Legendary Formula 1 champion Graham Hill was due to receive a knighthood just a few weeks after his tragic death in a plane crash, his son Damon has revealed
Hill is regarded as one of the best motorsport drivers of all time. The Londoner won two F1 world championships in the 1960s and remains the only racer ever to complete the elusive 'Triple Crown'.
To join that mythic club of one, a racer must win the Monaco Grand Prix, the Indy 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. So dominant on the streets of Monte Carlo was Hill that he won the race five times – earning him the nickname of "Mr Monaco".
Wednesday marked what would have been his 94th birthday. However, Hill's life was cut tragically short when, on November 29, 1975, the plane he was piloting crashed on a foggy night in Arkley, north London.
His son Damon, himself an F1 champion having taken the 1996 title, paid tribute to his father with a social media post. He shared some photos of his father in his prime and of the two of them together and, in the caption, spoke about the honour that the double champion never got to receive.
"Graham Hill OBE. Happy Birthday Dad," wrote Damon. "It was revealed to us by Lord Mountbatten that Dad would have received a Knighthood sometime in the New Year, 1976. Sadly he didn't live to receive it.
"I'm not sure it would have suited him anyway. He was a bit of a rascal! But it would have been well deserved. He contributed massively to other people's wellbeing and the sport he loved. Perhaps the Knighthood would have made him behave himself? And who would have wanted that!"
To this day, the Hills remain the only father and son duo to have won the F1 championship. Graham's grandson Josh also pursued a career in motorsport, until he retired from competing in Formula 3 in 2013 as a 22-year-old.
It is not known why Hill never received that knighthood posthumously. Damon was made an OBE in the 1997 New Year's Honours List, after his world championship triumph the previous year.
