''For other uses see
Phil Hill (disambiguation) ''
, (born
April 20 ,
1927 in
Miami, Florida ) is the only
American -born driver to win the
Formula One driving championship.
Raised in
Santa Monica, California , where he still lives, Phil Hill began racing cars at an early age, going to
England as a
Jaguar trainee in
1949 and signing with
Enzo Ferrari ’s team in
1956 . He made his debut in the
French Grand Prix at
Reims France in
1958 driving a
Maserati . That same year, he won the
24 Hours Of Le Mans with
Belgian team mate
Olivier Gendebien , driving for most of the night in horrific rainy conditions. He and Gendebien would go on to win the famous endurance race two more times.
In
1961 , Phil Hill won the 24 hours of Le Mans again and the Formula One driving championship for the
Ferrari team, although somewhat due to the death of his teammate and main championship contender
Wolfgang Graf Berghe Von Trips . Unlike
Mario Andretti , Hill is born in the USA, and still the only US-born F1 champion.
After leaving Ferrari at the end of 1962 in the
History_of_Ferrari#The_great_walkout of engineers, he and fellow driver
Giancarlo Baghetti started for their new team
Automobili Turismo E Sport . Hill continued in Formula One for a few more years until he switched to
Sports Car Racing with
Ford and the
Chaparral Cars of
Jim Hall .
Phil Hill has the distinction of having won the first (a 3 lap event at Carrell Speedway in a
MG T C on July 24 1949) and last races of his driving career, the final victory driving for Chaparral in the "BOAC 500" at
Brands Hatch in
England in
1967 .
His son Derek raced in
Formula 3000 in 2003.
