Phil Hill, Champion

By Ron Kantowski

Monday, Sept. 8, 2008 | 11:35 p.m.

NOW:

I received an e-mail the other day from an old racing buddy. It was slugged "Phil Hill, Champion."

Simple in its elegance -- like the man himself.

The subject of the e-mail was the recent passing of Phil Hill, the only American-born Formula One world driving champion.

Hill won the 1961 world title driving a Ferrari. The only other American to win the world driving championship was Mario Andretti, who did it for Lotus in 1978. Andretti was a naturalized American, having been born in Italy.

The most remarkable item about these two great champions, other than their talent, versatility and steely resolve behind the wheel, was that on the day each won the championship, his teammate and good friend was killed in an accident during the race.

For Hill, it was Wolfgang von Trips, whose car collided with Jim Clark's and careened into the crowd at Monza. Fifteen spectators also were killed.

For Andretti, it was Ronnie Peterson, the popular Swede, whose legs were badly injured in a fiery chain reaction crash on the starting grid, also at Monza. Peterson died that evening.

As a result of these tragedies, neither Hill nor Andretti were able to celebrate the greatest triumphs of their careers.

Their hearts simply weren't into it.

THEN:

This is what Mario Andretti had to say about Phil Hill in Time magazine:

I had the pleasure of racing against Phil Hill -- who died on Aug. 28 at age 81 -- in 1967 in Sebring, Fla. It was toward the end of his career and near the beginning of mine. He was behind me, challenging my Ford with his Chaparral. All of a sudden, I saw a cloud of smoke, and his car blew out. What a relief it was, because he was a relentless, versatile driver with a fantastic record of success.

Having had the opportunity to race with Phil is a dear memory. He blazed the international trail at a time when it was unheard of for Americans to compete abroad. I was a young driver when he became the first American to win the international Formula One championship in 1961, and his victory gave me hope; when someone accomplishes your own dream, you begin to figure it's actually possible. To date, we are the only drivers to have brought a Formula One title to America.

That created a very special relationship between us. Phil was the ultimate gentleman: kind, approachable, wholesome. He was also a very smart guy, which later made him a successful analyst for ABC Sports and Road & Track magazine. He was like a wine connoisseur with his ability to break down the behavior of cars.

Phil was respected by everyone in our industry. I never, ever heard anyone say anything disparaging about him. He will be missed, and I don't think he'll ever be forgotten.