- Born
- Died
- Birth nameNorman Graham Hill
- Nickname
- Mr. Monaco
- Universally popular, Graham Hill was the epitome of the Grand Prix racing driver. Hill started out his racing career as a mechanic, trading in his services as a mechanic for a drive. He made his mark in sports cars before getting the call to the internationally famous Formula 1 Grand Prix series in 1958. His first few years in Formula 1 were without much success until he recorded his first win in 1962, at the Dutch Grand Prix. That first win opened up the floodgates as he won three more times that season and won his first World Championship. He was a consistent winner throughout the 1960s in a variety of races series, including sports cars and the 1966 Indianapolis 500. Hill raced against several of the sport's greatest stars including Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, Dan Gurney and Jack Brabham. Hill won his second and last World Championship in 1968, and his final Formula 1 race at Monaco, the following year. His last big win was at Le Mans, in 1972, but Hill's final three seasons in racing were fruitless. Hill started his own Grand Prix team in 1973, and initially the prospects of a winning team were promising, however Hill, his racing protected Tony Brise, and four other team members were killed when Hill, piloting his own plane, clipped the tree tops in a dense fog, and crashed short of the Elstree Airport. Grand Prix racing had lost one of its greatest racing figures. In 1996, Hill's only son Damon won the World Championship, making them the first father-son combination to accomplish the feat.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Ken Severson
- Here he grew up in middle-class circumstances with his parents. After graduating from college, he began his training as an engineer. Hill then served in the Royal Navy for two years until he returned to London. It wasn't until the age of 24 that Hill got his driver's license. Shortly afterwards he completed training at the Brands Hatsch racing driving school. He showed such talent that Hill was allowed to drive Hatsch's cars in smaller races. Here he met Colin Chapman, who took him on as a mechanic in his racing team. Shortly afterwards, Graham Hill was hired by Lotus as an engineer and test driver. In the mid-1950s he married his long-time girlfriend Bette, who enjoyed great success in eight-row rowing. The white stripes on Hill's dark blue helmet symbolized the oar blades of the traditional sport. As early as 1957 he received a professional driving contract with Lotus.
From 1958 he competed in the premier class of Formula 1 with the newly founded Team Lotus-Climax racing team. However, the first season did not bring Hill any championship points. He couldn't end 1959 any better either. His son Damon was born in September 1960, who later also started a career as a racing driver. In the same year, 1960, Graham Hill started for BRM-Climax in Formula 1. He was only able to score 4 championship points in eight Grand Prix races. Nevertheless, the team worked tirelessly to improve the car. This paid off in the 1962 season. With nine Grand Prix victories, Hill confidently became Formula 1 world champion for the first time with BRM in 1962. From 1963 to 1965, Hill was runner-up world champion three times in a row with BRM. In 1966 he won the Indianapolis 500 in a Lola Ford. After the victory in Indianapolis, Great Britain honored him with the Order of the O.B.E. (Officer of the British Empire).
In Formula 1 he achieved fifth place in 1966 and in 1967, again with Lotus-BRM, he achieved seventh place overall. He won the Monaco Grand Prix five times in seven years from 1963 to 1969. Lotus had been running with Ford engines since the middle of the 1967 season. With the new car, Graham Hill won the Formula 1 World Championship for the second time in 1968 with 48 championship points After that he was unable to win any more Grand Prix in Formula 1. From 1971 he started for Brabham-Ford. In 1972 Hill won the "24 Hours of Le Mans" together with Frenchman Henri Pescarolo in a Matra. In Formula 1, Hill drove for Shadow-Ford from 1973 until he moved to Lola-Ford in 1974. During this time, Hill made a name for himself as an expert in the construction of sports cars, especially as a designer alongside Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren. After Graham Hill failed to meet the qualifying conditions for the Grand Prix in Monaco, he announced his retirement as a Formula 1 driver in 1975.
Graham Hill died on November 29, 1975 when the family's private jet crashed north of London.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Christian_Wolfgang_Barth
- SpouseBette Hill(? - November 29, 1975) (his death, 3 children)
- Moustache
- Is the only driver in history to win the world's three most prestigious motor races: Monaco GP, Indy 500 and Le Mans.
Wins: Monaco Grand Prix (1963, 1964, 1965, 1968 and 1969); Indianapolis 500 (1966) and 24 Hours Le Mans (1972). - He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in 1968 for his services to motor sports.
- Father of Damon Hill OBE, Brigitte Hill, and Samantha Hill.
- Owned his own F1 team Embassy Hill (from 1973-1975).
- Ex-Formula One racing driver, who raced for Lotus (1958 (8 GPs)-1959, 1967-1969), BRM (1960 (8 GPs)-1966), Rob Walker (1970 (11 GPs)), Brabham (1971-1972) and Embassy-Hill (1973 (12 GPs)-1975 (2 GPs)). Graham Hill started 175 Grands Prix, 14 Wins, 13 Pole Positions, 10 Fastests Laps, 36 Podiums and 289 Points.
Worked as a mechanic for Colin Chapman at Team Lotus before becoming a driver in his own right. He won two World Chamionships, in 1962 for BRM and in 1968 for Lotus.
- I am an artist. The track is my canvas, and the car is my brush.
- Time is of the essence - and I'm very short of essence.
- You should be allowed to be a modern city dweller and still care about the environment.
- When I notice a rear wheel overtaking me, I know I'm sitting in a Lotus.
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