Phil Hill | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Hill at the1991 United States Grand Prix | |
| Born | Philip Toll Hill Jr. (1927-04-20)April 20, 1927 |
| Died | August 28, 2008(2008-08-28) (aged 81) Monterey, California, U.S. |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3, includingDerek |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  American |
| Active years | 1958–1964,1966 |
| Teams | Bonnier,Ferrari,BRP,Porsche,ATS,Filipinetti,Cooper,privateerLotus,privateerMcLaren,Eagle |
| Entries | 52 (49 starts) |
| Championships | 1 (1961) |
| Wins | 3 |
| Podiums | 16 |
| Careerpoints | 94 (98)[a] |
| Pole positions | 6 |
| Fastest laps | 6 |
| First entry | 1958 French Grand Prix |
| First win | 1960 Italian Grand Prix |
| Last win | 1961 Italian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1966 Italian Grand Prix |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
| Years | 1953,1955–1967 |
| Teams | OSCA,Ferrari,Aston Martin,Ford,Shelby American,Chaparral |
| Best finish | 1st(1958,1961,1962) |
| Class wins | 3(1958,1961,1962) |
Philip Toll Hill Jr. (April 20, 1927 – August 28, 2008) was an Americanracing driver, who competed inFormula One from1958 to1966. Hill won theFormula One World Drivers' Championship in1961 withFerrari, and won threeGrands Prix across eight seasons. Inendurance racing, Hill was a three-time winner of both the24 Hours of Le Mans and the12 Hours of Sebring, all with Ferrari. Upon winning the24 Hours of Daytona in 1964 withNART, Hill became the first driver to complete theTriple Crown of endurance racing.[b]
He was one of two American drivers to win the World Drivers' Championship alongsideMario Andretti, and the only one who was born in the United States. Hill was described as a "thoughtful, gentle man" and once said, "I'm in the wrong business. I don't want to beat anybody, I don't want to be the big hero. I'm a peace-loving man, basically."[1]
Born April 20, 1927, inMiami, Florida, Hill was raised inSanta Monica, California, where he lived until his death. He studiedbusiness administration at theUniversity of Southern California from 1945 to 1947, where he was a member ofKappa Sigmafraternity. He left early to pursue auto racing, working as a mechanic on other drivers' cars.[2] He began racing cars at an early age, going toEngland as aJaguar trainee in 1949 and signing withEnzo Ferrari's team in 1956. He made his debut in theFrench Grand Prix atReims,France, in 1958 driving aMaserati. That same year, paired withBelgian teammateOlivier Gendebien, Hill became the first American-born winner of the24 Hours of Le Mans[3] with Hill driving most of the night in horrific rainy conditions. He and Gendebien would go on to win the endurance race again in1961 and1962.[citation needed]
Hill began driving full-time for theFerrari Formula One team in 1959, earning three podium finishes and fourth place in the Drivers' Championship. In 1960 he won theItalian Grand Prix atMonza, the first Grand Prix win for an American driver in nearly forty years (except theIndianapolis 500, once part of Grand Prix World Championship series), sinceJimmy Murphy won the1921 French Grand Prix. This also turned out to be the last win for a front-engined car in Formula 1. Thefollowing season, Hill won theBelgian Grand Prix and with two races left trailed only hisFerrari teammateWolfgang von Trips in the season standings. A crash during theItalian Grand Prix killed von Trips and fifteen spectators. Hill won the race and clinched the championship but the triumph was bittersweet. Ferrari's decision not to travel to America for theseason's final round deprived Hill of the opportunity to participate in his home race atWatkins Glen as the newly crowned World Champion. When he returned forthe following season, his last with Ferrari, Hill said, "I no longer have as much need to race, to win. I don't have as much hunger anymore. I am no longer willing to risk killing myself."[1]
After leaving Ferrari at the end of 1962, he and fellow driverGiancarlo Baghetti started for the new teamATS created by ex-Ferrari engineers inthe great walkout of 1961. In 1964 Hill continued in Formula One, driving for theCooper Formula One Team before retiring from single-seaters at the end of the season and limiting his future driving tosports car racing withFord Motor Company and theChaparral Cars ofJim Hall. During the1966 Formula One season, Hill often participated in race weekends behind the wheel of aFord GT40 prototype, accompanied by a remote-controlPanasonic camera in order to produce images for the movieGrand Prix.[4] In that same season, he entered his last Formula One race, theItalian Grand Prix at Monza, racing forDan Gurney'sAll American Racers, but he failed to qualify.[5] Hill retired from racing altogether in 1967.[citation needed]
