1966 Mexican Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

John Surtees ended a turbulent season with victory for Cooper in Mexico City. Jack Brabham finished second ahead of Denny Hulme, while Surtees’s win lifted him to runner-up in the championship.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	John Surtees	Cooper
Pole time	1:53.18
Fastest lap	Richie Ginther	Honda
Fastest-lap time	1:53.750 on lap 58
First	John Surtees	Cooper
Second	Jack Brabham	Brabham
Third	Denny Hulme	Brabham

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
21 October 1966	Friday morning familiarisation	Start time unconfirmed
21 October 1966	Friday timed practice	13:00–17:00
22 October 1966	Saturday final qualifying	13:00–17:00
23 October 1966	Race	Start time unconfirmed

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Jack Brabham arrived at round 9 leading the 1966 F1 World Championship on 39 points, with Jochen Rindt on 22. Brabham – Repco headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 40 points.

Race entries

Ferrari did not attend the finale. Lotus entered Clark, Arundell and local favourite Rodriguez, while Cooper added Solana alongside Surtees and Rindt. Eagle, Honda and BRM continued developing their three-litre machinery, with the city’s altitude adding further complications to fuel mixture, cooling and engine performance.

Friday morning familiarisation

A short opening period allowed drivers to begin adapting their engine settings to the thin air before official afternoon practice. Correct mixture was especially important at this venue, where reduced air density affected power and cooling. The running was preparatory rather than a separate qualifying contest.

Friday timed practice

Brabham narrowly bettered Clark’s time near the end, but the session brought extensive mechanical trouble. Clark’s H16 failed violently, forcing an engine change, and Surtees battled fuel-system faults and high temperatures. Honda experimented with suspension settings, while Gurney struggled with oil discharge and fuel delivery. Ireland damaged his car after an encounter with a stray dog.

Saturday final qualifying

Surtees took pole through short runs despite a failing head gasket and fuel vaporisation. Brabham also required an engine change. Honda continued searching for workable handling, and Eagle’s oil problems persisted. Spence suffered a heavy accident after a wheel assembly came loose. Clark’s running was deliberately limited with the replacement H16, leaving many teams facing a difficult evening of repairs.

Qualifying Classification

The best lap from the two afternoon timed sessions decided the grid. The morning familiarisation period was separate from those qualifying sessions.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	7	John Surtees	Cooper	1:53.18
2	1	Jim Clark	Lotus	1:53.50
3	12	Richie Ginther	Honda	1:53.56
4	5	Jack Brabham	Brabham	1:53.95
5	8	Jochen Rindt	Cooper	1:54.19
6	6	Denny Hulme	Brabham	1:54.21
7	3	Graham Hill	BRM	1:54.61
8	11	Pedro Rodríguez	Lotus	1:54.78
9	15	Dan Gurney	Eagle	1:54.93
10	4	Jackie Stewart	BRM	1:55.90
11	18	Mike Spence	Lotus	1:55.98
12	19	Jo Siffert	Cooper	1:55.99
13	22	Jo Bonnier	Cooper	1:56.49
14	14	Ronnie Bucknum	Honda	1:56.59
15	17	Bruce McLaren	McLaren	1:56.84
16	9	Moisés Solana	Cooper	1:57.44
17	10	Innes Ireland	BRM	1:57.46
18	2	Peter Arundell	Lotus	2:00.79
19	16	Bob Bondurant	Eagle	2:02.88

What happened in the 1966 Mexican Grand Prix?

Ginther made a strong start in the Honda, but Surtees soon established the pace. Once he passed Brabham, the Cooper driver controlled the race, making excellent use of a car that had required substantial attention during practice.

Clark suffered gearbox problems and both works BRMs retired. Ginther’s own difficulties prevented a sustained challenge, leaving Brabham as Surtees’s closest opponent. The champion reduced the gap late on but could not reverse the result.

Surtees won ahead of Brabham and Hulme, with the victory carrying him past Rindt into second in the championship. It was Cooper’s first win with Surtees and a satisfying conclusion to a season in which he had changed teams midway through the campaign.

After the race, Jack Brabham headed the drivers’ standings with 42 points, followed by John Surtees on 28. Brabham – Repco led the constructors’ table on 42, with Ferrari on 31.

