Search Results - Hill, Graham 1929-1975

Graham Hill

Norman Graham Hill (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver, rower and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "Mr. Monaco",}} Hill won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles and—at the time of his retirement—held the record for most podium finishes (36); he won 14 Grands Prix across 18 seasons. In American open-wheel racing, Hill won the Indianapolis 500 in 1966 with Mecom. Upon winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1972 with Matra, Hill became the first—and to this date, only—driver to complete the Triple Crown of Motorsport.

Hill was born and raised in London, studying engineering before serving in the Royal Navy as an engine room artificer. From 1952 to 1954, Hill was a member of London Rowing Club, contesting twenty finals as well as stroking the London crew in the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta. Despite not passing his driving test until he was 24 years old, he debuted in Formula Three a year later. He initially joined Lotus as a mechanic, working his way towards a driving debut with the team at the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix, earning a full-time drive despite suffering reliability issues in each of his opening six races. After non-classified championship finishes in and with Lotus, Hill moved to BRM in , scoring his maiden podium at the . BRM fielded the highly-competitive P57 in , with Hill taking his maiden victory at the opening round of the season, winning three further Grands Prix on the way to his first championship, beating career rival Jim Clark and Bruce McLaren. He finished runner-up to Clark the following season, before losing the title by one point to John Surtees. to points system, each driver's best six results counted towards the Drivers' Championship. With all results counted, Hill scored 41 points to Surtees' 40.}} Hill took multiple wins in as he finished runner-up to Clark once more in the standings. After a winless campaign, Hill returned to Lotus to partner his rival Clark.

Helping develop the Lotus 49 for the new Cosworth DFV engines, Hill struggled with reliability throughout despite podiums in Monaco and the United States. Clark was killed after their 1–2 finish at the season opener in , leaving Hill in a close title battle with Jackie Stewart, which he won at the final race of the season. In , Hill became a five-time winner of the Monaco Grand Prix, a record he held until Ayrton Senna won his sixth in 1993. During the , Hill was seriously injured in a crash, breaking both of his legs and ending his season prematurely. Despite recovering from his injuries, he would never reach the podium again, returning as a privateer in before competing with Brabham for two further seasons, only winning the non-championship BRDC International Trophy in 1971. Hill founded and competed for Embassy Hill from to , retiring from racing after failing to qualify for the to focus on his team ownership and supporting his protégé Tony Brise. In addition to his two championships, Hill achieved 14 race wins, 13 pole positions, 10 fastest laps and 38 podiums in Formula One across 18 seasons.

Outside Formula One, Hill entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans 10 times between 1958 and 1972, winning the latter alongside Henri Pescarolo, driving the Matra-Simca MS670. He also entered the Indianapolis 500 three times from 1966 to 1968, winning the Borg-Warner Trophy at his first attempt. Throughout his early years, Hill also competed in the British Saloon Car Championship, topping his class in 1963, also entering six seasons of the Tasman Series from 1964 to 1969, finishing runner-up to Stewart in 1966.

In November 1975, Hill and five other Embassy Hill executives, including Brise, were killed when the Piper PA-23 Aztec aircraft Hill was piloting crashed in low-visibility conditions in north London whilst returning from a test session for the Hill GH2 at the Circuit Paul Ricard. Embassy Hill would subsequently shut down ahead of the season. Hill's son Damon went on to win the World Drivers' Championship in , making them the first father-and-son World Champion pairing in Formula One. Hill was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990. Provided by Wikipedia