Brought to you by TJ13 contributor The Grumpy Jackal
On this day in F1 – 5th December 1975 a Funeral for F1 legend
On this day forty years ago, over 2,000 people attended the service to celebrate the life of Graham Hill who had been killed just a week before. Outside St. Albans Abbey another 2,000 gathered to pay their respects as the double World Champion was laid to rest.
He and five other members of the Hill racing team had been killed in an aircraft crash as they returned from testing at the Paul Ricard circuit in heavy fog. Hill, who was piloting the aircraft, mistook the lights of the A1 trunk road for the landing lights at the nearby Elstree airfield and they perished.
From his debut in 1958 to his retirement in 1975, Hill won the title twice, fourteen Grand Prix victories which included five at Monaco and also claimed victory at Le Mans and at the Indianapolis 500. A popular man with both fans and fellow drivers, he defined an era that will never be seen again.
My dearest Jackal,
You really ought to consider prefixing the headline with ‘On This Day In F1’
I’m not sure how many more unexpected/unintended near-misses the old ticker can handle, What What!
PS, My thoughts are with the families of the 6.
PPS, Hill’s F1/Le Mans/Indy500 triple crown always puts a smile on my face. : )
As you rightly state “he defined an era that will never be seen again.”
A zillion thumbs up! I was in panic mode for a second.