Driver Focus - Graham Hill

There are not many families that have had two generations of Formula One World Champion - in fact, there’s only one.

At Suzuka in 1996, rookie driver Jacques Villeneuve suffered a wheel-nut failure which handed the title to Damon Hill. However, his double World Champion father was not there to see it - nor did he ever see any of his son’s motorsport achievements.

Much like many of the drivers of his era, Graham Hill's life was ended prematurely. Yet, unlike those drivers who did not live through the first twenty or so years of Formula One, Hill met a slightly different fate.

Born Norman Graham Hill in North London, 1929, much of his adolescent years were spent living through the Blitz.

For a man that would one day be considered one of the greatest drivers the world has ever known, a teenage Hill’s first steps into of the world of motoring were less than spectacular. He bought himself a motorcycle but on one foggy night he crashed it into a parked car. The impact cracked his thigh and permanently shortened his left leg.

For a brief period Hill served in the Royal Navy as an engine room artificer but it was not an experience he wished to turn into a career. Through resentment for the compulsory nautical service he deliberately grew the Vincent Price-esque moustache that was to become his trademark.

Hill’s racing career began in 1952 but it wasn’t in something with four wheels - technically it had no wheels at all. He joined the London Rowing Club and immediately took to the sport which showcased a natural talent and a steely determination. Throughout his racing career, the club’s insignia became Hill's helmet design - a tradition that passed to his son Damon and also to his Grandson Joshua.

A year later in 1953, Brands Hatch launched a promotion of its new extended circuit layout. It ran an advertisement that offered drivers four laps in a Formula Three car for five shillings. On a whim, Hill took up the circuit’s offer and was 'immediately bitten by the racing bug'.

​There was one glaring issue with Hill’s new passion - he didn’t know how to drive. He bought a 1934 Morris which he later described as a 'wreck' and began to teach himself the rules of the road. After passing his road-driving licence, he promptly quit his job at Smith Instruments to talk his way into a job with a racing school - for which he soon became an instructor.

After competing in a few races, a chance meeting with a young Colin Chapman soon followed. Chapman was in the process of developing his company Lotus Cars. Hill could see the potential of Lotus and convinced Chapman to give him a part-time job earning a pound a day. A full-time position followed soon after as did the reward of an occasional race.

In 1958 Lotus was ready to begin its assault on Formula One and Hill was entrusted behind the wheel. However, in its first two years the Lotus car was both slow and unreliable.

​​Hill was outperforming the car and was far too ambitious to be stuck in an uncompetitive team. He joined BRM for the 1960 season, which at the time seemed like a poor career choice as BRM had had little success and many argued he was better off building up the reputation of Lotus.

In 1962, the charismatic Brit surprised everyone by winning the first race of the season, the Dutch Grand Prix. This was the first of four victories that season which brought both him and BRM their first championships.

As much of a hit he was on the track, Hill was a bigger hit in his personal life. His charming sense of humour and penchant for partying made him a media darling. The Hill house-parties became legendary, his two daughters recall one particular party in which the police had been called. Hill welcomed them into the party and they had to return in the morning having left some their equipment behind.

He would flirt outrageously and was never shy about lowering the tone of an interview but the cheeky grin behind the perfectly trimmed moustache meant he continued to be loved by everyone he met.

However, away from the parties, Hill became known for being meticulous with the preparation of his car - while at Lotus he would often get into arguments with Colin Chapman as he would turn up at the factory and order his mechanics to set the car up differently to Chapman’s suggestions. It was not uncommon for Hill to carry his own tools to work on the car himself instead of relying on the mechanics at the track.

His arguments with the BRM team became so frequent that the relationship grew sour and began to show in the results. From 1963-1965 he had finished second in the driver’s standings three times in a row but the 1966 season was a disaster. Despite winning the Indianapolis 500, he failed to win a single race of the Formula One season and decided it was time to move back to Lotus.

It was a bold move as this was the period in which the great Jim Clark was at the height of his career. Clark had cemented himself within the team and had already won two championships with them. The 1967 season was even worse for Hill than the previous season. Despite finishing second in two races he only managed to complete three and finished the season much lower than Clark.​

In 1968, he suddenly found himself in a very delicate position. While the two Lotus drivers were competing in a Formula Two race in Germany, Clark left the track and was killed after hitting a tree. Hill was among the team to clear away the wreckage of the car and, although devastated at the loss of his friend, took control of the Lotus team and led them into the new season.

The death of fellow driver Mike Spence in the 1968 Indianapolis 500 did little to help his morale but with three victories between the Lotus 49 and 49B he took his second world championship.​

In 1969, he won the Monaco Grand Prix for a record fifth time which cemented his nickname of ‘Mr Monaco’. However, the season would become the beginning of the end of his career.

In the United States Grand Prix, he spun and stalled his engine - he got out to push-start the car and resumed racing but failed to fasten his harness. A deflating tyre caused the car to slide into a bank and Hill was thrown from the car, breaking his right knee and severely damaging his left.

Hill's legs may have been broken but his spirit wasn’t and he was able to recover and return to the driving seat – however he was no longer able to compete at the top in Formula One. Many feel that he should have retired at this point in his career but nothing was going to stop him from racing until he felt that he was ready.

Victory at the 1972 24 Heures du Mans ensured he was the only driver ever to win the triple crown of the Monaco Grand Prix, Indianaoplis 500 and Le Mans.

As a drive in Formula One became increasingly hard to find, Hill was forced to start his own team in 1973, but Embassy Hill was very much off the pace. In 1975, ‘Mr Monaco’ failed to qualify for the Monaco Grand Prix and he knew that enough was enough. Hill announced that he was retiring as a driver but would continue to lead the team.

On 29 November 1975, as he was returning from a test session at the Paul Ricard circuit in France, Hill attempted to land his private plane in dense fog at the Elstree airfield near London. The plane crashed and Hill, along with five members of his team were killed.

It is a shame that Graham Hill was never able to see his son climb into the cockpit of a Formula One car, but then again he had always said that he didn’t want to. In an interview, when asked if he would like to see Damon in the sport his response was: “Frankly, I don’t think I would, no. Like any parent, I just don’t think I would.”