In the world of Formula 1, team collapses are rare, but none is as sudden and tragic as Embassy Hill Racing’s demise. Founded by F1 legend Graham Hill, this underdog team defied the odds, securing sponsorship and showing promise for a brighter future. With young talent Tony Brise on board and a new car ready for 1976, the pieces were falling into place.
But on a foggy night in November 1975, everything changed. A plane crash claimed the lives of Graham Hill, Brise, and key team members, wiping out Embassy Hill in an instant. Join me as I delve into their story—one of ambition, perseverance, and the heartbreaking tragedy that ended it all.
Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more untold stories from the world of F1!
#f1 #formula1 #motorsport #grandprix #f12024 #f1news #f1updates #f1history #stories #grahamhill
Business Enquiries: Gridgab@outlook.com
Social Media:
https://www.instagram.com/paulthelandry/
Tweets by TheGridGab
———————————————————————-
Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. There are certain scenes from the Formula 1 calendar where race footage is used. All those rights are property of FOM. Other photos and news elements are used solely for the purpose of assisting the original content illuminate a more in depth story.
32 Comments
🫡
Would you like to see more Historic based content on the channel?
I’d love to see more F1 history vids from you. The soul of F1 is found in its history.
I'm a man of 69 years of age and I was and still am a fan of Graham Hill. Back in '83, I made my way to England and one of my goals was to visit the grave of this hero of mine. In the pre-internet age it wasn't easy to find any information on where I could find it. Long story short, I shouldn't have been able to but I did locate the site. Every November 29th, I raise a glass in his memory and today, to thank you for this video and for keeping his story in the fore.
one of the most underrated f1 channels
Quick shout out to the people at Lexham Engineering for keeping the wonderful Embassy Hill cars up and running – https://lexhamengineering.com/
More documentaries please 🙏
Well told story, thanks from Canberra 🇦🇺
11:04 "Of course, he is a pilot."
Graham Hill's pilot certification and ratings had expired, the plane was unregistered and did not have a certificate of airworthiness. Thus the fight was uninsured which left his family in dire financial straits.
Schumacher would not touch indy, but he hurt himself on a pair of skis at 5 kmh
I am new to your channel and I like the way you present
Ford couldn't wait to take back his company car apparently.
I recall watching TV that very sad evening as a 14 year old just starting to become interested in motorsport, and seeing the Newsflash.
Hard to overstate how shocking Hill's death was to the British public. Hill was one of those very rare breeds in late 60s and early 70s who had transcended his sport to become a genuine household name, known by those not only into sport, but also the general public. Henry Cooper is the other from that era that stands out. Stewart was of similar profile, but from my perspective Hill was more ingrained in the public's awareness than even Stewart although we are talking 1A and 1B as it were.
Part of this certainly was the restricted access to information. With only 3 channels, and a limited number of national papers, there was a collective cultural commonality – it's one of the reasons that the theme to The Flashing Blade or the White Horses instantly generates a recognition and shared remembrance, because literally we really were all watching those.
But it meant that Hill's status was so much more than any of the modern champions. Skill, success, personality and circumstances and that also explains the Embassy sponsorship – they were partnering with that place in the cultural frame of reference.]
Alas, the plane and its passengers were not insured; two members of the Arrows F1 team were on board. The family members claimed compensation, which required his widow to sell their house. Despite this, it was incredible that his son Damien was able to compete in motorbikes, gain a place in F1, and win a World championship.
Excellent piece. I remember Hill's tragic death, but the years fly by and I was surprised to realise it was close to 50 years ago.
Another bloke who was full of "hold my beer and watch this" moments, they think/thought they were invincible, McCrea, Hislop, Hill, Dumbos outside their own Worlds. Sad but true. he should have not even been flying IIRC, was a long time ago
Paul, well done all round, for remembering this anniversary and positive, balanced celebration of Graham Hill’s life and achievements as well as his death and consequences.
You asked; I’d like more of this kind of F1 history. I’m 70(!) and follow & enjoy F1 today thro’ the filter of my own experience of F1 since primary school and all that I learned thro’ reading and the media then and since.
I studied at Hatfield Poly ‘74-‘78 (and East Herts College ‘72-‘74 with Lotus & Ford engineers), not far from Elstree Aerodrome that Graham Hill used. Me & classmates would help out at weekends in Ops Room and earn PPL flying hours for the one PPL among us, often remitted immediately on each Monday. I met Graham Hill on one of these weekends just a few weeks before his crash. Saddest was seeing his car in the empty car park on the Monday after his crash, his death and others you identified so eloquently.
