1964 Mexican Grand Prix
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| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 10 of 10 in the 1964 Formula One season | |||
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| Date | October 25, 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 mi) | ||
| Distance | 65 laps, 325.000 km (201.946 mi) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Lotus-Climax | ||
| Time | 1:57.24 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |  Jim Clark |
Lotus-Climax | |
| Time | 1:58.37 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Brabham-Climax | ||
| Second | Ferrari | ||
| Third | Ferrari | ||
The 1964 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City on October 25, 1964. It was the final round of the 1964 Formula One season.
It was perhaps the most dramatic finale in the history of the Formula One World Championship. Championship points could only be scored by the first six place finishers (9-6-4-3-2-1). Arriving to the race, three drivers had a chance of winning the title: Graham Hill (BRM) with 39 points, John Surtees (Ferrari) with 34 points and Jim Clark (Lotus-Climax) with 30 points. In order to win the title Clark had to win the race and hope that John Surtees would finish not higher than third and Graham Hill not higher than fourth.[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' teammate at Ferrari, were duelling for third place with Surtees running a distant fifth, seemingly with no chance at winning the title. Then Bandini ran into the back of Hill's car causing him to spin and lose a few places. 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 victories, although they would be tied on points at 39. But on the penultimate lap, Clark's engine seized and the positions were now Gurney-Bandini-Surtees. The title was back in Hill's grasp. Realizing that 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 so as to let Surtees through. Bandini dutifully did so and Surtees finished second, thus winning the World Championship by one point over Hill (40 to 39).
Contents
Classification
Qualifying
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Jim Clark |
Lotus-Climax | 1:57.24 |
| 2 | 6 |  Dan Gurney |
Brabham-Climax | 1:58.10 |
| 3 | 8 |  Lorenzo Bandini |
Ferrari | 1:58.60 |
| 4 | 7 | John Surtees |
Ferrari | 1:58.70 |
| 5 | 2 | Mike Spence |
Lotus-Climax | 1:59.21 |
| 6 | 3 | Graham Hill |
BRM | 1:59.80 |
| 7 | 5 |  Jack Brabham |
Brabham-Climax | 1:59.99 |
| 8 | 16 |  Jo Bonnier |
Brabham-Climax | 2:00.17 |
| 9 | 18 |  Pedro Rodríguez |
Ferrari | 2:00.90 |
| 10 | 9 |  Bruce McLaren |
Cooper-Climax | 2:01.12 |
| 11 | 4 | Richie Ginther |
BRM | 2:01.15 |
| 12 | 15 | Chris Amon |
Lotus-BRM | 2:01.17 |
| 13 | 22 |  Jo Siffert |
Brabham-BRM | 2:01.37 |
| 14 | 17 | Moisés Solana |
Lotus-Climax | 2:01.43 |
| 15 | 10 | Phil Hill |
Cooper-Climax | 2:02.00 |
| 16 | 11 | Innes Ireland |
BRP-BRM | 2:02.35 |
| 17 | 14 | Mike Hailwood |
Lotus-BRM | 2:04.11 |
| 18 | 12 | Trevor Taylor |
BRP-BRM | 2:04.90 |
| 19 | 23 | Hap Sharp |
Brabham-BRM | 2:06.90 |
Race
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Dan Gurney |
Brabham-Climax | 65 | 2:09:50.32 | 2 | 9 |
| 2 | 7 | John Surtees |
Ferrari | 65 | + 1:08.94 | 4 | 6 |
| 3 | 8 | Lorenzo Bandini |
Ferrari | 65 | + 1:09.63 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | 2 | Mike Spence |
Lotus-Climax | 65 | + 1:21.86 | 5 | 3 |
| 5 | 1 | Jim Clark |
Lotus-Climax | 64 | Engine/Oil line | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | 18 | Pedro Rodríguez |
Ferrari | 64 | + 1 lap | 9 | 1 |
| 7 | 9 | Bruce McLaren |
Cooper-Climax | 64 | + 1 lap | 10 | |
| 8 | 4 | Richie Ginther |
BRM | 64 | + 1 lap | 11 | |
| 9 | 10 | Phil Hill |
Cooper-Climax | 63 | Engine | 15 | |
| 10 | 17 | Moisés Solana |
Lotus-Climax | 63 | + 2 laps | 14 | |
| 11 | 3 | Graham Hill |
BRM | 63 | + 2 laps | 6 | |
| 12 | 11 | Innes Ireland |
BRP-BRM | 61 | + 4 laps | 16 | |
| 13 | 23 | Hap Sharp |
Brabham-BRM | 60 | + 5 laps | 19 | |
| Ret | 15 | Chris Amon |
Lotus-BRM | 46 | Gearbox | 12 | |
| Ret | 5 | Jack Brabham |
Brabham-Climax | 44 | Electrical | 7 | |
| Ret | 14 | Mike Hailwood |
Lotus-BRM | 12 | Overheating | 17 | |
| Ret | 22 | Jo Siffert |
Brabham-BRM | 11 | Fuel Pump | 13 | |
| Ret | 16 | Jo Bonnier |
Brabham-Climax | 9 | Suspension | 8 | |
| Ret | 12 | Trevor Taylor |
BRP-BRM | 6 | Overheating | 18 | |
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Source:[2]
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Notes
- For the first time, 3 British drivers went into the last race with a chance of winning the championship.
- Graham Hill (39pts) needed either:
- 1st
- 3rd, with Surtees 2nd or lower
- Clark 2nd or lower and Surtees 3rd or lower
- John Surtees (34pts) needed either:
- 1st
- 2nd, with Graham Hill 4th or lower
- Jim Clark (30pts) needed:
- 1st, with Surtees 3rd or lower and Graham Hill 4th or lower
- Jim Clark nearly managed this. If his engine hadn't blown in the last laps, he would've done just enough to win the championship.
- Graham Hill (39pts) needed either:
- In another first, three constructors were fighting for the championship.
- Ferrari (43pts) needed either
- 1st
- 2nd, with the top BRM 3rd or lower
- The top Lotus-Climax 2nd or lower and the top BRM in 3rd or lower
- BRM (42pts) needed
- 1st
- Lotus-Climax (37pts) needed
- 1st, with the top Ferrari 3rd or lower
- Again, if Jim Clark's engine hadn't blown, then Lotus-Climax would've won the Constructors' Championship
- Ferrari (43pts) needed either
Championship standings after the race
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- Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. Only best 6 results counted toward the championship. Numbers without parentheses are championship points, numbers in parentheses are total points scored.
Notes and References
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
| Previous race: 1964 United States Grand Prix |
FIA Formula One World Championship 1964 season |
Next race: 1965 South African Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1963 Mexican Grand Prix |
Mexican Grand Prix | Next race: 1965 Mexican Grand Prix |
