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Damon Graham Devereux Hill (born 17 September 1960) is an English former
racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...
and broadcaster, who competed in
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
from to . Hill won the
Formula One World Drivers' Championship Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of Open wheel car, open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of r ...
in with Williams, and won 22 Grands Prix across eight seasons. Born and raised in London, Hill is the son of two-time Formula One World Champion Graham Hill, and, along with Nico Rosberg, one of two sons of a
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
World Champion to also win the title. He started racing on motorbikes in 1981, and after minor success moved on to single-seater racing cars. Hill became a test driver for the Formula One title-winning Williams team in 1992. He was promoted to the Williams race team the following year after Riccardo Patrese's departure and took the first of his 22 victories at the 1993 Hungarian Grand Prix. During the mid-1990s, Hill was
Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in ...
's main rival for the Formula One Drivers' Championship, which saw the two clash several times on and off the track. Their collision at the
1994 Australian Grand Prix The 1994 Australian Grand Prix (formally the LIX Adelaide Australian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 13 November 1994 at the Adelaide Street Circuit. It was the sixteenth and final race of the 1994 Formula One World Champions ...
gave Schumacher his first title by a single point. Hill became champion in with eight wins, but was dropped by Williams for the following season. He went on to drive for the less competitive Arrows and
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
teams, and in gave Jordan their first win. Hill retired from racing after being dropped by Jordan following the season. In 2006, he became president of the British Racing Drivers' Club, succeeding
Jackie Stewart Sir John Young "Jackie" Stewart (born 11 June 1939) is a British former racing driver, sports broadcasting, broadcaster and motorsport executive from Scotland, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Flying Scottish people, Scot" ...
. Hill stepped down from the position in 2011 and was succeeded by Derek Warwick. He presided over the securing of a 17-year contract for
Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...
to hold Formula One races, which enabled the circuit to see extensive renovation work. Hill formerly worked as part of the Sky Sports F1 broadcasting support team providing expert analysis during free practice sessions.


Personal and early life

Hill was born in
Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...
, London, to Graham and Bette Hill. Graham Hill was a racing driver in the international
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
series. He won the world Drivers' Championship in 1962 and 1968, and became a well-known personality in the United Kingdom. Graham Hill's career provided a comfortable living. Bette (née Shubrook) was a former rower and medalist at the
European Rowing Championships The European Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organised by World Rowing (named FISA until 2020) for European rowing nations, plus Israel, which, though not a member of the European federation, is treated as a European n ...
. By 1975 the family lived in a "25-room country mansion" in Hertfordshire and Damon attended the independent The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School. The death of his father in an aeroplane crash in 1975 left the 15-year-old Hill, his mother, and sisters Samantha and Brigitte in drastically reduced circumstances. Hill worked as a labourer and a motorcycle courier to support his further education. Hill is married to Susan "Georgie" George and they have four children, including
Joshua Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...
. One son was born with Down syndrome and Hill and Georgie are both patrons of the Down's Syndrome Association. In 2009, Hill also became the first patron of St. Joseph's Specialist School and College, a school for children with severe learning disabilities and autism in Cranleigh, Surrey. Joshua started racing in 2008, competing in the British Formula Renault Championship in 2011. Joshua retired from motor racing in 2013. Hill is the Patron of the charity Disability Africa which runs inclusion projects for disabled children in African countries.


Career


Motorcycling

Hill started his motorsport career in
motorcycle racing The motorcycle sport of racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) includes motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Other categories include hill climbs, drag racing and ...
in 1981. He used the same simple, easily identifiable helmet design as his father: eight white oar blades arranged vertically around the upper surface of a dark blue helmet. The device and colours represent the London Rowing Club for which Graham Hill rowed in the early 1950s. Although he won a 350 cc clubman's championship at the
Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts ...
circuit, his racing budget came from working as a building labourer. He also worked as a dispatch rider for Apollo Despatch in London, then later Special Delivery, a London motorcycle dispatch company and was provided TZ350 racing bikes by them.


Single-seaters

His mother, who was concerned about the dangers of racing motorcycles, persuaded him to take a racing car course at the Winfield Racing School in France in 1983. Although he showed "above-average aptitude", Hill had only sporadic single-seater races until the end of 1984. He graduated through British
Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single-seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world have historically been an important step for many prospective Formula One dri ...
, winning six races driving a Van Diemen for Manadient Racing in 1985, his first full season in cars, and finishing third and fifth in the two UK national championships. He also took third place in the final of the 1985 Formula Ford Festival, helping the UK to win the team prize.