Nigel Manson won both F1 championship in 92 and Indy Rookie of the year in 93 had the Indy 500 been a few laps shorter he might of won after leading it with 16 laps to go Emerson Fittipaldi and Arie Luyendyk passed him on a restart
One reason F1 drivers don’t race in Indy might be that when Mansell returned to F1 he was to big for his Ferrari and they had to alter it so he was able to fit inside
I still remember hearing over the news that Graham's aircraft had crashed and he was feared dead. (yes I'm that old). a very sad day indeed! Tragic
One of the mechanics for Graham Hill was Ron Dennis of the Project 4 McLaren team
1:07: I think you got this wrong. Back then, F1 was not the all time consuming series it is now with so many races, world wide travel and driver commitments for sponsor events and other activities. And yes, the teams are paying their drivers MUCH MORE today, so there are clauses to protect the teams' investment prohibiting many outside activities, even if a driver wanted to do some other racing.
In 1966 when Hill won the Indy 500 there were 9 F1 races, 7 in Europe and 2 on the North American continent in October. Many F1 drivers drove in other series, including in F2.
Hill ran at LeMans for several years in the 60s and early 70s, of course winning in 1972 and ran in Can-Am, The Tasman series and saloon cars. Hill and several F1 drivers ran at Indy from 1961 until the early 1970s and there was "no fear of the danger of Indy". The Indy cars were nowhere near as fast as they are today and the F1 cars were death traps on wheels, which everyone accepted as "part of the game".
My since deceased friend JCR was GHs golf pro
G'day The Grid Gab,
My name is Cameron Greenwood Cramp AKA CGC.
I'm an Aussie. I'm almost 28 years old. I was born on February 6 1997.
I live in Melbourne in Australia AKA the land down under.
I am the biggest fan of IMSA and the WEC in the land down under too. I've been into IMSA for 21 years now.
And I love it.
It's actually my favourite motorsport nowadays along with the World Endurance Championship AKA WEC and MotoGP & the 24 Hours Of Le Mans.
Back in the day, I used to be into all motorsports, but not anymore.
It's been like that for the last 12 years also.
My favourite IMSA season is every single one of them.
From the classic original IMSA from 1971 to 1998 and new IMSA from 2014 onwards.
My favourite races in IMSA are the Daytona 24 Hours, the 12 Hours Of Sebring and of course the Watkins Glen 6 Hour held at The Glen.
My favourite World Endurance Championship or WEC for short is every single one from 2012 to present day.
Watkins Glen AKA The Glen in Upstate New York, where they make steamed hams, is the best race track in the United States of America.
Also, Francios Cevert is the greatest French person of all time, apart from Rene Arnoux, Alain Prost, and Albert The 5th Musketeer AKA Albert De Parmagnan.
And also, 1989 is the best Le Mans ever, along with 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1981, 1994 and 1995.
The Le Mans 24 Hours is my favourite race of the year and my favourite sporting event of the year too.
Le Mans is my favourite race track in the world along with The Glen AKA Watkins Glen and Bathurst.
Jim Clark and Ayrton Senna are two of my favourite drivers of all time.
They are two of the greatest drivers who ever lived.
Colin McRae and Walter Rohrl & Henri Toivonen are three of my favourite rally drivers of all time.
They're tree of the greatest rally drivers who ever lived.
Burt Munro along with Freddie Spencer are two of my favourite motorcycle riders of all time.
They are two of the greatest motorcycle racers who ever lived.
The Ford GT40 and the Ford Mustang are two of my favourite Ford's of all time.
Two of the best Ford's ever made. Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty are two of my favourite NASCAR drivers of all time and two of my favourite Amercians too.
The Dodge Viper RT/10, the McLaren F1 and Mini Cooper are my favourite cars of all time.
Search And Destroy by Iggy Pop And Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley are two of my favourite songs of all time.
Along with Colorado Boy At Heart which is a song that wrote and recorded entirely by myself.
It's also fun little song about Dan Colorado AKA Dan Dougherty who's from Colorado. A very cool place.
Albert The 5th Musketeer is my favourite cartoon of all time and The Young Ones is my favourite TV show of all time.
Albert The 5th Musketeer AKA Albert De Parmagnan is my favourite Musketeer too. I'm the 6th Musketeer.
Grand Prix Legends AKA GPL is my favourite game of all time.
The Shawshank Redemption and The Incredibles are two of my favourite movies of all time.
1967, 1976, 1989, 1991 and 1997 are five of my favourite Formula 1 Seasons of all time.
James Hunt, Nigel Mansell, Barry Sheene, Striling Moss, Mike Hawthorn and Ken Miles n David Purley are my favourite Brits of all time.
Dan Gurney is my favourite big tall guy.
And also, Dan Gurney is my favourite person with the name Dan too, apart from Dan Wheldon and Dan Colorado AKA Dan Dougherty too.
Chris Amon and Lloyd Ruby are two of my favourite drivers who were great despite having a bad luck reputation.
On Any Sunday and The World’s Fastest Indian are two of my favourite motorcycle films of all time along with Race For Glory and of course Silver Dream Racer.
David Purley AKA David Charles Purley is my definition of an absolute hero.
Kork Ballington and Jody Scheckter along with Jon Ekerold are three of my favourite guys from South Africa.
My favourite female racers are Penelope Pitstop and Janet Guthrie & Dancia Patrick.
