Both American F1 Champions Won Their Title Under Tragic Conditions

The start of the 1978 Italian Grand Prix; Ronnie Peterson’s accident turned out to be fatal.Photo: HOCH ZWEI / Ronco (AP)

Formula 1 has only seen two American World Champions in its lengthy history — but both of those Champions share a strange commonality. Both Phil Hill and Mario Andretti clinched their title in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza where their teammates and title rivals were tragically killed.

While I’ve known the stories of both Ronnie Peterson’s and Wolfgang von Trips’ tragic deaths, I never quite put together that both men were killed at the same track — Autodromo Nazionale Monza — during the event that ultimately rewarded their American driver with a Championship after a season-long title fight until I was running through some of the most iconic moments in the track’s history. Only then did it dawn on me that America’s World Championship history is marred in tragedy.

In 1961, Ferrari teammates Phil Hill and Wolfgang von Trips battled for supremacy during the eight-race F1 season. Both drivers were highly competitive, racking up wins, podiums, and points-scoring positions in every event but one, leading up to that season’s Italian Grand Prix, the penultimate event of the season. Hill had 29 points to von Trips’ 33; a win for either driver would be critical at Monza.

Hill would ultimately take victory, but only after one of the worst accidents in Formula 1 history. At the end of lap two, von Trips collided with the Lotus of Jim Clark and lost control of his Ferrari. Unfortunately, his car crashed directly into a fence lined with spectators. Von Trips was ejected from the car and killed, and the impact of his Ferrari killed an additional 15 spectators. The race continued; it’s alleged that rescue workers wanted to keep other fans entertained and prevent them leaving the track and clogging the roadways, enabling emergency personnel to more quickly transport injured spectators to the hospital.

With his win, Phil Hill also took home the World Drivers Championship, and Ferrari was able to also bag the Constructor Championship. With no need to compete, Ferrari did not attend the final race of the season at Watkins Glen. Hill ended the season with 34 points. Von Trips scored 33.

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An American wouldn’t enter significant title contention again until the 1978 Formula 1 season — and again it was a battle between to teammates, this time Lotus drivers Mario Andretti and Ronnie Peterson. Heading into the Italian Grand Prix, only three races separated the Lotus team from the end of the season. Andretti led the standings with 63 points to Peterson’s 51, but a few good results could have put the Swedish driver ahead. The Italian Grand Prix would be integral to closing that gap.

But the start was a disaster. The starter turned on the green lights before all the cars had fully gridded up, so the slowing midfield cars were able to get a jump on the leaders who had already stopped. Cars bunched up as they headed to the first chicane, and James Hunt veered into Peterson while trying to avoid being struck by Ricardo Patrese. That contact ended up collecting seven additional cars, but Peterson ultimately had the worst contact; after hitting Hunt, he crashed into the barriers and the car burst into flames.

Thankfully, Hunt, Clay Regazzoni, and Patrick Depailler were able to pull Peterson from the wreck. His minor burns and severe leg injures were admittedly concerning, and it took 20 minutes for medical aid to arrive, but Peterson wasn’t expected to die. Sid Watkins, recently appointed medical director of F1, was prevented from attending to the driver by a wall of Italian police; he revealed in his autobiography Life at the Limit that Peterson had 27 fractures in both legs and quickly went into surgery to operate.

During the night, Peterson’s condition quickly destabilized, and he was diagnosed with a fat embolism. By the morning, his kidneys had failed. He was declared dead at 9:55 the morning after the race.

When Andretti received the news that his teammate had died, he also learned that no other driver would be able to overtake him in points; Andretti was World Champion — but like Phil Hill, tragedy meant he was unable to celebrate.

Since then, no American driver has come near a World Championship, meaning that no one has had a chance to break the painful cycle of death leading to victory.