1964 Mexican Grand Prix

Lore & Background

The race 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) 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. 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. Hill and Lorenzo Bandini, Surtees's teammate, were duelling for third place, with Surtees a distant fifth. 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. Thereafter Hill's car ran with a crimped exhaust pipe, causing him to lose power. 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. The positions were now Gurney–Bandini–Surtees. 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. 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 and 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.

In Their Own Story

The air in Mexico City felt thin, almost breathless, matching the tension inside the cockpit of the red #3 car. John Surtees gripped the wheel, listening to the high-pitched scream of the V8 engine fighting for oxygen at over 2,000 meters. Ahead, Jim Clark's Lotus was a blur of green, but Surtees knew the British driver was wrestling with fuel starvation. "Stay calm," he whispered as the crowd roared in a language he barely understood. The checkered flag waved not with a sudden burst of speed, but with a steady, undeniable march toward victory. As he slowed on the cool-down lap, the realization hit him: the world was his. A sea of red erupted from the stands, drowning out the engine noise as Surtees became the first man to win World Championships on both two and four wheels.

Reader's Guide

For the first – and thus far – only time in Formula One history, three British drivers went into the last race with a chance of winning the championship. 1962 World Champion Hill, who had the chance of winning his second world championship in three years, was going into the final round of the season with a five-point-lead over Surtees, with Clark a further four points behind in third. Hill was in the strongest position amongst the three contenders as he only needed a second place to win the title. Surtees had the opportunity to become both Formula One World Champion for the very first time and the third different British World Drivers' Champion consecutively, whilst Clark would have been able to successfully defend his title, becoming the first driver since Jack Brabham in 1960 to do so. The championship would have been won by either of the top three drivers in the following manner: In another first, three constructors were fighting for the championship: Ferrari (43pts) needed either: 1st; 2nd, with the top BRM 3rd or lower; any result, with 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.

Did You Know?

• Dan Gurney won the 1964 Mexican Grand Prix, not John Surtees.
• The race was held at Ciudad Deportiva Magdalena Mixhuca in Mexico City, not Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
• This was the last time Ferrari cars wore other than the traditional red colour (rosso corsa) in Formula One.