Damon Hill in review

[Mark]

As we were talking about Damon Hill on the main forum I thought I'd open up this thread for discussion.

Damon Hill won the world championship in 1996 with Williams. Many compare him to the greats of the era, such as Schumacher and Senna and find him lacking and while he may not have had the raw talent of those two, you don't win the world championship by accident.

[Rudy Tamasz]

Interesting topic, but we've had a discussion on that already and pretty much everybody has expressed his/her opinion.

I'm a fan of his and think his skill was hard earned rather than natural. But in the end of the day he was right up there with other greats. 22 GP wins and the title speak for themselves.

What is natural about him is his class, which he has in spades and which is something people like MS have never even come close to.

[Erki]

Even thought I started following motorsports two years since Damon retired, I like Hill, I like his dad as well. They both started racing later than usual and had to work hard to get to the top. I tend to like the late bloomers of motorsports, regardless of the discipline.

[ArrowsFA1]

I think we saw the very best of Damon Hill at the 1994 Japanese GP.

In the same way his father did after the death of Jim Clark, Damon had rallied the Williams team after Imola and they were still in contention for both titles.

Suzuka was a wet/dry race, and the result was eventually decided on aggregate. As we know Schumacher was supreme in these kind of conditions, and yet he was beaten by Hill. Damon not only had to keep ahead of his rival, but also had to manage the aggregate gap. A superb drive.

He did this knowing that had he been beaten the title race would have almost certainly been over. As it was, Hill & Schumacher went to Adelaide with just a point between them, and we know what happened there.

If anyone has doubts about Hill's abilities as a racing driver they need look no further than Suzuka 1994.

[fly_ac]

If anyone has doubts about Hill's abilities as a racing driver they need look no further than Suzuka 1994.

I, for one believe that Hill had/has the ability to drive a F1 car. Whether his abilities of driving well, won him the WDC, I do not believe. He merely won the WDC because he had the way better car at the time and were capable of driving that car. The same goes for Villeneuve. After they both left Williams they couldn't step up to showing if they ever had the true ability of being classified as top F1 drivers. Well from my point of view in any case.

[futuretiger9]

Whilst Damon may have attracted some criticism for his alleged lack of racing instincts, there is no doubt that he was good at driving F1 cars fast. He was obviously a good test and development driver, as evidenced by his years in that capacity at Williams.

Ironically, I thought that in many ways his best season was 1995. Even though he made some mistakes, usually under pressure from Schumi, he was very quick and determined that year, and didn't try to hide.

I think that Damon's most admirable qualities were his sense of fair play, and the fact that he was a "good bloke". He may actually become more appreciated and respected as the years go by.

[ArrowsFA1]

He merely won the WDC because he had the way better car at the time and were capable of driving that car.

Damon might even agree with you. He said recently:

"That was the best car! And I was very grateful for it! But yes, people said that you only win because you're in the best car. Well, of course. You have got to get your hands on the best car. But you can also not achieve with the best car. And I don't think I can be accused of that."

But it's not "merely" about the best car. How had Hill got into the postion of being in the best car in 1996? Williams hadn't just plucked him out of the air and given him the car. He'd already had to prove his ability within the team since 1992 and there are so many other factors involved, but the bottom line is he was there and he did make the most of the opportunity.

Unfortunately, Williams thought he hadn't made the most of what they had given him during the 1995 season, and it was then that he was dumped in favour of Frentzen. I like to think that Damon proved that decision was wrong.

[EuroTroll]

As some of you know, I'm not his greatest fan, but I do think that anyone who's won the Drivers' Championship is worthy of great respect.

In terms of ability, I think Hill was on the same level as Berger, Patrese, J. Villeneuve and Coulthard (when they were all at their best). That two of these won the Championship and three didn't is just a matter of varying circumstances.

[wedge]

Brundle has mentioned that his rivalry with Senna during their F3 days gave him extra strength and spurred him to a higher level, and I think the same thing happened with Hill/Schumi.

The intense competition gave Hill that burning desire, extra confidence, a killer instinct to become WDC.

[D-Type]

I, for one believe that Hill had/has the ability to drive a F1 car. Whether his abilities of driving well, won him the WDC, I do not believe. He merely won the WDC because he had the way better car at the time and were capable of driving that car. The same goes for Villeneuve. After they both left Williams they couldn't step up to showing if they ever had the true ability of being classified as top F1 drivers. Well from my point of view in any case.

I can't really accept this argument. If you think about it, how many championships were won by a man driving the best car? I would say at least 70% of them. How does a driver get chosen to drive the best car? On ability. How does a driver win with the best car? By having the ability to make use of it.