British F3

For 1986, Hill planned to move up to the British Formula Three Championship with title-winning team West Surrey Racing. The loss of sponsorship from Ricoh, and then the death of his proposed teammate Bertrand Fabi in a testing accident, ended Hill's proposed drive. Hill says "When Bert was killed, I took the conscious decision that I wasn't going to stop doing that sort of thing. It's not just competing, it's doing something more exciting. I'm at my fullest skiing, racing or whatever. And I'm more frightened of letting it all slip and reaching 60 and finding I've done nothing." Hill borrowed £100,000 to finance his racing thanks to a sponsorship deal with Cellnet, as he explained to the ''Fuelling Around'' podcast. The deal involved the sales expertise of David Hunt, brother of F1 driver James Hunt. He had a steady first season for Murray Taylor Racing in 1986 before taking a brace of wins in each of the following years for Intersport. He finished third in the 1988 British F3 championship.


Formula 3000

Hill made his F3000 debut with GA Motorsport in the final two rounds of the 1988 International F3000 Season. In Europe in the 1990s, a successful driver would usually progress from Formula Three either directly to Formula One, the pinnacle of the sport, or to the International Formula 3000 championship. However, for 1989, Hill did not have enough sponsorship available to fund a drive in F3000. He says "I ended up having to reappraise my career a bit. The first thing was to realise how lucky I was to be driving anything. I made the decision that whatever I drove I would do it to the best of my ability and see where it led." He had a couple of outings with Cobra International in the lower level British F3000 championship, securing a podium 3rd place at
Oulton Park Oulton Park is a hard surfaced Race track, track used for motor racing, close to the village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England, from Winsford, from Chester city centre, from Northwich and from Warrington, with a nearby rail connection a ...
. Midway through the season, an opportunity arose at the uncompetitive Mooncraft F3000 team. The team tested Hill and Perry McCarthy. Their performances were comparable but according to the team manager, John Wickham, the team sponsors preferred the Hill name. Although his best result was a 14th place, Hill's race performances for Mooncraft led to an offer to drive a Lola chassis for Middlebridge Racing in 1990. He took three pole positions and led five races in 1990, but did not win a race during his Formula 3000 career.


Tin-tops


One-Make Racing

During the 1987 season, he made the odd appearance in various one-make tin-top racing events, including MG Metro Turbos, (a press release photo depicted him posing with the #18 car, that Barbara Cowell drove that year, but he actually substituted for Barry McGuigan in the #16 car, following the recent death of Pat McGuigan.) MG Maestros, Saab 900 Turbos and a Ford Escort Celebrity race. He finished 3rd at Silverstone in the Maestro series, after fighting for the lead with Gary Brabham early on. (Brabham won but neither were eligible for points as they were guest drivers.) He won, and set fastest lap, at Brands Hatch in the Saab series as a substitute for
Tiff Needell Timothy Richard "Tiff" Needell (born 29 October 1951) is a British racing driver and television presenter. He is a presenter of '' Lovecars'', and formerly served as co-presenter of '' Top Gear'' and '' Fifth Gear''. Biography Needell attende ...
. He came 2nd in the Escort race at Brands Hatch that October, sharing with Peter Waller.


Le Mans

In 1989, he shared a
Porsche 962 The Porsche 962 is a sports prototype racing car designed and built by Porsche. Created to replace the Porsche 956, 962 was introduced at the end of 1984 and replaced the 956 in the International Motor Sports Association, IMSA's IMSA GT Champio ...
at
Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...
for Richard Lloyd Racing, where the engine failed after 228 laps.


British Touring Car Championship

In 1990, he competed in a one hour Endurance race in the
British Touring Car Championship The British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), officially known as the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by ...
at
Donington Park Donington Park is a motorsport Race track, circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, sti ...
, co-driving the Ford Sierra RS500 usually driven by Sean Walker, the pair finished 4th.


