Phil Hill

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Hill was one of two American drivers to win the World Drivers' Championship alongside Mario Andretti, and the only one who was born in the United States. He 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.'

In Their Own Story

The atmosphere surrounding Phil Hill’s 1961 championship run was defined by a profound and crushing tragedy. Leading the standings with two races remaining, Hill watched his close friend and rival Wolfgang von Trips collide with Jim Clark during the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. The crash killed von Trips and fifteen spectators on the track. Despite the emotional devastation, Hill took to the grid for that same race, won it, and secured the World Drivers' Championship. Yet, the victory felt hollow without his friend. In a move that further complicated his celebration, Ferrari decided not to travel to America for the season's final round at Watkins Glen. This deprived Hill of the opportunity to participate in his home race as the newly crowned World Champion. Reflecting on this period shortly after leaving Ferrari in 1962, Hill admitted, "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." His departure from the team marked a shift toward sports car racing with Ford and Chaparral Cars before his final retirement in 1967.

Reader's Guide

Born April 20, 1927, in Miami, Florida, Hill was raised in Santa Monica, California, where he lived until his death. He studied business administration at the University of Southern California from 1945 to 1947, where he was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity. He left early to pursue auto racing, working as a mechanic on other drivers' cars. He began racing cars at an early age, going to England as a Jaguar trainee in 1949 and signing with Enzo Ferrari's team in 1956. He made his debut in the French Grand Prix at Reims, France, in 1958 driving a Maserati. That same year, paired with Belgian teammate Olivier Gendebien, Hill became the first American-born winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Hill driving most of the night in horrific rainy conditions. He and Gendebien would go on to win the endurance race again in 1961 and 1962. Hill began driving full-time for the Ferrari Formula One team in 1959, earning three podium finishes and fourth place in the Drivers' Championship. In 1960, he won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, the first Grand Prix win for an American driver in nearly forty years (except the Indianapolis 500, once part of Grand Prix World Championship series), since Jimmy Murphy won the 1921 French Grand Prix. This also turned out to be the last win for a front-engined car in Formula 1. The following season, Hill won the Belgian Grand Prix and with two races left trailed only his Ferrari teammate Wolfgang von Trips in the season standings. A crash during the Italian 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 the season's final round deprived Hill of the opportunity to participate in his home race at Watkins Glen as the newly crowned World Champion. When he returned for the 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.' After leaving Ferrari at the end of 1962, Hill, and fellow driver Giancarlo Baghetti started for the new team ATS created by ex-Ferrari engineers in the great walkout of 1961. In 1964, he continued in Formula One, driving for the Cooper Formula One Team before retiring from single-seaters at the end of the season and limiting his future driving to sports car rac

Did You Know?

• Hill was the first American-born winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning in 1958 with Olivier Gendebien.
• He won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1961 with Ferrari.
• Hill was the first driver to complete the Triple Crown of endurance racing after winning the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1964.
• He drove an experimental MG called the 'Roaring Raindrop' at Bonneville Salt Flats, reaching 257 mph in 1959.