Graham Hill

Graham Hill OBE
Hill at the 1971 Dutch Grand Prix
Born	Norman Graham Hill (1929-02-15)15 February 1929 Hampstead, London, England
Died	29 November 1975(1975-11-29) (aged 46) Arkley, London, England
Cause of death	Plane crash
Spouse	Bette Shubrook ​ (m. 1955)​
Children	3, including Damon
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	British
Active years	1958–1975
Teams	Lotus, BRM, Walker, Brabham, Hill
Entries	179 (176 starts)
Championships	2 (1962, 1968)
Wins	14
Podiums	36
Career points	270 (289)[a]
Pole positions	13
Fastest laps	10
First entry	1958 Monaco Grand Prix
First win	1962 Dutch Grand Prix
Last win	1969 Monaco Grand Prix
Last entry	1975 Monaco Grand Prix
Champ Car career
3 races run over 4 years
Best finish	9th (1966)
First race	1966 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
Last race	1968 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
First win	1966 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
Wins Podiums Poles 1 1 0
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	1958–1966, 1972
Teams	Lotus, Porsche, NART, Aston Martin, BRM, Ferrari, Mann, Matra
Best finish	1st (1972)
Class wins	1 (1972)

Norman Graham Hill (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver, rower and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from 1958 to 1975. Nicknamed "Mr. Monaco",^[b] 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.^[c]

Born and raised in London, Hill studied engineering before completing national service in the Royal Navy. He was a member of London Rowing Club from 1952 to 1954, contesting twenty finals and stroking the London crew in the Grand Challenge Cup. He made his racing debut in Formula Three aged 25. He initially joined Lotus in Formula One as a mechanic, before earning a driving debut with the team at the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix and securing a full-time contract. After non-classified championship finishes in 1958 and 1959 with Lotus, Hill moved to BRM in 1960, scoring his maiden podium at the Dutch Grand Prix. BRM fielded the competitive P57 in 1962, with Hill taking his maiden victory at the season-opening Dutch Grand Prix and winning three further Grands Prix as he secured his maiden title, beating career rival Jim Clark and Bruce McLaren. He finished runner-up to Clark the following season, before losing the 1964 title by one point to John Surtees.^[d] Hill took multiple wins in 1965 as he finished runner-up to Clark once more in the standings. After a winless 1966 campaign, Hill returned to Lotus to partner Clark.

Helping develop the Lotus 49 for the new Cosworth DFV engines, Hill struggled with reliability throughout 1967, with podiums in Monaco and the United States. Clark was killed after their 1–2 finish at the season opener in 1968, leaving Hill in a close title battle with Jackie Stewart, which Hill won at the final race of the season. In 1969, Hill became a five-time winner of the Monaco Grand Prix, a record he held for 24 years. During the United States Grand Prix, Hill was seriously injured in a crash, breaking both of his legs and ending his season prematurely. After recovering from his injuries, he returned as a privateer in 1970 before competing with Brabham for two further seasons, where he won the non-championship BRDC International Trophy in 1971. Hill founded and competed for Embassy Hill from 1973 to 1975, retiring from motor racing after the Monaco Grand Prix to focus on 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.

Outside Formula One, Hill entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans 10 times between 1958 and 1972, winning the latter alongside Henri Pescarolo in 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, and entered six seasons of the Tasman Series, 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 subsequently shut down ahead of the 1976 season. Hill's son Damon went on to win the World Drivers' Championship in 1996, becoming the first father-and-son World Drivers' Champions. Hill was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990.

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