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Graham Hill
OBE

Hill at the 1971 Dutch Grand Prix

Born

Norman Graham Hill
15 February 1929
Hampstead, London, England

Died

29 November 1975 (aged 46)
Arkley, Barnet, England

Formula One World Championship career

Nationality

British

Active years

1958–1975

Teams

Lotus, BRM, Brabham, Hill

Entries

179 (176 starts)

Championships

2 (1962, 1968)

Wins

Podiums

Career points

270 (289)

Pole positions

Fastest laps

First entry

1958 Monaco Grand Prix

First win

1962 Dutch Grand Prix

Last win

1969 Monaco Grand Prix

Last entry

1975 Monaco Grand Prix

24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	1958–1966, 1972
Teams	Team Lotus Porsche AG NART/Rob Walker Aston Martin BRM Maranello Concessionaires Alan Mann Racing Ltd Equipe Matra-Simca Shell
Best finish	1st (1972)
Class wins	1 (1972)

Norman Graham Hill (born February 15, 1929 – died November 29, 1975) was a famous British racing driver. He also owned his own racing team. Graham won the Formula One World Championship twice, in 1962 and 1968. He also finished second three times.

Even though he didn't pass his driving test until he was 24, Graham became one of the best drivers of his time. He is famous for being the only driver to win the Triple Crown of Motorsport. This means winning the Indianapolis 500, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Formula One World Championship. Some people define the Triple Crown differently, including the Monaco Grand Prix instead of the F1 Championship. By this definition, Graham is still the only winner. He won the Monaco Grand Prix five times (1963, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1969). This earned him the nickname "Mr. Monaco".

In 1969, Graham had a serious crash. He broke both his legs. This ended his season. He recovered and kept racing until 1975. But he never won another Formula One race after his Monaco victory in 1969.

Graham Hill was known for being a very complete driver. He won big races in all three main types of motor racing. He was also a popular person on television in the 1970s. He appeared on many different shows.

In 1973, Graham started his own racing team called Embassy Hill. He continued to race for a while. But after he couldn't qualify for the 1975 Monaco Grand Prix, he stopped driving. He wanted to focus on running his team. Later that year, Graham and five other team members died. This happened when the plane he was flying crashed in fog at night. They were returning from France.

Graham and his son, Damon Hill, were the first father and son to both win Formula One World Championships. Graham's grandson, Josh, also raced. He retired from Formula Three in 2013.

Early Life and Career Start
Racing Successes
Family Life
Rowing Background
His Death
Legacy
Images for kids
See also

Early Life and Career Start

Graham Hill was born in Hampstead, London. He went to Hendon Technical College. He started working as an engineer at Smiths Instruments. He then joined the Royal Navy and worked on a ship. After the Navy, he went back to Smiths Instruments.

Graham didn't get his driving license until he was 24 years old. He said his first car was "a wreck." He believed it taught him how to drive carefully. In 1954, he saw an ad for a racing club. He tried racing a Formula 3 car and loved it. Soon after, he joined Team Lotus as a mechanic. He quickly convinced them to let him drive. He made his Formula One debut at the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix.

Racing Successes

Hill and Colin Chapman at the 1967 Dutch Grand Prix.

In 1960, Graham joined BRM. He won the Targa Florio race that year with Edgar Barth. He then won his first Formula One World Championship with BRM in 1962. He was known for being very organized. He kept detailed notes about his car's settings. He also worked long hours with his mechanics.

Graham was part of a group of British drivers who raced in the Indianapolis 500. He won this famous race in 1966 in a Lola-Ford car. At the same time, he also raced in the British Touring Car Championship. He won several races there.

Hill at the 1962 German Grand Prix

In 1967, Graham returned to Team Lotus. He helped create the Lotus 49 car with a new Cosworth-V8 engine. He was the first to test the new car. He joked, "Well, it's got some poke!" In 1968, his teammates Jim Clark and Mike Spence died. Graham then led the team. He won his second World Championship in 1968. Lotus cars were known for being fast but sometimes dangerous.

At the 1969 United States Grand Prix, Graham crashed. He broke both his legs. When asked what message he had for his wife, he famously said, "Just tell her that I won't be dancing for two weeks."

After recovering, Graham raced in F1 for several more years. But he didn't have the same success. Colin Chapman, the Lotus boss, thought Graham was past his best. So, Graham moved to Rob Walker's team in 1970. He scored some points that year. He then moved to Brabham for 1971–1972. His last win in Formula One was a non-championship race in 1971 at Silverstone.

Hill at the 1969 German Grand Prix

Graham was known for his humor later in his career. He became a popular TV personality. He wrote a funny book about his life called Life at the Limit. He also worked to promote road safety. He had a TV show called Advanced Driving with Graham Hill. He even appeared in a Monty Python sketch!

Graham was also in four films between 1966 and 1974. These included Grand Prix and Caravan to Vaccarès. In Caravan to Vaccarès, he played a helicopter pilot.

Hill at the 1971 Race of Champions

Even though he focused on F1, Graham also raced sports cars. As his F1 career ended, he joined the Matra sports car team. He won the 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans with Henri Pescarolo. This win completed his Triple Crown of Motorsport. This amazing achievement means winning:

The Indianapolis 500 (which he won in 1966)
The 24 Hours of Le Mans (which he won in 1972)
The Monaco Grand Prix (which he won five times) or the Formula One World Championship (which he won twice).

No matter how you define it, Graham Hill is the only person to have achieved this!

In 1973, Graham started his own team, Embassy Hill. They used cars from other companies. Then they made their own car design in 1975. After he couldn't qualify for the 1975 Monaco Grand Prix, he stopped driving. He wanted to focus on managing his team and helping new driver Tony Brise.

Graham Hill's record of 176 Grand Prix starts was unbroken for over ten years.

Family Life

Graham married Bette in 1955. She paid for their wedding because Graham had spent all his money on racing! They had two daughters, Brigitte and Samantha, and a son, Damon Hill. Damon later became a Formula One World Champion in 1996. They were the first father and son to both win the championship.

The family lived in Mill Hill in the 1960s. There's a special blue plaque on their house. Graham was known for throwing big parties at his homes. Many famous people attended.

Rowing Background

Hill at the 1974 Race of Champions

Before he started motor racing, Graham was a rower. He rowed at different clubs in London. He met his wife, Bette, at a rowing club party. He even coached her clubmates.

In 1952, he joined London Rowing Club. This is one of the biggest rowing clubs in Great Britain. From 1952 to 1954, Graham competed in many rowing finals. He won eight of them. He also competed in the famous Grand Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta.

Graham believed that rowing helped him in motor racing. He wrote in his book: "I really enjoyed my rowing. It really taught me a lot about myself... The self discipline required for rowing and the 'never say die' attitude obviously helped me through the difficult years that lay ahead."

Graham used the colors of the London Rowing Club for his racing helmet. It was dark blue with white oar shapes. His son Damon and grandson Josh later used the same colors.

His Death

On November 29, 1975, Graham Hill died. He was flying his own plane. It crashed near Arkley in London. This happened in thick fog at night. Five other members of his Embassy Hill team were also on board and died. They were returning from a car-testing trip in France.

Legacy

After his death, several places were named after Graham Hill. There's a "Graham Hill Road" in Silverstone village and Towcester. The Graham Hill Bend at Brands Hatch race track is also named for him. A blue plaque honors him at his former home in Mill Hill, London. In Bourne, Lincolnshire, where his old team BRM was based, there's a road called Graham Hill Way. A nursery school in Italy was also named after him.