Damon Hill celebrates his 62nd birthday: a look back at his Formula 1 cars

Happy Birthday Damon Hill! The 1996 world champion Formula 1 celebrates his 17nd birthday on September 62. The Briton, who became a figure in the paddock and consultant for English television, left his mark on the 1990s. 22 victories in 122 Grands Prix, a title and a rivalry with Michael Schumacher : Graham Hill's son has written his own name into the F1 ledger.

To celebrate Damon Hill's birthday, AUTOhebdo offers you images of all the single-seaters driven by the 1996 world champion, from his debut at Brabham, to his title at Williams, his time with Arrows until his final year with Jordan.

1992: Brabham BT60B

© DPPI

Hill and Brabham associated, these are two legendary names in motorsport who got to know each other in 1992. Unfortunately, the team founded by Sir Jack Brabham is only a shadow of itself. Damon Hill is called to replace the Italian Giovanna Amati (who remains 30 years later the last woman to have started a Grand Prix).

The Hampstead native competed in three events, without much success other than competing with his teammate Éric van de Poele. The Brabham team went bankrupt after the British GP, leaving Damon Hill to return to the testing role at Williams.

1993: Williams FW15

© DPPI

Here is one of the most technologically advanced cars in F1 history: anti-lock brakes, traction control, active suspension and a sequential semi-automatic gearbox. All associated with an efficient V10 Renault of 780 horsepower, this Williams becomes a winning machine.

Bearer of number 0 (unique fact in F1) because the outgoing champion Nigel Mansell left the discipline and Alain Prost uses number 2, Damon Hill will learn from contact with the “Professor”. On the Hungaroring turnstile, he became the first son of an F1 world champion to win an event. Two consecutive successes followed at Spa-Francorchamps and Monza. He finished third in the championship, just behind his future teammate Ayrton Senna.

1994: Williams FW16

© DR

The darkest year, the most controversial, but also the year of the first title hopes for Graham Hill's son. Supposed to support Ayrton Senna in his quest for a fourth coronation, the Brazilian hero disappeared at the San Marino Grand Prix on May 1, 1994. Damon Hill had to take on a role he was unfamiliar with, that of leader.

The Spanish Grand Prix launches its season in earnest (1st). The duel with Michael Schumacher, whom Ayrton Senna and many observers had suspected of benefiting from a non-compliant Benetton, will keep the followers in suspense until the final in Adelaide (Australia). Wishing to overtake the German, the two men held on, and Michael Schumacher obtained his first title. “My attitude in the race was to win fairly and equitably by being faster,” Damon Hill said. And I wasn't ready for some of his tactics. »

1995: Williams FW17

© DR

Healthier than its predecessor in its behavior, the FW17 allowed Damon Hill to collect four victories and seven pole positions. This is the first car from the Grove team to wear a raised snout, and the paddock ranks the single-seater as the best chassis-engine combo (still the Renault V10).

However, this very promising postulate is not reflected in Damon Hill's results. The Briton dominated Michael Schumacher and the Benetton in practice, but the trend reversed in the race, thanks to better strategies imagined by Ross Brawn. Damon Hill also did his part, with a few driving errors that cost him valuable points. So another failure!

1996: Williams FW18

© Francois Flamand / DPPI

After finishing twice as vice-world champion behind Schumacher in 1994 and 1995, Damon Hill began the 1996 season as favorite. The German left for Ferrari, then in full reconstruction, and Williams recruited a rookie, Jacques Villeneuve, to support him. A role of favorite that he assumes and which he confirms with 4 victories in the first 5 Grands Prix. With a formidable Williams FW18, the Briton has had an almost perfect start to the season…

…but the first problems arrive mid-season. Leader of the championship, Hill sees Villeneuve beating him more and more regularly and catching up with him in the drivers' standings, just like Schumacher. A loss of form which was accompanied by rumors concerning a non-renewal of Damon Hill's contract in 1997. During the Belgian Grand Prix, the Grove team announced the recruitment of Heinz-Harald Frentzen for the following season, and therefore Hill's departure.

Despite everything, Damon Hill held on and proved on the track that he was the strongest. He won the championship by winning the last race, at Suzuka, and became world champion at the age of 36. He also becomes the first son of a world champion to join his father, Graham Hill, on the list of winners. Damon Hill left Williams as the second most successful driver at Grove, behind Nigel Mansell, and found refuge with Arrows in 1997.

1997: Arrows A18

© DPPI

Damon Hill's career choice in 1997 surprised many. A world champion, coveted by big names like McLaren, Ferrari or Jordan, finds himself in the modest Arrows team. A surprising collaboration but not so surprising: at the time, Arrows hoped to change era with a new owner, Tom Walkinshaw. The team's financial and human resources are increasing, suggesting the best for the future of Arrows and Damon Hill.

However, the debut of Leafileld's single-seater was catastrophic. Damon Hill struggled to qualify for the first Grands Prix and had to wait until the 9th race of the season to score his first point of the season, in Great Britain. The Yamaha engine is fragile and severely lacks power.

Hill vegetated at the bottom of the rankings all season... except in Hungary, where he achieved the performance of his career. On his modest Arrows-Yamaha, the Briton finished in a heroic 2nd place, losing the victory down to the wire against Jacques Villeneuve. While in the lead, the reigning world champion suffered a hydraulic gearbox problem in the final laps, forcing him to slow down and cede control of the Grand Prix. Hill finished the season in 12th place in the championship and slammed the door on Arrows at the end of his first season.

1998: Jordan 198

© Mike Cooper/Allsport

In 1998, Damon Hill joined a Jordan team that was undergoing restructuring. Seduced by Eddie Jordan's project, with a new Honda-Mugen engine and the use of a wind tunnel Brackley, the Londoner replaces Fisichella and is aiming for a return to the podiums. If the beginnings are very timid and even worrying (no points scored in the first 10 Grands Prix), like the experience at Arrows, Jordan will reveal itself at the end of the season thanks to the arrival of Mike Gascoyne to the technical direction.

Thanks to a major update to the car, Damon Hill will score his first points of the season in Germany, a performance he will repeat during the following race, in Hungary. The high point of this 1998 campaign will be the victory in the legendary Belgian Grand Prix, which took place in terrible weather conditions. An anthology double for Jordan and the last career victory for Damon Hill, who will conclude the season in 6th place.

1999: Jordan 199

© DR

The year 1999 will be one year too many for Damon Hill. Almost 40 years old, the 1996 world champion no longer has his former level, despite a very competitive Jordan. Beaten soundly by his new teammate, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, the Briton is unable to regain the rhythm of his best years. While the German is in the running for the title, Damon Hill picks up a few small points here and there.

His motivation affected, the driver Jordan announced for the first time that he would retire immediately after the French Grand Prix. Eddie Jordan managed to convince her to finish the season with the British team. For his last race in Formula 1, Damon Hill decided to voluntarily retire, even before the end of the race. He would admit, several years later, that his desire to leave F1 was also linked to the destiny of his father, Graham Hill. “I wanted to leave, I could feel what happened to my father in the background, there was an accident waiting for me around the corner that was going to take me away. I thought I was going to die. »

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