Phil Hill, the first American driver to win the Formula 1 World Championship, has died at the age of 81. Hill, who had been suffering from Parkinson’s disease, died early Thursday morning at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula in California.

Ferrari’s Luca Di Montizemolo has this to say:

“Personally I am deeply saddened,” said Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, “as is everyone at Ferrari. He was a man and a champion who gave a lot for Ferrari and who has always represented our values both on and off the race track. Phil Hill drove for us and won many races both in our sports prototype cars, in events such as the Le Mans 24 Hours and in our single-seater with which he became the first American to win the Formula 1 World Championship. We often kept in touch over the past years and I will miss his passion and his love of Ferrari.”