Formula One


Brabham (1992)

Hill started his Grand Prix career during the 1991 season as a test driver with the championship-winning Williams team while still competing in the F3000 series. However, midway through Hill broke into Grand Prix racing as a driver with the dying
Brabham Motor Racing Developments Ltd., commonly known as Brabham ( ), was a British race car, racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. It was founded in 1960 by the Australian driver Jack Brabham and the British-Australian designer Ron Ta ...
team. The formerly competitive team was in serious financial difficulties. Hill started the season only after three races, replacing Giovanna Amati after her sponsorship had failed to materialise. Amati had been unable to get the car through qualifying but Hill matched his teammate, Eric van de Poele, by qualifying for two races, the mid-season
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
and Hungarian Grands Prix. Hill continued to test for the Williams team that year and the British Grand Prix saw
Nigel Mansell Nigel Ernest James Mansell (; born 8 August 1953) is a British former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Mansell won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Williams, and won 31 Grands Prix across 15 seasons ...
win the race for Williams, while he finished last in the Brabham. The Brabham team collapsed after the Hungarian Grand Prix and did not complete the season.


Williams (1993–96)

When Mansell's teammate Riccardo Patrese left Williams to drive for Benetton in , Hill was unexpectedly promoted to the race team alongside triple World Champion
Alain Prost Alain Marie Pascal Prost (; born 24 February 1955) is a French former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Professor", Prost won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles and� ...
ahead of more experienced candidates such as
Martin Brundle Martin John Brundle (born 1 June 1959) is a British former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster who competed in Formula One from to . In endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing, Brundle won the World Sportscar Champions ...
and Mika Häkkinen. Traditionally, the reigning driver's World Champion carried the number "1" on his car and his teammate took the number "2". Because Mansell, the 1992 champion, was not racing in Formula One in 1993, Williams as Constructors' Champion were given numbers "0" and "2". As the junior partner to Prost, Hill took "0", the second man in Formula One history to do so, after Jody Scheckter in
1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
. ;1993 The season did not start well when Hill spun out of second place shortly after the start of the and failed to finish the race after colliding with Alessandro Zanardi on lap 17. At the , Hill qualified and spent the early stages of the race running second behind Prost, and then took the lead when Prost crashed, but was relegated back to second by another three-time World Champion, Ayrton Senna. Nevertheless, the race still gave Hill his first podium finish. In the next round in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, Hill again finished second behind Senna and ahead of a lapped Prost. In his first full season, Hill benefited from the experience of his veteran French teammate. He continued to impress as the season went on, and in
San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...
Hill took the lead at the start, though he was passed by Prost and Senna and ultimately retired with a spin due to a brake failure. Mechanical problems returned in
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
where he kept pace with Prost for most of the race only for his engine to fail. After strong podiums in Monaco and Canada, Hill took his first career pole in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, finishing second to Prost after team orders prevented him from seriously challenging for the win. He looked set to win the before another engine failure put him out and led the comfortably only to suffer a puncture with two laps left, handing the win to Prost. At the Hungarian race, Hill did take his first career win after leading from start to finish. In doing so he became the first son of a Formula One Grand Prix winner to take victory himself, and he followed it with two more wins, first at Spa where he took the lead following a pit stop problem for Prost, and then at the where Prost's engine failed towards the end. His third consecutive win clinched the Constructors' Championship for Williams and moved him temporarily to second in the Drivers' standings. At the Hill came from the back of the grid to third, having stalled on the warm up lap from pole. He finished the season by finishing fourth in
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
and third in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, though he lost second in the Drivers' Championship to Ayrton Senna, who passed Hill by winning the last two races. ;1994 In , Ayrton Senna joined Hill at Williams. As the reigning champion, this time Prost, was again no longer racing, Hill retained his number '0'. The pre-season betting was that Senna would coast to the title, but the Benetton team and
Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in ...
initially proved more competitive and won the first three races. At the on 1 May, Senna died after his car crashed into a concrete barrier while he was leading. With the team undergoing investigation from the Italian authorities on manslaughter charges, Hill found himself team leader with only one season's experience in the top flight. It was widely reported at the time that the Williams car's steering column had failed, though Hill told BBC Sport in 2004 that he believed Senna simply took the corner too fast for the conditions, referring to the fact that the car had just restarted the race with cold tyres after being slowed down by a safety car. Hill represented Williams alone at the next race, the . His race ended early in a collision involving several cars on the opening lap of the race. For the following race, the , Williams's test driver David Coulthard was promoted to the race team alongside Hill, who won the race just four weeks after Senna's death. Schumacher led by 66 points to 29 by the midpoint of the season. At the , Frank Williams brought back Nigel Mansell, for the French, European, Japanese and Australian Grands Prix with Coulthard doing the majority of the 1994 season. Mansell earned approximately £900,000 for each of his four races, while Hill was paid £300,000 for the entire season, though Hill's position as lead driver remained unquestioned. Hill