1964 Mexican Grand Prix

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1964 Mexican Grand Prix
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez 1963.svg
Race details
Date25 October 1964
Official name III Gran Premio de México
Location Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Magdalena Mixhuca, Mexico City
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 5.000 km (3.107 miles)
Distance 65 laps, 325.000 km (201.946 miles)
Pole position
Driver Lotus-Climax
Time 1:57.24
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jim Clark Lotus-Climax
Time 1:58.37
Podium
First Brabham-Climax
Second Ferrari
Third Ferrari
Lap leaders
  • 1964 Mexican Grand Prix

The 1964 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Ciudad Deportiva Magdalena Mixhuca in Mexico City on 25 October 1964. It was race 10 of 10 in both the 1964 World Championship of Drivers and the 1964 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.

Contents

It was perhaps the most dramatic finale in the history of the World Championship. Championship points could only be scored by the first six finishers (9–6–4–3–2–1 points). Arriving to the race, three drivers had a chance of winning the title: Graham Hill (BRM P261 [1] ) with 39 points, John Surtees (Ferrari) with 34, and Jim Clark (Lotus 33-Climax) with 30. In order to win the title, Clark had to win the race, with Surtees finishing not higher than third and Hill not higher than fourth. [lower-alpha 1] Surtees could only win the title by finishing first, in each case, or second, unless Hill finished as high as third.

The race began with Clark leading from pole position with Dan Gurney running second in the Brabham-Climax (Gurney had only ten points going into this race having won the French Grand Prix and scored a sixth place at the Belgian Grand Prix). Hill and Lorenzo Bandini, Surtees's teammate, were duelling for third place, with Surtees a distant fifth, seemingly with no chance at winning the title. Then Bandini ran into the back of Hill's BRM, causing him to spin into the Armco, damaging his exhaust and lose a few places. [1] Thereafter Hill's car ran with a crimped exhaust pipe, causing him to lose power. The championship was now firmly in Clark's grasp. If the positions remained the same, he would be champion with four victories to Hill's two, although they would be tied on points at 39. On the penultimate lap, an oil line failed and Clark's engine seized as the Lotus crossed the line, with one lap left to go. [1] The positions were now Gurney–Bandini–Surtees, meaning the championship would be Hill's, so long as Surtees placed no higher. Realizing Surtees could win the title by finishing second, the Ferrari team manager frantically signalled Bandini to slow down as he passed the pits to enter the last lap and let Surtees through. Bandini dutifully did so and Surtees finished second, thus winning the World Championship of Drivers by one point over Hill (40 to 39). Meanwhile, Gurney won the Grand Prix, almost unnoticed. [1] The Ferrari cars were entered by the American NART team and painted white with blue lengthwise " Cunningham racing stripes ", the national colours of the teams licensed in the United States. Since Ferrari cars entered in the 1965 and 1969 seasons by the American NART team and at the 1966 Italian Grand Prix by the British privateer Reg Parnell team kept wearing the red colour, this race was the last time Ferrari cars wore other than the traditional red colour (rosso corsa) in Formula One.

Championship scenarios

For the first time, 3 British drivers went into the last race with a chance of winning the championship.

In another first, three constructors were fighting for the championship:

Classification

Qualifying

PosNoDriverConstructorTimeGap
11 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jim Clark Lotus-Climax 1:57.24
26 Flag of the United States.svg Dan Gurney Brabham-Climax 1:58.10+0.86
38 Flag of Italy.svg Lorenzo Bandini Ferrari 1:58.60+1.36
47 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg John Surtees Ferrari 1:58.70+1.46
52 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mike Spence Lotus-Climax 1:59.21+1.97
63 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Graham Hill BRM 1:59.80+2.56
75 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jack Brabham Brabham-Climax 1:59.99+2.75
816 Flag of Sweden.svg Jo Bonnier Brabham-Climax 2:00.17+2.93
918 Flag of Mexico (1934-1968).svg Pedro Rodríguez Ferrari 2:00.90+3.66
109 Flag of New Zealand.svg Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 2:01.12+3.88
114 Flag of the United States.svg Richie Ginther BRM 2:01.15+3.91
1215 Flag of New Zealand.svg Chris Amon Lotus-BRM 2:01.17+3.93
1322 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Jo Siffert Brabham-BRM 2:01.37+4.13
1417 Flag of Mexico (1934-1968).svg Moisés Solana Lotus-Climax 2:01.43+4.19
1510 Flag of the United States.svg Phil Hill Cooper-Climax 2:02.00+4.76
1611 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Innes Ireland BRP-BRM 2:02.35+5.11
1714 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mike Hailwood Lotus-BRM 2:04.11+6.87
1812 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Trevor Taylor BRP-BRM 2:04.90+7.66
1923 Flag of the United States.svg Hap Sharp Brabham-BRM 2:06.90+9.66

Race

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
16 Flag of the United States.svg Dan Gurney Brabham-Climax 652:09:50.3229
27 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg John Surtees Ferrari 65+ 1:08.9446
38 Flag of Italy.svg Lorenzo Bandini Ferrari 65+ 1:09.6334
42 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mike Spence Lotus-Climax 65+ 1:21.8653
51 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jim Clark Lotus-Climax 64Engine/Oil line12
618 Flag of Mexico (1934-1968).svg Pedro Rodríguez Ferrari 64+ 1 lap91
79 Flag of New Zealand.svg Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 64+ 1 lap10
84 Flag of the United States.svg Richie Ginther BRM 64+ 1 lap11
910 Flag of the United States.svg Phil Hill Cooper-Climax 63Engine15
1017 Flag of Mexico (1934-1968).svg Moisés Solana Lotus-Climax 63+ 2 laps14
113 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Graham Hill BRM 63+ 2 laps6
1211 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Innes Ireland BRP-BRM 61+ 4 laps16
1323 Flag of the United States.svg Hap Sharp Brabham-BRM 60+ 5 laps19
Ret15 Flag of New Zealand.svg Chris Amon Lotus-BRM 46Gearbox12
Ret5 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jack Brabham Brabham-Climax 44Electrical7
Ret14 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mike Hailwood Lotus-BRM 12Overheating17
Ret22 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Jo Siffert Brabham-BRM 11Fuel pump13
Ret16 Flag of Sweden.svg Jo Bonnier Brabham-Climax 9Suspension8
Ret12 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Trevor Taylor BRP-BRM 6Overheating18
Source: [2]

Championship standings after the race

Notes

  1. Hill had already scored points in six races and only the best six scores counted; he would have to drop the points for his weakest four finishes. If he finished fourth or higher he would have to drop three points scored for the Dutch Grand Prix. Neither Clark nor Surtees had scored in six races thus far.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Kettlewell, Mike. "Grand Prix Racing South of the Border", in Ward, Ian, executive editor. World of Automobiles (London: Orbis, 1974) Volume 12, p.1332.
  2. "1964 Mexican Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Mexico 1964 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
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