The 1964 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula Onemotor race held at the Ciudad Deportiva Magdalena Mixhuca in Mexico City on October 25, 1964. It was race 10 of 10 in both the 1964 World Championship of Drivers and the 1964 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. 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. Arriving to the race, three drivers had a chance of winning the title: Graham Hill with 39 points, John Surtees with 34, and Jim Clark 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, 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. 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. 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. Meanwhile, Gurney won the Grand Prix, almost unnoticed. Ferrari cars were entered by American NART team and painted white and blue, the national colours of the teams from the United States. This race was the last time Ferrari cars wore other than the traditional red colour in Formula One.
Classification
Qualifying
Race
Permutations
For the first time, 3 British drivers went into the last race with a chance of winning the championship.
* Graham Hill needed either:
** 1st
** 3rd, with Surtees 2nd or lower
** Clark 2nd or lower and Surtees 3rd or lower
* John Surtees needed either:
** 1st
** 2nd, with Graham Hill 4th or lower
* Jim Clark 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.
In another first, three constructors were fighting for the championship.
* Ferrari 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
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.
