After making his début at the 1959 French Grand Prix for Scuderia Ferrari, Gurney would drive for a variety of teams, and earned the respect of many competitors in the field. Although Gurney would never win the Championship, the father of Jim Clark revealed to Gurney that he was the only driver that Clark had ever feared, something which Gurney kept quiet for several years. His best career finish would be fourth in 1965, with half the number of points of Champion Clark.