Ricardo had recently signed with Ferrari, and had taken pole position for the first Mexican GP ever while driving a Lotus V8 that he had borrowed from Walker Racing Team (Scuderia Ferrari did not travel to Mexico for the race because WDC points were not considered). At the end of the session, John Surtees just snapped pole from Ricardo, who was already leaving the venue at 17:00 PM. When he learned that his time had been beaten he ran back to the track, quickly put on his helmet and...fatefully, drove again. He was running faster than Surtess's best time in an inferior car but lost control in the very last curve (the very famous "Peraltada") after a long back straight, exactly at 17:06 PM local time.
Ricardo Rodriguez was 21 years old when he died. Enzo Ferrari saw his tremendous potential after he had dominated a previous LeMans race teaming with Willy Mairesse and Olivier Gendebien (DNF-engine), and by having won several prototype races. He had just also won the 1,000 kilometers of Paris with his older brother Pedro Rodriguez for second year in a row. He also won Targa Florio on May 6, 1962, teamming with Olivier and and Willy.
Ricardo only raced in 5 F1 races (best result 4th place Belgian GP), and had become the youngest driver ever in F1, at 19 years and seven months-old. His first race was during the Italian GP, where he qualified 2nd in the grid driving for Ferrari, just one tenth slower than Wolfgang von Trips.
Enzo Ferrari once described Ricardo Rodriguez as one of the fastest and fearless drivers he ever knew... RIP a true legend (if brief) of Motorsport racing
The story I posted was taken from a local newspaper article that came out today.
