The 1963 Mexican Grand Prix saw Jim Clark dominate from pole to win, and was the only World Championship race where a car competed with the number 13 until 2014.
Key Facts
- Race number in 1963 season
- 9 of 10
- Clark's pole margin
- 1.7 seconds faster than any other driver
- Clark's fastest lap vs pole
- 0.7 seconds quicker than his own pole time
- Clark's 1963 wins (of 9 races)
- 6 victories
- Car number 13 in World Championship
- Only instance until Pastor Maldonado in 2014
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The 1963 Formula One season had already seen Jim Clark establish dominance across the calendar. Arriving in Mexico City for the penultimate round, Clark had accumulated six pole positions and five wins in nine starts, making the Ciudad Deportiva Magdalena Mixhuca circuit a logical stage for another commanding performance.
On 27 October 1963, Clark started from pole position at the Mexican Grand Prix and led throughout the race. His pole time was 1.7 seconds faster than any rival, and his fastest race lap improved even on that benchmark. He lapped the entire field except for the drivers who finished second and third, securing his sixth win of the season.
Clark's victory reinforced his status as the dominant driver of the 1963 season, in which he claimed six wins, six fastest laps, and six pole positions from nine races. The race also entered the record books as the only World Championship Grand Prix in which a car carried the number 13, a distinction that stood until Pastor Maldonado adopted it as a permanent number in 2014.