Having claimed pole during the combined practice/qualifying sessions, Clark sprinted away from the grid to claim an early lead as his major rival Graham Hill battled for second. Hill ended up getting stuck behind Jack Brabham when the Australian elbowed his way past, before both ran into mechanical issues. Clark continued to dance his Lotus 25 around Zandvoort in the meantime, setting a new lap record with a quarter of the race still to go with Hill retiring just a few laps later with an engine failure.