John Surtees

This englishman is the only person to have won World Championships in both motorcycle racing and Formula 1. He was one of the greatest drivers of the 60s, and could have been even more successful had he made different career choices. Between 1956 and 1960 he won seven world titles in various motorcycle classes. He made his Grand Prix debut with Lotus in 1960. At Portugal he scored pole position in his only third race.
In 1961 his Grand Prix mount was a Yeoman Credit Cooper and his best placings were two seconds. For 1962 he drove a Lola, often recalled as merely promising but which he used to gain fourth place in the Championship.
His first year with Ferrari, 1963, brought the same overall result, but he also had his first win in Germany at Nürburgring. In 1964 after a strong second half of the season, he clinched the Championship at the final round.

Deeds, no words

Interview with John Surtees just after the Mexican Grand Prix 1964.

What is the Mexico City circuit like?
It would be a good circuit at a reasonable height. It's fairly smooth, it's interesting. But the height takes 20 percent of your power away.

Did you have a good race in Mexico?
The result was good for me, of course, but my car wasn't right. It never is in Mexico. The circuit is about 8000 feet above sea level, and the fuel injection played up.

Were you pressing hard all time to catch Clark and Gurney, or conserving the car in hopes that they'd break?
Well, the main idea in motor racing is to catch the other man, and I'm all for that. But you've got the keep you car going, and there's no glory in just going hell for stink. There's the duty to your team, you have to finish as well as start, and I had to consider the Championship, of course. It all boiled down to a compromise.

How did your race develop?
Terribly at first. I hung on to Gurney for 100 metres or so when my car started misfiring. I think, the car had been standing in the hot sun beforehand. Then Graham and Lorenzo had their shunt. I passed them into third place. And then the pits gave me the signal CLARK OUT and that was it. Dan won, I finished second and won the Championship by a point.

You feel you were lucky?
I certainly was. But that's motor racing. I had my bad luck in other races.

Will this double victory by Ferrari, your Championship and the Constructors title, ensure Ferrari participation in Grands Prix next year?
I sincerely hope so. I haven't seen Enzo Ferrari since Mexico. But he is an out-and-out enthusiast and I can't see him going on without it. I'm entered for the South African Grand Prix in January anyway.

He tried to do too much

In 1966 he took a victory in the wet Belgian Grand Prix. But following a row with the Ferrari team manager, he left and drove the rest of the season for Cooper, winning the Mexican Grand Prix.
Thereafter, he was involved with the Honda Formula 1 project, giving the team victory in the 1967 Italian Grand Prix. His last full season in the driving seat was 1971, after which he concentrated on running his own Formula 1 team. But in eight years team Surtees was never able to succeed in the same way as Surtees the driver. In 1978 he was disillusioned and at odds with FOCA members and although a new ground effect car was built he withdrew from racing.