came back into contention for the title after winning the , a race his father had never won. Schumacher was disqualified from that race and banned for two further races for overtaking Hill during the formation lap and ignoring the subsequent black flag. Four more victories for Hill, three of which were in races where Schumacher was excluded or disqualified, took the title battle to the final event at Adelaide. At Schumacher's first race since his ban, the , he suggested that Hill (who was eight years his senior) was not a world-class driver. However, during the penultimate race at the , Hill took victory ahead of Schumacher in a rain-soaked event. This put Hill just one point behind the German before the last race of the season. Neither Hill nor Schumacher finished the season-closing , after a controversial collision which gave the title to Schumacher. Schumacher ran off the track hitting the wall with the right-hand side of his Benetton while leading. Coming into the sixth corner Hill moved to pass the Benetton and the two collided, breaking the Williams's front left suspension wishbone, and forcing both drivers' retirement from the race. BBC Formula One commentator
Murray Walker Graeme Murray Walker (10 October 1923 – 13 March 2021) was an English motorsport Sportscaster, commentator and journalist. He provided television commentary of live Formula One coverage for the BBC between 1976 and 1996, and for ITV (TV netw ...
, had often maintained that Schumacher did not cause the crash intentionally, but Williams co-owner Patrick Head felt differently. In 2006 he said that at the time of the incident "Williams were already 100% certain that Michael was guilty of foul play" but did not protest Schumacher's title because the team was still dealing with the death of Ayrton Senna. In 2007, Hill explicitly accused Schumacher of causing the collision deliberately. Hill's season earned him the 1994
BBC Sports Personality of the Year The BBC Sports Personality of the Year is an awards ceremony that takes place annually in December. Devised by Paul Fox in 1954, it originally consisted of just a single award of the same name. Several new awards have been introduced, and cu ...
. ;1995 Coming into the 1995 season, Hill was one of the title favourites. The Williams team were reigning Constructors' Champions, having beaten Benetton in 1994, and with young David Coulthard, who was embarking on his first full season in Formula One, as teammate, Hill was the clear number one driver. The year seemed to start well with pole position in Brazil, although a spin while in the lead due to a mechanical problem handed the lead to Schumacher. But wins in the next two races put him in the championship lead. However, Schumacher won seven of the next twelve races, and took his second title with two races to spare, while Benetton took the Constructors' Championship. Schumacher and Hill had several on-track incidents during the season, two of which led to suspended one-race bans for both. Schumacher's penalty was for blocking and forcing Hill off the road at the ; Hill's was for colliding with Schumacher under braking at the . Hill's season finished positively when he won the by finishing two laps ahead of the runner-up,
Olivier Panis Olivier Jean Denis Marie Panis (; born 2 September 1966) is a French former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Panis won the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix with Équipe Ligier, Ligier. Panis competed in Formula One for Équipe Ligier, ...
in a Ligier. ;1996 In the Williams car was clearly the quickest in Formula One and Hill went on to win the title ahead of his teammate, reigning Indycar champion
Jacques Villeneuve Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve (; born 9 April 1971) is a Canadian former racing driver, who competed in IndyCar from 1994 PPG Indy Car World Series, 1994 to 1995 PPG Indy Car World Series, 1995, and Formula One from to . Villeneuve won t ...
, becoming the first son of a Formula One champion to win the championship himself. Taking eight wins and never qualifying off the front row, Hill enjoyed by far his most successful season. At Monaco, where his father had won five times in the 1960s, he led until his engine failed, curtailing his race and allowing Olivier Panis to take his only Formula One win. Near the end of the season, Villeneuve began to mount a title challenge and took pole in the Japanese Grand Prix, the final race of the year. However, Hill took the lead at the start and won both the race and the championship while the Canadian retired. Hill equalled the record for starting all 16 races of the season from the front row, matching Ayrton Senna in and Alain Prost in 1993. Despite winning the title, Hill learned before the season's close that he was to be dropped by Williams in favour of Heinz-Harald Frentzen for the following season. Hill left Williams as the team's second most successful driver in terms of race victories, with 21, second only to Mansell. Hill's 1996 World Championship earned him his second
BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award The BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award is the main award of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony, which takes place each December. The winner is the sportsperson, judged by a public vote, to have achieved the most that year. The ...
, making him one of only five people to receive the award twice – the others being boxer
Henry Cooper Sir Henry Cooper (3 May 19341 May 2011) was a British heavyweight boxer. He was undefeated in British and Commonwealth heavyweight championship contests for twelve years and held the European heavyweight title for three years. In a 1963 fi ...
,
Nigel Mansell Nigel Ernest James Mansell (; born 8 August 1953) is a British former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Mansell won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Williams, and won 31 Grands Prix across 15 seasons ...
,
Andy Murray Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British former professional tennis player and coach. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
and
Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...
. Hill was also awarded the Segrave Trophy by the
Royal Automobile Club The Royal Automobile Club is a British private Club (organization)#Country or sports club, social and athletic club. It has two clubhouses: one in London at 89 Pall Mall, London, Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, ne ...
. The trophy is awarded to the British national who accomplishes the most outstanding demonstration of the possibilities of transport by land, sea, air, or water.


