Damon Hill

Damon Hill, one of the persistent drivers in Formula One history, has had many unsung moments of gumption all through his racing career. As the son of Graham Hill he is the only driver-son of a world champion to win the Driver’s Championship.

Despite his father’s legacy in F1 as a double world title winner, the family had to face tough financial conditions after Graham Hill was killed in an airplane crash in 1975. After struggling to fund his education the London-born lad started his motorsport career at the age of 23. He began as a motorcyclist and then moved on to single-seater cars.

Prior to his F1 career, he participated in the British Formula Ford, UK national championships among other competitions in 1985. His promotion to Formula 3000 took longer than expected due to various unfortunate reasons including a financial crisis. Eventually, a chance from Mooncraft F3000 gave him a break. Though he never won a race in Formula 3000 he displayed competitiveness. 

Then dawned the season of 1992 when the Williams F1 team signed him up as a test driver. His promotion as a regular racer came about the following year when 1992 champion Nigel Mansell turned to the Indycar series. Under the shadow of Alain Prost as his Williams partner, he showed considerable improvement in every race. He soon secured his first win at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

In 1994, a rivalry ensued between him and Michael Schumacher (who was then driving for Benetton) for the world title which Hill lost by a single point.

In this season, Prost had retired and Ayrton Senna became Hill’s partner at Williams. Hill drove alone for Williams for one race after Senna’s death at San Marino. He was then joined by David Coulthard. After the penultimate race of the season, only one point separated championship leader Schumacher and Hill. But in the last race at Adelaide there was a collision between the two which put them out of the race and Schumacher won the championship. Till date, critics believe that the collision was a deliberate manoeuvre by Schumacher. The next year, their rivalry remained active and both faced suspension for one race each due to different on-track incidents.

Two years later, he went on to win the 1996 World Drivers' Championship with eight wins. But his contract with Williams had expired and the team did not renew it despite his superb achievement.

Even though he was the world champion during that time, he did not get a great team for the next season. Subsequently he joined Arrows followed by Jordan the next year. His next win came only in the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix. This was also Jordan’s first win.

He finally bid goodbye to F1 in 1999 with just seven points from the season and 22 career wins. Off the grid, he continued to be involved in the sport through media and other activities. In 2006, Hill succeeded Jackie Stewart as President of the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC).

He was also known for his involvement in music. As a guitarist he was a part of two bands. He is married to a woman named Georgie Hill and his second son Joshua has already taken to racing.

Hill displayed his father’s qualities of sheer determination and of being a hard worker. He was not the best but entering a life in the fast lane at 32 and then proving to be a winner is not easy as it seems. If ever his proficiency needs to be distinguished, a look at his wins in rain-soaked conditions is a pure testimony.

-Samyukta Somvanshi