During his car racing career, Hailwood raced in Formula One and World Sports Cars, but never achieved the same level of success that he had found on motorcycles. He participated in 50 Formula One Grands Prix, starting with an early phase between 1963–1965, debuting in the British Grand Prix on 20 July 1963, achieving two podium finishes and scoring a total of 29 championship points. He was in contention for a victory at his first Formula One race in six years, the 1971 Italian Grand Prix. The first five finishers were covered by only 0.61 seconds, and Hailwood was fourth, 0.18s behind the winner Peter Gethin.