| 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 | 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 | ||
|
Lap leaders | |||
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.
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]
| 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 |
| 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 | ||
|
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| Previous race: 1968 United States Grand Prix |
FIA Formula One World Championship 1968 season |
Next race: 1969 South African Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1967 Mexican Grand Prix |
Mexican Grand Prix | Next race: 1969 Mexican Grand Prix |
