1968 Mexican Grand Prix

The 1968 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Ciudad Deportiva Magdalena Mixhuca on November 3, 1968. It was race 12 of 12 in both the 1968 World Championship of Drivers and the 1968 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.

1968 Mexican Grand Prix
Race details
Date	November 3, 1968
Official name	VII Gran Premio de Mexico
Location	Ciudad Deportiva Magdalena Mixhuca, 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	Jo Siffert	Lotus-Ford
Time	1:45.22
Fastest lap
Driver	Jo Siffert	Lotus-Ford
Time	1:44.23 on lap 52
Podium
First	Graham Hill	Lotus-Ford
Second	Bruce McLaren	McLaren-Ford
Third	Jackie Oliver	Lotus-Ford
Lap leaders

This race was to determine the World Drivers' Championship, contested between Britons Graham Hill in the Lotus 49B-Ford and Jackie Stewart in the Matra MS10-Ford, and defending champion, New Zealander Denny Hulme in the McLaren M7A-Ford. The race was moved back a week so as not to clash with the Mexico City Summer Olympics, which ended on October 26.

Hulme started with a mathematical chance of becoming world champion, but his McLaren broke a rear suspension member early, crashed, and caught fire.^[1] Jo Siffert took the lead, but had to pit with a broken throttle cable.^{[citation needed]} Stewart fell back when his engine started to misfire, his car's handling began going off, and had a fuel-feed problem.^{[citation needed]} Hill won this race and his second Drivers' Championship, after Stewart fell back to seventh after an engine problem with his Matra.^[2]

The Mexican government's effort to curb civil unrest led to a switch from military police to unarmed policemen and track marshals for crowd control; by race end, spectators were encroaching on the track itself.^[2] This was one reason for the ultimate cancellation of future Mexican Grands Prix.^[2]

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	16	Jo Siffert	Lotus-Ford	1:45.22	—
2	6	Chris Amon	Ferrari	1:45.62	+0.40
3	10	Graham Hill	Lotus-Ford	1:46.01	+0.97
4	1	Denny Hulme	McLaren-Ford	1:46.04	+0.82
5	14	Dan Gurney	McLaren-Ford	1:46.29	+1.07
6	5	John Surtees	Honda	1:46.49	+1.27
7	15	Jackie Stewart	Matra-Ford	1:46.69	+1.47
8	3	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Repco	1:46.80	+1.58
9	2	Bruce McLaren	McLaren-Ford	1:47.00	+1.78
10	4	Jochen Rindt	Brabham-Repco	1:47.07	+1.85
11	12	Moisés Solana	Lotus-Ford	1:47.67	+2.45
12	8	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	1:47.80	+2.58
13	21	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	1:48.38	+3.16
14	11	Jackie Oliver	Lotus-Ford	1:48.44	+3.22
15	7	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	1:49.24	+4.02
16	23	Johnny Servoz-Gavin	Matra-Ford	1:49.27	+4.05
17	18	Vic Elford	Cooper-BRM	1:49.48	+4.26
18	17	Jo Bonnier	Honda	1:49.96	+4.74
19	22	Piers Courage	BRM	1:50.28	+5.06
20	9	Henri Pescarolo	Matra	1:50.43	+5.21
21	19	Lucien Bianchi	Cooper-BRM	1:50.57	+5.35

Race

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
DNS	17	Jo Bonnier	McLaren-BRM	0	Engine
Source:[3][4]

Championship permutations

• Coming into this race, 3 drivers had a chance to win the title.
  • 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

Notes

• This was the first pole position for Jo Siffert and for a Swiss driver.
• This was the eleventh Grand Prix win of the season for a Ford-powered car. It set the record of the most Grand Prix wins in a season (11) and the highest percentage of Grand Prix wins in a season (92%)

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Graham Hill 48 2 Jackie Stewart 36 3 Denny Hulme 33 4 Jacky Ickx 27 5 Bruce McLaren 22 Source:[5]

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Lotus-Ford 62 1 2 McLaren-Ford 49 1 3 Matra-Ford 45 4 Ferrari 32 5 BRM 28 Source:[5]

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.