Arrows (1997)

Hill became the fourth driver in nine years to win the World Drivers' Championship for Williams and not drive for the team the following season, as occurred with
Nelson Piquet Nelson Piquet Souto Maior (, born 17 August 1952) is a Brazilian former racing driver and businessman, who competed in Formula One from to . Piquet won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in , , and , and won 23 ...
( champion – driver for Lotus), Nigel Mansell (1992 champion – 1993 driver in the US-based Indy Car World Series instead of F1) and Alain Prost (1993 champion – retired in 1994). As World Champion, Hill was in high demand and had offers for a race seat from
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...
, Benetton and
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
but not adequately financially valued despite his status. As a consequence, he opted to sign for Arrows, a team which had never won a race in its 20-year history and had scored only a single point the previous year. Hill's title defence in proved unsuccessful, getting off to a poor start when he only narrowly qualified for the and then retired on the parade lap. The Arrows car, which used tyres from series debutant
Bridgestone is a Japanese multinational manufacturing company founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (18891976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of (), meaning ...
and previously unproven Yamaha engines, was generally uncompetitive, and Hill did not score his first point for the team until the at
Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...
in July. His best result for the year then came at the . On a day when the Bridgestone tyres had a competitive edge over their Goodyear rivals, Hill qualified third in a car that had not previously placed higher than 9th on the grid. During the race, he passed his rival and new championship contender, Michael Schumacher, on the track and was leading late in the race, 35 seconds ahead of the eventual 1997 World Champion, Villeneuve, until a hydraulic problem drastically slowed the Arrows. Villeneuve thus passed Hill, who finished second.


Jordan (1998–99)

Only after one year with Arrows, Hill came close to signing a deal with Alain Prost's team, before deciding to instead sign up with the Jordan team for the 1998 season. His new teammate was
Ralf Schumacher Ralf Schumacher (born 30 June 1975) is a German former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Schumacher won six Formula One Grands Prix across 11 seasons. Born and raised in North Rhine-Westp ...
, younger brother of Michael. In the first half of the season, the Jordan 198 car was off the pace and unreliable until improvements in performance from the . During that race, Hill progressed to second place as others retired or made pit stops for fuel. On lap 38, Michael Schumacher, who was delayed by a stop-and-go penalty after forcing Frentzen's Williams off the track, caught Hill on the home straight; Hill moved across the track three times to block Schumacher, who took the place by running over the kerbs at the last chicane. Hill then ran fourth after his only pit stop before retiring due to an electrical failure. After the race, Schumacher accused Hill of dangerous driving. Hill responded by stating that Schumacher "cannot claim anyone drives badly when you look at the things he's been up to in his career. He took Frentzen out completely." At the , Hill scored his first point of the year and at the , in very wet conditions, he took the Jordan team's maiden win. At that race, Hill was leading late in the race, with teammate Schumacher closing rapidly, when he asked the team whether they would be allowed to race each other. Team principal Eddie Jordan ordered Ralf Schumacher to hold position instead of risking losing a 1–2 finish. The victory was his first since being dropped by the Williams team. Hill finished the season with a last lap pass on Frentzen at the , which earned him fourth place in the race and Jordan fourth position in that year's Constructors' Championship. Hopes were high for , but Hill did not enjoy a good season. Struggling with the newly introduced four-grooved tyres, he was outpaced by his new teammate, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who was Hill's replacement at Williams two years prior. After a crash at the , Hill announced plans to retire from the sport at the end of the year, but after failing to finish the that Frentzen won, he considered quitting the sport immediately. Jordan persuaded Hill to at least stay for the . Going into that race weekend, Hill announced he would retire after the Grand Prix, leading Jordan to test Jos Verstappen in case Hill had to be quickly replaced. Following a strong fifth place at his home event, however, Hill changed his mind and decided to see out the year. His best result for the remainder of the season was sixth place, which he achieved in both Hungary and Belgium. With three races of 1999 to go, there were rumours that the
Prost Grand Prix Prost Grand Prix was a Formula One racing team owned and managed by four-time Formula One world champion Alain Prost. The team participated in five seasons from 1997 to 2001. The team was the last France, French Formula One team based in France, ...
team would release
Jarno Trulli Jarno Trulli (; born 13 July 1974) is an Italian former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Trulli won the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix with Renault in Formula One, Renault. He regularly competed in Formula ...
early after he signed for Jordan's campaign as Hill's replacement. At the same time, his teammate, Frentzen, became a title contender going into the final few races of the season and, eventually, finished third in the championship. In so doing, both Hill and Frentzen helped Jordan to achieve its best-ever finish with a third position in the Constructors' Championship. Hill's last race was the where he spun off the track and pulled into the pit lane citing mental fatigue.


