 At the French Grand Prix , held at the high speed Reims @-@ <unk> circuit , Brabham followed race leader Lorenzo Bandini closely from the start of the race , using the slipstream of Bandini 's more powerful Ferrari to tow him to up to 8 mph ( 13 km / h ) faster down the straights than the BT19 could manage on its own . This allowed Brabham to consolidate his lead over Ferrari 's second driver , Formula One novice Mike Parkes . After 12 laps Bandini pulled away from Brabham , eventually by over 30 seconds , but when the Italian car was delayed by a broken throttle cable on lap 32 , Brabham cruised to the finish to win from Parkes and become the first man to win a Formula One World Championship race in one of his own cars . 
