04 Sep Phil Hill

Phil Hill was an American Formula One World Champion who won the Drivers’ Title for Ferrari in 1961. During his career he claimed 6 pole positions and won 3 Grands Prix, including the Italian Grand Prix twice. Hill was the first American racing driver to win the Formula 1 World Championship and, in winning 1960 Italian Grand Prix, also became the first American to win a Formula One Grand Prix (excluding Johnnie Parsons’s victory in the 1950 Indianapolis 500). Hill won the 1961 F1 title after winning the Italian Grand Prix at Monza but the achievement was bittersweet as his team-mate and title rival Wolfgang von Trips had died in a crash during the race, alongside with 14 spectators. A man of great dignity and mechanical sympathy, Hill was also an accomplished sportscar driver and won the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans three times (for Ferrari, in 1958, 1961 and 1962) and the Sebring 12 Hours three times (in 1958, 1959 and 1961). His son Derek raced in the International FIA Formula 3000 Championship between 2001 and 2003.

During an interview with Beyond The Grid – The F1® Podcast that was released on 8 September 2021, Derek Hill talked at length about his father’s racing career, detailing his traumatic but ultimately triumphant experience of the 1961 Italian Grand Prix.

In March 2021, an extensive selection of Phil Hill automobilia – including race used items from his career – was sold off at auction by Gooding & Company.