Phil Hill

Interesting facts

Phil Hill made his Formula One debut in 1958, and by 1959 had become a full-time Ferrari driver, finishing fourth in the championship. In 1960, he scored his first race win at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza - the first victory for an American driver in nearly forty years, and also the last ever won by a front-engined Formula One car. In 1961, a win at the Belgian Grand Prix and the title clinched at Monza made him the first American-born World Champion - but his teammate Wolfgang von Trips was killed in that very race along with spectators, leaving the triumph bittersweet. Ferrari skipped the season-closing race at Watkins Glen, Hill's home Grand Prix, so he never got to celebrate his title on American soil as reigning champion. Hill was known as a gentle, thoughtful man, who once admitted: '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.' His competitive fire faded after the title - he retired from single-seaters in 1964, and at his final Formula One race, the 1966 Italian Grand Prix, he failed to even qualify. Phil Hill made his Formula 1 debut in 1958 and raced until 1964, 7 seasons in total as an American driver. He won the World Championship once, in 1961. He scored a total of 94 championship points over his career.