After racing

In retirement Hill has continued to be involved with cars and motorsport. He founded the Prestige and Super Car Private Members Club P1 International with Michael Breen in 2000; Breen bought Hill out in October 2006. Hill also became involved in a
BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
dealership, just outside Royal Leamington Spa, that bore his name and an Audi dealership in Exeter. Although his salary as a driver was low for all of his teams other than Arrows, he has amassed a fortune estimated at $30 million USD. In April 2006, Hill succeeded
Jackie Stewart Sir John Young "Jackie" Stewart (born 11 June 1939) is a British former racing driver, sports broadcasting, broadcaster and motorsport executive from Scotland, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Flying Scottish people, Scot" ...
as President of the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC). He presided over the securing of a 17-year contract for
Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...
to hold Formula One races, which enabled the circuit to see extensive renovation work. He has managed the career of Steven Kane, who has since gone on to become a race winner in the
British Touring Car Championship The British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), officially known as the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by ...
and the Kumho BMW Championship and a successful Endurance racer with
Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of Luxury vehicle, luxury cars and Sport utility vehicle, SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Crickle ...
. In 2009 he received an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Northampton recognising his successful career and his connection with Northampton through Silverstone and the BRDC. Hill also made a UK television advert with F1 commentator Murray Walker for Pizza Hut, in which Walker commentated on Hill's meal as if it were a race. Hill has also appeared on many British television programmes, including '' Top Gear'', '' This is Your Life'', ''
TFI Friday ''TFI Friday'' (Thank Four it's Friday) is an entertainment show that was broadcast on Channel 4 television in the United Kingdom. It was produced by Ginger Productions, written by Danny Baker, and hosted by Chris Evans, for the first five ...
'', '' Shooting Stars'' and '' Bang Bang, It's Reeves and Mortimer''.


Other racing

Hill has raced both cars and motorcycles at the
Goodwood Festival of Speed The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an annual motorsports festival featuring modern and historic motor racing vehicles taking part in a hillclimbing, hillclimb and other events, held in Goodwood House, West Sussex, in late June or early July. Th ...
. In 2002, he took part in a Minardi 2-seater F1 car race at Donington Park with Bev Turner as his passenger, he finished 3rd. In 2005, he tested the new
GP2 Series The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Ecc ...
car. He drove the Grand Prix Masters single seater racing vehicle for a test run around the Silverstone Circuit in mid-2006. He had discussions to join the series limited to retired Formula One drivers who were aged 45 or over but these talks did not materialise in a drive. Hill served as the driver representative on the stewards' panel at the
2010 Monaco Grand Prix The 2010 Monaco Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco 2010) was the sixth round of the 2010 Formula One season. It was held in the streets of Monaco on 16 May 2010 and was won by Red Bull Racing, Red Bull's Mark Webber (racing ...
which decided to penalize Hill's former rival Michael Schumacher for overtaking under yellow flag conditions. The decision led to Hill receiving hate mail. Between 18 and 19 May 2012, Hill, along with former British F3
Mark Blundell Mark Blundell (born 8 April 1966) is a British former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to , and Championship Auto Racing Teams, IndyCar from 1996 PPG Indy Car World Series, 1996 to 2000 CAR ...
, Perry McCarthy, Martin Donnelly and Julian Bailey (collectively nicknamed "The Rat Pack" back in the day) participated in the first round of the VW Scirocco R-Cup at Brands Hatch to raise funds for the Halow Charity. Hill completed seven laps of the circuit before retiring. On 7 October 2012, Hill drove his father's BRM in celebration of the 50th anniversary of having won the 1962 F1 World Championship. In June 2018, Hill became the President of the Brooklands Trust Members who are the support group for Brooklands Museum. Hill published his autobiography, ''Watching the Wheels'', in 2016, in which he revealed he had suffered with depression.


