Without using a search engine, f1.com, or wikipedia, answer the following question
Who came second in the 1964 Formula One World Championship. Bonus points if you know how many points they were behind first.
As a kid, I watched the deciding GP of 1964 on ABC's Wide World of Sports. This was the final and deciding race of the Championship that year, and one of the most exiting Grand Prix races ever seen.
Going in, Hill (BRM) led with 39 points from his best six, Surtees (Ferrari) had 35 from five, and Clark (Lotus) 30 from four. At the start, the elastic on Hill's goggles broke, and he dropped to tenth, and Surtees's engine misfired and dropped to 13th. Clark led with Gurney 2nd, followed by Bandini in the 2nd Ferrari in 3rd. Because of the "best six" rule, Hill had to be at least 3rd to gain any more points.
By lap 20 of 65, Hill recovered to 3rd, with Bandini inches behind, and Surtees up to 5th, dicing with Brabham. If this state of affairs maintained, Hill was Champion. But on lap 31, the inevitable happened, and Bandini rammed Hill at the hairpin, bending the BRM's exhaust pipes and spinning both out, sending Hill to the pits and out of the Championship. Surtees shot into 3rd! But Bandini, with a 12 cylinder Ferrari, was faster than Surtees (V-8) and repassed him,
Clark looked like he going to cruise to the Championship. But, with 7 laps to go and 20 seconds up on Gurney, Clark broke an oilpipe, forcing him to slow and finally seize on the final lap, finishing 5th. On the last lap, Bandini suddenly slowed to allow Surtees through into 2nd behind Gurney, and take the world championship by a single point!
Surtees became the first man to win the World Championship on both two wheels, and four.
1964 Final Standings
1. Surtees (Ferrari) 40
2. Hill (BRM) 39
3. Clark (Lotus) 32
4. Bandini (Ferrari) 23
5. Ginther (BRM) 23
6. Gurney (Brabham) 19
7. McLaren (Cooper) 13
etc.
Respectfully submitted,
Steve
