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| Damon Hill |
Damon Hill
Born: 17 September 1960, London, England
Grand Prix Starts: 116
Grand Prix Victories: 22
Points Total: 360
World Champion: 1996
Despite the inevitable comparisons with his father, Damon Hill overcame media scrutiny to make his own mark. Moving from motorcycles, his first love, to four wheels was not, initially, a resounding success...
Between 1986 and 1988 Hill competed in the British F3 championship, improving each year to finish third in his final campaign. Three years in F3000 followed, where he showed himself to be a genuine racer, despite mediocre hardware, and helped him secure a test-driving contract at Williams.
In 1992 Hill landed his F1 debut with Brabham but struggled to qualify. 1993 saw him move to Williams and promotion behind Prost. After a series of podium finishes Hill scored a start-to-finish victory in Hungary and followed it up with two more wins, giving him third place in the title race.
Senna replaced Prost at Williams the following year, but after Senna's death at Imola, Hill became Williams' no. 1. He rose to the challenge, battling with Michael Schumacher, and losing the championship to him in the final race of the season at Adelaide.
Hill was again runner-up in 1995, but in the following season he took the world title, scoring eight victories in the sixteen-race series, ironically parting company with Williams at the end of it. A season with Arrows followed by two years with Jordan produced just one victory, after which Hill announced his retirement.