Team story
Origins
Graham Hill founded his own team with Embassy backing after leaving Brabham. He used a Shadow in 1973, then commissioned a Lola. Only in 1975 did Hill also become the constructor's name: the GH1 derived from the Lola T371, progressively modified by Andy Smallman's group.
The team's history therefore began before that of the Hill chassis.
The Formula 1 journey
The GH1's championship debut at Montjuïc was marked by Rolf Stommelen's crash, which killed spectators. Alan Jones subsequently replaced the German and took fifth at the Nürburgring, Hill's best result. Tony Brise took Graham's seat after the failure to qualify at Monaco and scored a point with sixth place in Sweden.
Historical timeline
Three chapters in the story of Embassy Hill
Three episodes to revisit the people, cars and races that shaped this journey.
First appearance · Spanish Grand Prix
Rolf Stommelen · Spanish Grand Prix 1975. The recorded outcome is DNF. This is the first recorded race start, or the first entry if the team never started a race.
Sporting landmark · German Grand Prix
Alan Jones · German Grand Prix 1975. The recorded position is P5; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This marks the first win or podium where one exists, otherwise the highest recorded placing for this constructor.
Latest recorded appearance · United States Grand Prix
Tony Brise · United States Grand Prix 1975. The recorded outcome is DNF. This is the last race start attributed to this constructor in the archive, not necessarily the end of the organisation behind it.
A distinctive way of racing
The GH1 used the Cosworth DFV, but the next objective was a car designed entirely for the team. Smallman designed the GH2 and Brise began testing it for 1976. Hill was thus moving from being a champion behind the wheel to running a team, with a young driver responsible for development.
What remains
On 29 November 1975 the aircraft bringing the group back from testing in France crashed at Arkley. Hill, Brise, Smallman and three other team members died. Operations ceased, and the GH2 never contested a championship Grand Prix.
The surviving project tells of a continuation that was genuinely being prepared, but its tests do not justify imagining results for a season never raced.