Phil Hill 1927 - 2008

Phil Hill, the 1961 F1 champion, sadly passed away on Thursday.

I try to keep up with F1 history, to garner a better understanding of the sport and where it has come from. I won’t pretend to know about the intimate details of his career. I recall reading about him in an F1 encyclopaedia years ago.

Hill is the only American-born driver to win the drivers’ championship. (Andretti was Italian who later became a naturalized American.) Quite an accomplishment, given the low success rate that Americans have had when they travel over here to race in the top class.

He raced in F1 from 1958 until 1966 in the famous red of Ferrari, winning three races. His championship year was tinged in sadness, team-mate Wolfgang von Trips was killed in a crash at the Italian Grand Prix. The American went on to record three Le Mans 24 hours victories driving for Ferrari.

May he rest in peace.