Phil Hill facts for kids
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Hill at the 1991 United States Grand Prix in Phoenix
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| Born | Philip Toll Hill Jr. April 20, 1927 Miami, Florida, U.S. |
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| Died | August 28, 2008 (aged 81) Monterey, California, U.S. |
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| Formula One World Championship career | |||||||||||
| Nationality |  American |
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| Active years | 1958–1964, 1966 | ||||||||||
| Teams | Maserati, Ferrari, Cooper, Porsche, Automobili Turismo e Sport, Lotus, McLaren, Eagle | ||||||||||
| Entries | 52 (49 starts) | ||||||||||
| Championships | 1 (1961) | ||||||||||
| Wins | 3 | ||||||||||
| Podiums | 16 | ||||||||||
| Career points | 94 (98) | ||||||||||
| Pole positions | 6 | ||||||||||
| Fastest laps | 6 | ||||||||||
| First entry | 1958 French Grand Prix | ||||||||||
| First win | 1960 Italian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
| Last win | 1961 Italian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
| Last entry | 1966 Italian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
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Philip Toll Hill Jr. (born April 20, 1927 – died August 28, 2008) was a famous American race car driver. He was one of only two American drivers to ever win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship. He was also the only one born in the United States. (The other winner, Mario Andretti, was born in Italy). Phil Hill also won three times at the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans and 12 Hours of Sebring sports car races.
People often described Hill as a "thoughtful, gentle man." He once said, "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."
Contents
Phil Hill's Racing Career
Phil Hill was born in Miami, Florida, on April 20, 1927. He grew up in Santa Monica, California, where he lived for most of his life. He studied business at the University of Southern California from 1945 to 1947. However, he left college early to follow his dream of car racing. He started by working as a mechanic on other drivers' cars.
Hill began racing at a young age. In 1949, he went to England to train with Jaguar Cars. By 1956, he joined Enzo Ferrari's racing team. His first big race was the 1958 French Grand Prix in Reims, France, where he drove a Maserati.
Winning at Le Mans
In 1958, Hill made history. He teamed up with Olivier Gendebien from Belgium. They became the first American-born winners of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Hill drove for most of the night in very heavy rain. He and Gendebien won this tough endurance race two more times, in 1961 and 1962.
Formula One Success
In 1959, Hill started driving full-time for the Ferrari Formula One team. He finished in the top three (called a podium finish) three times that year. In 1960, he won the 1960 Italian Grand Prix at Monza. This was the first Grand Prix win for an American driver in almost 40 years. It was also the last time a front-engined car won a Formula 1 race.
The next year, 1961, was a big one for Hill. He won the 1961 Belgian Grand Prix. With only two races left, he was close behind his Ferrari teammate, Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips. Sadly, during the 1961 Italian Grand Prix, von Trips was killed in a crash that also injured fifteen spectators. Hill won that race and became the Formula One World Champion. It was a very sad victory for him. Ferrari decided not to go to the final race in America that year. This meant Hill could not race in his home country as the new World Champion.
When he returned for the 1962 Formula One season, his last with Ferrari, Hill said he no longer felt the same need to win. He felt he was not willing to risk his life as much anymore.
Later Racing Years
After leaving Ferrari in 1962, Phil Hill joined a new team called ATS. He continued to race in Formula One in 1964, driving for the Cooper Formula One Team. After that season, he stopped racing single-seater cars. He then focused on sports car racing with Ford Motor Company and Chaparral Cars.
In 1966, Hill often drove a Ford GT40 prototype during race weekends. This car had a special remote-control camera to film scenes for the movie Grand Prix. He also entered his last Formula One race that year, the 1966 Italian Grand Prix, but he did not qualify. Phil Hill stopped racing completely in 1967.
Phil Hill has a unique record: he won the very first race of his career in 1949 and the very last race in 1967. His final win was for Chaparral at the BOAC 500 in England.
He also drove an experimental car called the MG EX-181 at the Bonneville Salt Flats. This car was very fast! In 1959, Hill reached 257 miles per hour in it. This broke the previous record set by Stirling Moss in the same car.
After Racing Life
After retiring from racing, Phil Hill started a successful business. In the 1970s, he and his partner Ken Vaughn restored classic cars. Their business was called Hill & Vaughn. He also worked as a television commentator for ABC's Wide World of Sports.
Hill was also involved with Road & Track magazine for many years. He wrote articles for them, testing cars and sharing stories about old races.
In his later years, Hill spent time with his collection of vintage cars. He also judged at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, a famous car show. He judged this event more than anyone else, doing it 40 times by 2007.
Phil Hill was married to Alma and had three children: Derek, Vanessa, and Jennifer. His son Derek also became a race car driver.
Phil Hill passed away on August 28, 2008, in Monterey, California. He died from problems related to Parkinson's disease. A three-volume book set about his life and career was published in 2017.
A turn at the Buttonwillow Raceway Park is named after him, called Turn 9.
Awards and Achievements
Phil Hill received many honors for his amazing career:
- He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1989.
- In 1991, he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.
- He was inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2022.
Here are some of his main career victories:
- 24 Hours of Le Mans (3 wins): 1958, 1961, 1962
- 12 Hours of Sebring (4 wins): 1955 (class win), 1958, 1959, 1961
- 1000 km Buenos Aires (3 wins): 1956 (class win), 1958, 1960
- 1000 km Nürburgring (2 wins): 1962, 1966
- F1 Italian Grand Prix (2 wins): 1960, 1961
- F1 Belgian Grand Prix (1 win): 1961
- BOAC 500 (Brands Hatch) (1 win): 1967
- Targa Florio (1 win): 1960 (class win)
- Road America 500 (2 wins): 1955, 1957
- Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix (3 wins): 1950, 1953, 1955
- Los Angeles Times Grand Prix (1 win): 1959
- Swedish Grand Prix (1 win): 1956
- 2000 km Daytona (1 win): 1964
Images for kids
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Phil Hill at the 1991 United States Grand Prix
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Hill driving a Ferrari 250 TR at the 12 hours of Sebring (1958)
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Hill driving for Ferrari at the 1962 German Grand Prix
See also
In Spanish: Phil Hill para niños
