Philip Toll Hill was world champion racing driver in 1961 and the first American to hold the title.

He was born in Miami, Florida, in 1927, and his family later moved to California. From an early age his passion in life was motorcars. He retained this love of vintage engineering to the end and among his collection of cars in California was a pre-war Pierce-Arrow, which was kept in a darkened garage to preserve the paintwork.

Both of Hill’s parents died when he was young, leaving him a lonely and introverted man whose sensitivity and shyness often gave the false impression that he was aloof.

While studying business administration at University without enthusiam, Hill became fascinated by a collection of old cars owned by his brother-in-law’s father. He took a job as a mechanic and then bought a TC MG. It was with this car that he scored his first victory at Carrell Speedway, Los Angeles, in 1948.

He went to England in 1949 and spent six months working in the service departments of SU Carburettors, Jaguar Cars and Rolls-Royce in order to specialise as a mechanic on his return to America. He saved enough money in England to take home a Jaguar XK l20 and after modifying it considerably won his first road race at Pebble Beach, California, in 1950.During the next few years Hill amassed considerable racing experience either at the wheel of his own car or for independent entrants. Whatever help he received from his sponsors he fully repaid by working round the clock as a racing mechanic.

Hill really attracted attention to his capabilities in three successive of the gruelling Pan-American road races, where he finished sixth in 1952 and a brilliant second in 1954 partnered by Richie Ginther. Their Ferrari was only beaten by the Italian ace Umberto Maglioli and as a result of this drive Hill was invited to share a works Ferrari with Maglioli in the 1955 Le Mans race. After a win in the main event at Nassau, Hill joined the Ferrari team for the Buenos Aires 1,000 kilometres race in 1956, placing second with Olive Gendebien and in the years to come they were to develop into two of the most complementary drivers paired in long-distance sports car events.

Hill remained with the Ferrari team for seven seasons from 1956 until 1962, finding fame and fortune, but at the same time bitter frustration. He waited until 1958 for his first Formula 1 drive for Ferrari, which came at the Italian Grand Prix after winning the Sebring 12-hours (with Peter Collins) and Le Mans (with Gendebien) — the first victory in the French classic. Hill’s outstanding tactical racing was instrumental in facilitating Mike Hawthorn’s triumph that season, in which he became the first British world champion driver.

In 1959 Hill was promoted to the regular Formula One team and set out about learning the art of grand prix racing in a rather ragged fashion. By 1960 he won the Italian GP for Ferrari and scored the first grand prix victory by an American since Jimmy Murphy won the 1921 French GP in a Duesenberg. 1961 was Hill’s zenith, when he drove a Ferrari to victory at Sebring for the third time, scored his second win at Le Mans (he won again in 1962) and took the coveted title of world champion. But it was a victory clouded by grief, for Hill drove into the winner’s circle to be informed that his German team-mate Wolfgang von Trips — who was leading the world championship — had been killed instantly in a second-lap accident, in which 14 spectators also died. Hill was released from his contract by Enzo Ferrari at the end of 1962 and later drove for the ATS and Cooper teams, but never with the same fire as before. He continued to put up many fine performances in long-distance races in Aston Martin, Chaparral and Ford cars among others.

He never was able to overcome his pre-race tension, however, and would sit in his cockpit looking the picture of depression and self-doubt, chewing gum and polishing his goggles.

Once he had retired from racing, Hill entered the world of business, formed Hill & Vaghn, the US leading restorer of vintage cars. He also commentated on motor racing for television and wrote a series of track tests for the magazine Road & Track.

He is survived by his wife and by their son and daughter.

Philip Toll Hill, motor racing driver, was born on April 20, 1927. He died on August 28, 2008, aged 81