1968 Mexican Grand Prix
| 1968 Mexican Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 12 of 12 in the 1968 Formula One season | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | November 3, 1968 | ||
| Official name | VII Gran Premio de Mexico | ||
| Location | Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City, Mexico | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 5.000 km (3.107 miles) | ||
| Distance | 65 laps, 325.000 km (201.946 miles) | ||
| Weather | Sunny, Mild, Dry | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Time | 1:45.22 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Jo Siffert | Lotus-Ford | |
| Time | 1:44.23 on lap 52 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Second | McLaren-Ford | ||
| Third | Lotus-Ford | ||
The 1968 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Hermanos Rodriguez Autodrome on November 3, 1968. It was the twelfth and final round of the 1968 Formula One season.
This race was to determine the 1968 Formula One Drivers' Championship, contested between former BRM teammates, Britons Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart; and New Zealander Denny Hulme, who was the defending champion. The race was moved back a week so as not to clash with the Mexico City 1968 Summer Olympics, which ended on October 26. Hill won this race and his second Drivers' Championship, Hulme retired with suspension problems and Stewart fell back to 7th after a number of problems with his Matra-Ford.
Classification
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 |  Graham Hill
|
Lotus-Ford | 65 | 1:56:43.95 | 3 | 9 |
| 2 | 2 |  Bruce McLaren
|
McLaren-Ford | 65 | + 1:19.32 | 9 | 6 |
| 3 | 11 | Jackie Oliver
|
Lotus-Ford | 65 | + 1:40.65 | 14 | 4 |
| 4 | 8 |  Pedro Rodríguez
|
BRM | 65 | + 1:41.09 | 12 | 3 |
| 5 | 17 |  Jo Bonnier
|
Honda | 64 | + 1 Lap | 18 | 2 |
| 6 | 16 | Jo Siffert
|
Lotus-Ford | 64 | + 1 Lap | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | 15 | Jackie Stewart
|
Matra-Ford | 64 | + 1 Lap | 7 | |
| 8 | 18 | Vic Elford
|
Cooper-BRM | 63 | + 2 Laps | 17 | |
| 9 | 9 |  Henri Pescarolo
|
Matra | 62 | + 3 Laps | 20 | |
| 10 | 3 |  Jack Brabham
|
Brabham-Repco | 59 | Oil Pressure | 8 | |
| Ret | 23 | Johnny Servoz-Gavin
|
Matra-Ford | 57 | Ignition | 16 | |
| Ret | 14 |  Dan Gurney
|
McLaren-Ford | 28 | Suspension | 5 | |
| Ret | 22 | Piers Courage
|
BRM | 25 | Engine | 19 | |
| Ret | 19 |  Lucien Bianchi
|
Cooper-BRM | 21 | Engine | 21 | |
| Ret | 5 | John Surtees
|
Honda | 17 | Overheating | 6 | |
| Ret | 6 | Chris Amon
|
Ferrari | 16 | Transmission | 2 | |
| Ret | 12 | Moisés Solana
|
Lotus-Ford | 14 | Broken wing | 11 | |
| Ret | 1 | Denny Hulme
|
McLaren-Ford | 10 | Suspension | 4 | |
| Ret | 21 | Jean-Pierre Beltoise
|
Matra | 10 | Suspension | 13 | |
| Ret | 7 | Jacky Ickx
|
Ferrari | 3 | Ignition | 15 | |
| Ret | 4 |  Jochen Rindt
|
Brabham-Repco | 2 | Ignition | 10 | |
Source:[1]
| |||||||
Notes
- Pole position: Jo Siffert - 1:45.22
- Fastest lap: Jo Siffert - 1:44.23 on lap 52
- Coming into this race, 3 drivers had a chance to win the title, making Hill the only driver to be involved in two 3-way battles.
- Graham Hill (39pts) needed either
- A podium place, with Stewart 2nd or lower
- 4th or 5th, with Hulme 2nd or lower and Stewart 3rd or lower
- 6th, with Hulme 2nd or lower and Stewart 4th or lower
- Hulme 2nd or lower and Stewart 5th or lower
- Jackie Stewart (36pts) needed either
- 1st
- 2nd, with Hulme 3rd or lower and Hill 4th or lower
- 3rd, with Hulme 2nd or lower and Hill 6th or lower
- 4th, with Hulme 3rd or lower and Hill 7th or lower
- Denny Hulme (33pts) needed
- 1st with Hill 4th or lower
- Graham Hill (39pts) needed either
Championship standings after the race
|
|
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References
- ^ "1968 Mexican Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 19 January 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
Further reading
- Lang, Mike (1982). Grand Prix! Vol 2. Haynes Publishing Group. pp. 82–83. ISBN 0-85429-321-3.