- Born
- Died
- Birth namePhilip Toll Hill
- One of America's greatest racing drivers of all time, Hill, a native of Southern California, was the first American to win the Formula 1 World Championship, in 1961. Hill started his racing career in the 1950s, winning the 1955 Sports Car Club of America Championship, then moving to Europe and racing sports cars there. He won the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1958, and began driving Grand Prix cars that same year. He won his first F1 race at Italy, in 1960 while driving for Ferrari, and then his world title the next year. Tragically, he won his world championship on the same day his Ferrari teammate and closest challenger for the title, Wolfgang von Trips, of Germany, crashed and was killed. Although he never won another Grand Prix race after his championship, Hill was still a force to be reckoned with in sports cars, winning numerous races until his retirement from the sport. He now restores vintage cars and keeps in touch with auto racing with an occasional guest commentary role.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Ken Severson
- In 1952, Phil Hill took part in the legendary "Carrera Panamericana" road race for the first time. The six-day competition through Mexico was held for the third time during this time and had earned a reputation as the most difficult and dangerous road race. Hill started in the sports car class. Numerous factory teams and internationally known racing drivers also took part in this comparison drive, giving it the status of an internationally important racing event. In the same year he finished the Elkhart Lake race as winner with a Jaguar C Type. Hill continued his participation in the Sports Car World Championship in a Ferrari with sixth place straight away. In 1954 he started again on the "Carrera Panamericana".
In the world championship standings in the sports car class, he moved up to second place with Ferrari. He repeated this triumph the following year with a Ferrari 750. He finished seventh in the Elkhart Lake race and won the 115 mile Glandale and Nassau Trophy races. In 1956 and 1957, Hill won the world championship races in the sports car classification at the Grand Prix of Sweden and Venezuela with a Ferrari. In the 1956 Buenos Aires 1000 km race, he came second. And the following year he secured second place in the World Sports Car Championship at the Swedish Grand Prix in a Ferrari 355 S. In 1958 he made his debut in Formula I. That year he competed in the French Grand Prix in a Maserati.
In the current racing season he switched to Ferrari and took part in a total of three more Grand Prix races. Hill was able to score a total of nine points for the season, which brought him tenth place in the drivers' world championship standings. In 1959, Phil Hill took part in a total of seven Formula I races and improved to fourth place with 20 championship points. The following year he achieved his first Grand Prix victory with Ferrari. He changed teams during the season and drove a race in a Cooper-Climax. Nine World Championship races and 17 points were enough for fifth place in the drivers' World Championship standings. Then came the year for racing driver Phil Hill. Driving a Ferrari, he became Formula I world champion in 1961 with 40 championship points; He completed seven races and achieved two Grand Prix victories. The following year, Hill fell to sixth place.
With Ferrari he completed a total of six races and scored 14 championship points. In the current racing season he switched to Porsche, in which he competed in one race. In 1963, Phil Hill only started one Formula I race in a Lotus-Climax; That meant 25th place for him. Hill was no longer able to build on the successes of previous years. In 1964, a total of nine Formula I participations only gave him one championship point, which was enough for 19th place. It wasn't until 1966 that he appeared again in the Formula I standings. This year was his last participation in the racing spectacle. In the 1966 season the American only competed in two races, once in the Lotus-BRM/-Climax and then in the Eagle. These two appearances did not make it into the World Cup rankings. Phil Hill's Formula I record includes a total of 94 championship points from 48 starts and three Grand Prix victories. He took pole position six times and set the fastest lap just as often.
After his active professional career, he worked as a commentator for the ABC program "Wide World of Sports". He also wrote for Road & Track Magazine.
Phil Hill died on August 28, 2008 in Salinas, California.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Christian_Wolfgang_Barth
- SpouseAlma Hill(? - August 28, 2008) (his death, 3 children)
- Ex-Formula One racing driver, who raced for Jo Bonnier (1958 (1 GP)), Ferrari (1958 (2 GPs)-1959 (7 GPs)-1960 (8 GPs)-1961 (7 GPs)-1962 (6 GPs)), Cooper (1960 (1 GP), 964 (9 GPs)), Porsche (1962 (1 GP Not Started)), Automobili Turismo e Sport (1963 (5 GPs)), Ecurie Filipinetti (1963 (1 GP)) and Eagle (1966 (1 GP No Qualify)). Phil Hill started 47 Grands Prix, 3 Wins, 6 Pole Positions, 6 Fastests Laps, 16 Podiums and 98 Points.
Was the first American driver to win the Formula 1 World Championship in 1961. Won three 24 Hours of Le Mans races (1958, 1961 and 1962). - Inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1989 (inaugural class).
- Inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1991.
- Mr. Hill was the first American driver to win the World Driving Championship.
- Inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2008.
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