly in the same way. Surtees was reaching the end of his career, where Hamilton made the decision to switch to Ferrari – potentially leading to winning an eighth championship and extending his career.

Looking into this parallel, you get to explore these six different drivers who have the same nationality, and a fairly close resemblance to each others careers. But you get to see how little things can change in fifty-eight years.