Graham Hill

Norman Graham Hill (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver, rower and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "Mr. Monaco",}} Hill won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles and—at the time of his retirement—held the record for most podium finishes (36); he won 14 Grands Prix across 18 seasons. In American open-wheel racing, Hill won the Indianapolis 500 in 1966 with Mecom. Upon winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in with Matra, Hill became the first—and to this date, only—driver to complete the Triple Crown of Motorsport.

Born and raised in London, Hill studied engineering before completing national service in the Royal Navy. He was a member of London Rowing Club from 1952 to 1954, contesting twenty finals and stroking the London crew in the Grand Challenge Cup. He made his racing debut in Formula Three aged 25. He initially joined Lotus in Formula One as a mechanic, before earning a driving debut with the team at the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix and securing a full-time contract. After non-classified championship finishes in and with Lotus, Hill moved to BRM in , scoring his maiden podium at the . BRM fielded the competitive P57 in , with Hill taking his maiden victory at the season-opening and winning three further Grands Prix as he secured his maiden title, beating career rival Jim Clark and Bruce McLaren. He finished runner-up to Clark the following season, before losing the title by one point to John Surtees. to points system, each driver's best six results counted towards the Drivers' Championship. With all results counted, Hill scored 41 points to Surtees' 40.}} Hill took multiple wins in as he finished runner-up to Clark once more in the standings. After a winless campaign, Hill returned to Lotus to partner Clark.

Helping develop the Lotus 49 for the new Cosworth DFV engines, Hill struggled with reliability throughout , with podiums in Monaco and the United States. Clark was killed after their 1–2 finish at the season opener in , leaving Hill in a close title battle with Jackie Stewart, which Hill won at the final race of the season. In , Hill became a five-time winner of the Monaco Grand Prix, a record he held for 24 years. During the , Hill was seriously injured in a crash, breaking both of his legs and ending his season prematurely. After recovering from his injuries, he returned as a privateer in before competing with Brabham for two further seasons, where he won the non-championship BRDC International Trophy in 1971. Hill founded and competed for Embassy Hill from to , retiring from motor racing after the to focus on team ownership and supporting his protégé Tony Brise. In addition to his two championships, Hill achieved 14 race wins, 13 pole positions, 10 fastest laps and 38 podiums in Formula One.

Outside Formula One, Hill entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans 10 times between and , winning the latter alongside Henri Pescarolo in the Matra-Simca MS670. He also entered the Indianapolis 500 three times from 1966 to 1968, winning the Borg-Warner Trophy at his first attempt. Throughout his early years, Hill also competed in the British Saloon Car Championship, topping his class in 1963, and entered six seasons of the Tasman Series, finishing runner-up to Stewart in 1966. In November 1975, Hill and five other Embassy Hill executives, including Brise, were killed when the Piper PA-23 Aztec aircraft Hill was piloting crashed in low-visibility conditions in north London whilst returning from a test session for the Hill GH2 at the Circuit Paul Ricard. Embassy Hill subsequently shut down ahead of the season. Hill's son Damon went on to win the World Drivers' Championship in , becoming the first father-and-son World Drivers' Champions. Hill was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990. Provided by Wikipedia