1966 Mexican Grand Prix race results

The 1966 Mexican Grand Prix was held on 23 October 1966.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	7	John Surtees	Cooper	65	2:06:35.34	9
2	5	Jack Brabham	Brabham	65	+ 7.88	6
3	6	Denny Hulme	Brabham	64	+ 1 lap	4
4	12	Richie Ginther	Honda	64	+ 1 lap	3
5	15	Dan Gurney	Eagle	64	+ 1 lap	2
6	22	Jo Bonnier	Cooper	63	+ 2 laps	1
7	2	Peter Arundell	Lotus	61	+ 4 laps	0
8	14	Ronnie Bucknum	Honda	60	+ 5 laps	0
Ret	11	Pedro Rodríguez	Lotus	49	Differential	0
Ret	17	Bruce McLaren	McLaren	40	Engine	0
Ret	19	Jo Siffert	Cooper	33	Suspension	0
Ret	8	Jochen Rindt	Cooper	32	Suspension	0
Ret	10	Innes Ireland	BRM	28	Transmission	0
Ret	4	Jackie Stewart	BRM	26	Oil Leak	0
Ret	16	Bob Bondurant	Eagle	24	Fuel System	0
Ret	3	Graham Hill	BRM	18	Engine	0
Ret	1	Jim Clark	Lotus	9	Gearbox	0
Ret	9	Moisés Solana	Cooper	9	Overheating	0
DNS	18	Mike Spence	Lotus	0	Accident	0

1966 Mexican Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	12	Richie Ginther	Honda	58	1:53.750

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

1966 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1966 Mexican Grand Prix.

1966 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Jack Brabham	Australian	Brabham	42
2	John Surtees	British	Ferrari / Cooper	28
3	Jochen Rindt	Austrian	Cooper	22
4	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	Brabham / Brabham	18
5	Graham Hill	British	BRM	17
6	Jim Clark	British	Lotus / Lotus	16
7	Jackie Stewart	British	BRM	14
8	Mike Parkes	British	Ferrari	12
9	Lorenzo Bandini	Italian	Ferrari	12
10	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Italian	Ferrari	9
11	Richie Ginther	American	Cooper / Honda	5
12	Dan Gurney	American	Eagle / Eagle	4
13	Mike Spence	British	Lotus	4
14	Bob Bondurant	American	BRM / Eagle / Eagle	3
15	Jo Siffert	Swiss	Brabham / Cooper	3
16	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	McLaren / McLaren	3
17	Peter Arundell	British	Lotus / Lotus	1
18	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	Cooper / Brabham	1
19	Bob Anderson	British	Brabham	1
20	John Taylor	British	Brabham	1
–	Chris Irwin	British	Brabham	0
–	Ronnie Bucknum	American	Honda	0
–	Chris Amon	New Zealander	Cooper / Brabham	0
–	Guy Ligier	French	Cooper	0
–	Giacomo Russo	Italian	Lotus	0
–	Chris Lawrence	British	Cooper	0
–	Innes Ireland	British	BRM	0
–	Pedro Rodríguez	Mexican	Lotus / Lotus	0
–	Giancarlo Baghetti	Italian	Ferrari	0
–	Vic Wilson	British	BRM	0
–	Moisés Solana	Mexican	Cooper	0
–	Trevor Taylor	British	Shannon	0

1966 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Brabham – Repco	42
2	Ferrari	31
3	Cooper – Maserati	30
4	BRM	22
5	Lotus – BRM	13
6	Lotus – Climax	8
7	Eagle – Climax	4
8	Honda	3
9	McLaren – Ford	2
10	Brabham – Climax	1
10	Brabham – BRM	1
10	McLaren – Serenissima	1
—	Cooper – Ferrari	0
—	Shannon – Climax	0
—	Eagle – Weslake	0

Drivers and constructors counted their best 5 results. Only the highest-placed eligible car for each constructor could score constructor points.

1966 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1966 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	22 May
2	1966 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	12 June
3	1966 French Grand Prix	Reims-Gueux, Reims	3 July
4	1966 British Grand Prix	Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown	16 July
5	1966 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	24 July
6	1966 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	7 August
7	1966 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	4 September
8	1966 United States Grand Prix	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York	2 October
9	1966 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	23 October