Broadcaster

Hill has frequently appeared in the British media. In June 1975, he appeared alongside his father on the television programme '' Jim'll Fix It''. He again appeared on the programme in January 1995, marking the twentieth anniversary of the show. He has contributed many articles to '' F1 Racing'' magazine and has twice appeared in ITV F1's commentary box, covering for Martin Brundle at the Hungarian Grand Prix in
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
and
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
.
British Sky Broadcasting Sky UK Limited (formerly British Sky Broadcasting Limited (BSkyB)), trading as Sky, is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television, broadband internet, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers a ...
signed Hill to join their Formula One presentation team on Sky Sports F1 as a
pundit A pundit is a person who offers opinion in an authoritative manner on a particular subject area (typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport), usually through the mass media. The term pundit describes both women and men, altho ...
starting from the 2012 Formula One World Championship. Hill resigned after the 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix, having worked as an analyst across 13 seasons. In March 2025, it was announced that Hill would be a pundit for BBC's radio coverage of the
2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...
Formula One season.


Music career

Hill was interested in music from an early age and formed the
punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
band the "Hormones" with some friends while at school. After achieving success in Formula One, he was able to play guitar with several famous musicians, including his friend
George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...
, and appeared on "Demolition Man", the opening track of
Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drummer), Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen (guitar, ...
's 1999 album ''
Euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and da ...
''. "I'm quite proud of that one to be honest", Hill told the ''Fuelling Around'' podcast. "You can actually hear my guitar as they fade it out towards the end of the song. I think it fits well with the track and it went platinum!" Hill also made a regular appearance at the British Grand Prix alongside other Formula One musicians such as Eddie Jordan. After his retirement at the end of the 1999 season, Hill devoted more time to music and played with celebrity bands including
Spike Edney Philip "Spike" Edney (born 11 December 1951) is an English musician who has performed with a number of bands since the 1970s, most notably with Queen (band), Queen in their live concerts since 1984. Career Queen Edney's association with Quee ...
's SAS band, and
Pat Cash Patrick Hart Cash (born 27 May 1965) is an Australian former professional tennis player and coach. He reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 4 in May 1988 and a career-high ATP doubles ranking of world No. 6 in August 1988. Upo ...
's Wild Colonial Boys. Hill also formed his own band, The Conrods, which was active between 1999 and 2003 and played cover versions of well-known songs from
The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
,
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
and
The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...
. Since becoming president of the BRDC in 2006, Hill says he has stopped playing the guitar, being "too busy doing school runs and looking after pets."


Racing record


Career summary


Complete British Formula Three Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)


Complete International Formula 3000 results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.)


Complete British Touring Car Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.) ‡ Endurance driver


Complete British Formula 3000 results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)


24 Hours of Le Mans results


Complete Formula One results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.


See also

* Hill–Schumacher rivalry


References

Citations Bibliography * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Damon People from Hampstead Sportspeople from the London Borough of Camden Racing drivers from London Officers of the Order of the British Empire BRDC Gold Star winners BBC Sports Personality of the Year winners Segrave Trophy recipients People educated at Haberdashers' Boys' School English racing drivers English Formula One drivers Brabham Formula One drivers Williams Formula One drivers Arrows Formula One drivers Jordan Formula One drivers Formula One race winners Formula One World Drivers' Champions Formula Ford drivers British Formula Three Championship drivers British Formula 3000 Championship drivers British Touring Car Championship drivers International Formula 3000 drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 1960 births Living people English motorcycle racers English autobiographers English male guitarists 20th-century English sportsmen