Hill has the distinction of having won the first (a three-lap event at Carrell Speedway in aMG TC on July 24, 1949) and last races of his driving career, the final victory driving for Chaparral in theBOAC 500 atBrands Hatch inEngland in 1967.[citation needed] Hill also drove an experimental MG,EX-181, at Bonneville Salt Flats. The "Roaring Raindrop"[6] had a 91-cubic-inch (1.5 L) supercharged MGA twin cam engine, using 86% methanol with nitrobenzene, acetone, and diethyl ether, for an output of 290 HP. In 1959 Hill attained 257 mph in this car, breaking the previous record ofStirling Moss in the same car, 246 mph.[citation needed] Hill appeared as himself on the December 11, 1961, episode of the game showTo Tell the Truth. He received none of four possible votes.[7]
Following his retirement, Hill built up an award-winningclassic car restoration business in the 1970s called Hill & Vaughn with business partner Ken Vaughn, until they sold the partnership to Jordanian Raja Gargour and Vaughn went on to run a separate business on his own in 1984. He remained with Gargour at Hill & Vaughn until the sale of the business again in 1995.[8] He also worked as a television commentator forABC'sWide World of Sports.[9]
Hill had a long association withRoad & Track magazine. He wrote several articles for them, including road tests and retrospective articles on historic cars and races. He shared his "grand old man" status at R&T with 1960s racing rivalPaul Frère, who also died in 2008.[citation needed] In his last years, He devoted his time to his vintage car collection and judged at thePebble Beach Concours d'Elegance more often than any other individual; 2007 was the 40th time he had judged the event.[10] Hill was married to Alma, and had three children:Derek, Vanessa and Jennifer.[11] Derek raced inInternational Formula 3000 in2001,2002 and2003, but was forced to retire when Phil became ill withParkinson's disease.[citation needed]
After traveling to theMonterey Historic Automobile Races in August 2008, Hill was taken to Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula inMonterey, California, where he died after a short illness from complications of Parkinson's disease on August 28.[12]Inside Track, a three-volume book set came out at the tail end of 2017 covering the life and career of Phil Hill. It's a work that had started before his death.[citation needed] Turn 9 of the CW13 configuration ofButtonwillow Raceway Park is named after Hill.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
1The M3A, fitted with a cine camera, was allowed to enter the race to capture the start for the filmGrand Prix
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari246 | Ferrari 155 2.4V6 | GLV | AIN | INT 4 | OUL | SIL | |||||||||||||||
| 1960 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari246 | Ferrari 155 2.4V6 | GLV | INT 5 | SIL 4 | LOM | OUL | |||||||||||||||
| 1962 | Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC | Ferrari156 | Ferrari 178 1.5V6 | CAP | BRX | LOM | LAV | GLV | PAU | AIN 3 | INT | NAP | MAL | CLP | RMS | SOL | KAN | MED | DAN | OUL | MEX | RAN | NAT |
| 1963 | Ecurie Filipinetti | Lotus24 | BRM P56 1.5V8 | LOM | GLV | PAU | IMO | SYR | AIN | INT | ROM | SOL Ret | KAN | MED | AUT | OUL | RAN | ||||||
| 1964 | Scuderia Centro Sud | BRMP57 | BRM P56 1.5V8 | DMT 4 | NWT | SYR | |||||||||||||||||
| Cooper Car Company | CooperT66 | Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 | AIN Ret | INT 4 | SOL | MED | RAN | ||||||||||||||||
Source:[15] | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year | Team | Co-drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | North American Racing Team |  Ricardo Rodríguez | Ferrari 246 SP | S2.5 | 82 | 2nd | 2nd |
| 1964 | North American Racing Team | Pedro Rodríguez | Ferrari 250 GTO | GT+2.0 | 327 | 1st | 1st |
| 1966 | Chaparral Cars Inc. |  Jo Bonnier | Chaparral 2D | P+2.0 | 318 | DNF (Wheel) | |
| 1967 | Chaparral Cars Inc. |  Mike Spence | Chaparral 2F | P+2.0 | 93 | DNF (Accident suspension damage) | |
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Bruce McLaren Motor Racing | CooperT70 | Climax FPF 2.5 L4 | PUK DNS | LEV 4 | WIG Ret | TER 3 | WAR Ret | SAN 3 | LON 3 | 4th | 15 |
Source:[15] | ||||||||||||
Primary career victories :
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