Ford VS Ferrari, Rush, Senna, Grand Prix, Le Mans, Race For Glory: Audi VS Lancia, Days Of Thunder, Talladega Nights and The Love Bug & The Last American Hero are my favourite car movies of all time. The Driver as well.
My favourite Australians are Jack Brabham, Peter Brock and Mark Skaife.
Bruce McLaren, Burt Munro, Chris Amon, Denny Hulme are my favourite Kiwi's of all time.
Also, Lorenzo Bandini and Valentino Rossi are my favourite Italian's of all time.
Jacky Ickx is my favourite all around driver and my favourite person from Belgium.
Aguri Suzuki is my favourite person and driver from Japan. Great country.
Ronnie Peterson is my favourite Swedish person and the greatest person from Sweden too.
Ayrton Senna, Emerson Fittipaldi and Nelson Piquet are three of my favourite Brazilian guys and three of the greatest Brazilian's who ever lived.
Henri Toivonen is my favourite Finnish person and the greatest person from Finland. Pedro Rodriguez is my favourite Mexican of all time and the greatest Mexican ever.
Jim Clark, Colin McRae and Jackie Stewart are three of my favourite drivers from Scotland and three of the best Scotsman ever.
1971, 1982, 1992, 1995 are four of my favourite Indianapolis 500's of all time.
Jaques and Gilles Villeneuve are two of my favourite Canadians of all time and two of the best Canadians too.
And Jeremy Dale. 1992, 1995, 1997 (CART) are three of the best IndyCar Seasons ever and three of my favourites.
1979 is my favourite Daytona 500 ever along with 1997 and 1998 & 1976.
The 1979 Daytona 500 is also my favourite NASCAR race of all time apart from the 1992 Hooters 500.
1979, 1992, 1996, 1997 are four of my favourite Nascar seasons.
1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2003 are favourite Bathurst 1000's of all time.
1993 to 2007 and 2013 are my favourite V8 Supercars seasons ever.
Two of the greatest male cartoon racers are Speed Racer and Tom Slick and two of my favourite male cartoon drivers too.
1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1982, 1984, 1997, 2003, 2012 and 2014 are my favourite Daytona 24 Hours and are the best as well.
1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1983, 1986, 1995, 1997, 1999 & 2012 are my favourite Sebring 12 Hours and are the best too.
Niki Lauda and Jochen Rindt are two of my favourite Austrians and two of the best people from Austria.
Juan Manuel Fangio and Carlos Reutemann are two of the best Argentina racers and two of my favourites from Argentina.
Clay Regazzoni and Jo Siffert & Alain Menu are my three favourite Swiss people.
Three of my favourite drivers from Switzerland. Steve Kinser is my favourite Sprint Car Driver of all time. Like with most people.
1982 to 1986 which were Group B, along with 1995, 1998, 2001 and 2003 are my favourite World Rally Championship's AKA WRC's.
1998, 1997, 1995, 1994 and 2018 are five of my favourites in the British Touring Car Championship.
1966, 1967, 1970, 1971 and 1989 are my favourite World Sportscar Championship's AKA WSC's.
Every single 500cc season was and is my favourite Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing Season, especially the ones that had Freddie Spencer in.
And finally…. Walter Rohrl is my favourite German and easily the best guy from Germany.
Last but not least, Eddie Irvine is my favourite Irish and the best person from Ireland.
🙂
I'm also the biggest fan of the Bathurst 6 Hour.
I loved it since it began in 2016.
great video thx..
This essay was pretty neat! Hope you do more in the future!
If you read the accident report you'll get a rather different take on things.
It wasn't as rosy for the team as that. They had a lot of debts and Graham had taken loans out etc on the family home etc, all of which had to be settled. I think the trophies they had, absolutely everything had to go to servcie the debts.
I think that Graham was, and remains, the UK's greatest ever sportsman.
Who can come close to his amazing combination of massive achievement (still the only Triple Crown winner for example), astounding physical courage (the way he came back from that horrendous 1969 crash) and wonderful, hilarious humour (pick almost any clip of him talking).
NOBODY – nobody in his time, before it or since – not even close.
Great work, thank you, subscribed.
For me F! was never ever the same after this happened.
So many questions arise – would for instance Graham have got the Saudi money that turned Williams into world champions?
I reckon they'd have won at least one GP in 1976, who knows, they might have done a Brawn 2009 job! (Bit over the top you may say, but who knows??)
And Embassy – where did they go then in sport? To snooker, to begin the transformation of that sport by sponsoring its world championship.
I've studied the actual crash a lot, I have a controversial theory about why a brilliant risk manager like Graham – the man who survived all those GPs in those horrendously dangerous years – 1958-1975(!) – died so avoidably in that way. Do you intend to analyse the crash at all?
I remember seeing the news on TV about the plane crash, at the time I was a 5yr old kid who's dad was a huge Motorsport fan and I often watched F1 with my dad and I was really into Graham hill so it was a shock to know that I was never going to see him again but I still have huge respect for him.