Post 1945 Drivers
Damon Hill
English
retired from F1
Born: 1960
Only Fifteen at the time of father Graham's death in a light aircraft crash, Damon didn't take to car racing until 1984 when he tried Formula Ford. Formula Three was next and he was third in 1988. Three seasons of Formula 3000 followed,with the second seeing Damon lead race after race yet failing to win as mechanical gremlins struck. Made his Formula One debut for Brabham in 1992, but qualified just twice. Useful mileage was gained as test driver for Williams and the team signed him for 1993 to drive alongside Alain Prost. Robbed of victories in Britain and Germany, he came good in Hungary and followed this with wins in Belgium and Italy for third place overall. Staying on at Williams for 1994, Damon was thrust into the role of team leader on Ayrton Senna's death and achieved a morale-boosting win in Spain. The year became fraught with Michael Schumacher's disqualifications and Damon closed the gap by winning four more races. Victory in Japan set the stage for a shoot -out in Australia, and Schumacher's chopping move that took Damon out was seen the world over. The last thing Damon wanted was for Schumacher to have equal Renault power in 1995. Despite winning two of the first three races, he won only twice more, to end up second again after several shunts with Schumacher. Damon's dream was realized in 1996, when he started with four wins from the first five races. But, a mid-season dip in fortune and the race-winning progress of his teammate Jacques Villeneuve saw the title race go to the final round in Japan. There Damon kept his head, controlled the race for his eighth win of the season and took the covetedworld crown. He was forced out of Williams driving for Arrows and Jordan but failed to win so retired.
Author: ArchitectPage
