This interesting image was taken during practice before the Italian Grand Prix at Monza which was to take place on September 7, 1958. Here is the very happy American driver Phil Hill sitting in the Ferrari 246F1 which he will drive in the upcoming race. It will be Hill’s second Grand Prix outing after he drove Jo Bonnier’s Maserati 250F in the French Grad Prix, finishing seventh. This time, however, he has been given a F1 opportunity by Enzo Ferrari, here seen leaning over Hill’s car to offer encouragement. Perhaps this was a bittersweet moment in that Hill’s ride came primarily because his teammate Peter Collins had been killed during the German Grand Prix a month earlier. Hill had driven a Ferrari 156F2 car there, finishing ninth overall and fifth in the F2 part of the race.
Formal photo session over, Hill and Ferrari stand in front of Hill’s car in the pits a few moments later.
For the race Hill qualified in the second row beside his teammates Olivier Gendebien and Wolfgang von Trips, with Mike Hawthorn in the front row along with three Vanwalls. However, Hill came through to lead the first several laps. Hill then dropped back with tire problems and on the seventh lap he had to pit when one of his Englebert tires threw a tread all of which dropped him from the lead to 10th.
Nevertheless, the fire was truly lit and Hill charged up through the field and retook the lead on lap 34. This was not to last as Hill now let both Brooks’ Vanwall and Hawthorn’s Ferrari past, being content to let his team leader earn as many points as he could for his World Championship competition with Stirling Moss. Hawthorn was unable to challenge Brooks for the lead in the final laps, finishing second with Hill third by 4.1 seconds.
Photos by Ami Guichard ©The Klemantaski Collection – http://www.klemcoll.com
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