Top 20 Greatest F1 Racers: Graham Hill

There are a certain set of qualities that probably every driver in the Formula 1 Hall of Fame possesses. Let me name a few – aggression, passion, determination, fighting spirit, and I can go on. You basically have a league comprising of a few enigmatic ones like Ayrton Senna, the flamboyant ones like James Hunt, the comparatively laid back ones like Alain Prost and then you have Graham Hill.

Graham Hill-1963 British Grand Prix

“I am an Artist. The track is my canvas, and the car is my brush”.-Graham Hill

Career Statistics

Titles: 2

Race Starts: 176

Wins: 14

Poles: 13

Podiums: 36

Graham Hill cleared his driving license test only when he was 24 and surprisingly, within a span of five years, he got himself a Formula 1 seat. Talk about raw talent taking its course! But natural raw talent was not something he was not really associated with a lot. So what helped him fast track his way into Formula 1 in just five years? Well, it is known that he had his astute way of dealing with people and obviously his fabulous driving capabilities played a huge part in his success story. He was modest enough to accept the fact that he was not the most naturally gifted driver on the grid, but it was never something that would bog him down.

“My dad’s experience was, just because someone’s got greater natural ability doesn’t mean they can’t be beaten. It’s just going to be harder. So if you get to the same level as them but you’ve had to try harder, who’s the better driver?”- Damon Hill (his son)

Graham Hill was recruited by Lotus founder Colin Chapman, not as a driver, but as a mechanic. He earned one pound a day for the job he did under Chapman. He collected enough money to buy a wrecked up 1929 Austin to improve his driving skills and he drove the brakes off that car. Literally.

“The chief qualities of a racing driver are concentration, determination and anticipation. A 1929 Austin without brakes develops all three – anticipation rather more than the first two perhaps.”

He was known to be an opportunist not only on the track but off it as well. He had enough persuasive skills to convince Chapman for a few drives in the Cooper and Lotus sportscars in the late fifties. Hill’s driving skills impressed Chapman so much so that when he entered Formula 1 with his Lotus, he decided to have Hill as one of his drivers. For a guy who did not know how to drive a car 5 years ago, this was by no means a small achievement.

However, Hill never got things the easy way throughout his life and so was the case with his first Formula 1 drive. The Lotus failed to match Hill’s expectations in the 1958 season. He was patient enough with Chapman and his team for another season but the Lotus was miserable in its performance and reliability yet again in 1959, which resulted in Hill switching to British Racing Motors (BRM) for the 1960 season.

BRM itself was a team in crisis at the time Hill joined them. He never got the car he expected in his first couple of seasons with BRM, but he never gave up and had some spirited drives, leading the team by example. His perseverance and hard work finally paid off in 1962 when he won his first Championship. He had this ‘never say die’ attitude which played a pivotal role in his stint with BRM that led him to his title, one he claims to have developed during his time in Rowing.

“I really enjoyed my rowing. It really taught me a lot about myself, and I also think it is a great character-building sport… The self discipline required for rowing and the ‘never say die’ attitude obviously helped me through the difficult years that lay ahead.”

His following years with BRM were marred largely by a number of mechanical failures, but he continued to fight for the title finishing runner up for three consecutive years in 1964, 65’ and 66’. BRM were a team the on the decline and when Hill realized that BRM were no longer capable of giving him a competitive car, he decided to call it quits in the middle of the 1966 season.

Clark-Hill,1965

But then there was a lot more Hill had to offer to Formula 1. He reunited with his old boss Colin Chapman in 1967, pairing up with Jim Clark to complete the Lotus line up. Hill rejoined the team at a time when his team mate was at the prime of his driving career. He had a disappointing season, mostly playing second fiddle to Clark in his title bid. But Clark’s tragic death in 1968 meant that Hill was left with a mountain to climb, leading a rather rudderless team. Pushed on by his determination, he showed great character, fighting his way throughout the season for his second world championship.

It would have been the perfect occasion for Hill to hang up his boots after having achieved what seemed to be impossible with the humble beginning he had to his career. He never seemed to run short of drive or motivation even in the worst of times which, ironically, was one of the reasons that eventually led to his fall.

Apart from his on-track capabilities, Hill was quite popular with the people and media persons for his typically British sense of humor and his off-field antics.

“It’s difficult to say why he was so special, but he had such a charisma, you know, with his cap, his moustache and his sense of humor. He would sit in the sun, enjoying a beer and when the fans came he would listen to them all and have a joke with everybody.”- Rosie Bernard, proprietor of a legendary bar he frequently visited in Monaco.

Monaco was the personal favorite Grand Prix for him, where he celebrated an incredible five victories, which also gave him the nickname of ‘Mr Monaco’. Here is a video of Graham Hill describing his experience of driving in Monaco.

A few reasons why I think he is one of the greatest Formula 1 racers:

- He never got things the easy way, showed great character and fighting spirit in the most difficult times to come out on top.

- He led his team by example. He had the rare quality of picking up and motivating his team in the worst of times, a quality that played a big role in both his successful title bids.

- He is the only driver in the history of Motorsport to have won the Indy 500, Le Mans and the Formula 1 title. A feat that shows how easily he could adapt to different forms of racing.

Here is a tribute video of the great man.