NOT BAD FOR A 32 YEAR OLD ROOKIE! Is Damon Hill an Understated Driver?

[@PenryMMJ]

My favourite Damon Hill quote: "Dad used to tell people 'My son is too intelligent to ever get involved in motorsport'. I guess he was wrong about that"

[@geofftestpilot9076]

Damon was that intelligent, and he had the self-confidence to get the hell out of F1 before he did kill himself or somebody else. Who knows what would have happened if his father had not crashed his plane. Graham Hills career was getting uncomfortable to watch as I recall.

[@mikehipperson]

@@geofftestpilot9076 Graham had retired by the time of the crash and his wish to 'get home' at all costs took the lives of Tony Brise and the team principals!

[@geofftestpilot9076]

@mikehipperson honestly I had forgotten that. I seem to recall seeing him in 74, and people talking about him getting a little long in the tooth, and way too old for the sport etcetera. In all honesty, even to me as a kid, it was starting to look bad. Back then it was really hard to follow Formula One in 🇨🇦, and I heard the news of his accident on our trusty AM FM clock radio in our kitchen. Because the coverage was so sparse, (days of media's "If it bleeds, it leads") disproportionately, it seemed like all you ever heard coming from formula 1, in the late sixties, & in the 1970s, were seemingly endless reports of deaths and disasters. INDY was also beyond brutal, e.g. in 1973, as well. The same May of '73, I had 2nd degree burs on my left hand, only 8 days earlier, from litterally pouring gas on a 🔥. My aunt saved me from basically having committed self-immolation in front of my two younger brothers. In pain, watching the huge fuel explosions, one even pinwheeled like a water sprinkler, spraying the crowd with burning fuel FFS! I was only 11 years old, & the only in my family one who watched racing. Good times🤯

[@IanJames-n9f]

Hmm, on the subject of Williams drivers and comments about family, I remember hearing about Senna saying "You think I'm fast? Wait until you see my nephew"

[@sametkucuk7305]

actually it is not i mean just look his jordan win he use some "intelligent" in there or he got good car and get championship

[@stefencooke]

And 1996 gave us one of Murray Warkers best lines " And I've got to stop because I have a lump in my throat"

[@Ryzard]

What was the context around it? Or can I watch the clip somewhere?

[@joelapilainen]

​@@Ryzard it was when Hill won the championship. The clip is probably on KZbin

[@hugonubario]

@@Ryzard watch 1996 japanese grand prix the last lap

[@geofftestpilot9076]

Big tough Canadian guy right here, I also had a lump in my throat (our secret, OK?) @ same time as Murray Walker did when Damon Hill won the championship. Even though of course I was cheering for 🇨🇦Jacques Villeneuve Damon's teammate.

[@sparky4878]

@@RyzardWalker was a family friend, had know Damon and the family so it was a big moment for him to see Damon become champion after what he’d been through.

[@C_and_C...]

One thing you can never take away from Damon Hill is he owns the number 0 in formula one.

[@Chongo_657]

Didn't he run with double zero at some point in an homage to Dick Dasterdly?

[@AidanMillward]

@@C_and_C... Jody Scheckter used it first.

[@y_fam_goeglyd]

​@@Chongo_657 Graham got that nickname because of his moustache and his wicked sense of humour. How Betty put up with his antics, I don't know! (I don't believe he ever cheated on her. He was a devoted husband and dad.)

[@simontravers2715]

Ironic that Hill was 0 when both Prost & Senna were his teammate.

[@JJAJR71]

The Arrows failing late was such a bitter pill, I will never forget it.

[@KernowGB]

Yea 🙂 same here but spa 1998 made up for that in a way

[@djm9937]

was heart breaking !

[@KernowGB]

@@djm9937 yea think it was a 50 pence washer that buggered the car ☹️

[@tristanwhite3472]

It was heartbreaking

[@fearghus66]

Best motorsport channel on KZbin.

[@deanpierce9048]

100% agree

[@Aubergineman18]

For sure, I agree 👍 And Peter brook

[@JohnSmithShields]

RPM has entered the chat.

[@geofftestpilot9076]

Pretty sharp audience as well

[@project182r3]

absolutely not.

[@Darren-g2e]

Damon Hill was the first world champion I witnessed. My mum had barred F1 from the TV after Ayrton's death, one Sunday afternoon l, after we had finished our Sunday roast and my mum was flicking through the TV channels, formula 1 appeared, my older brother pleaded with her to let us watch it and the love affair began, it was the first sport I'd watch on TV that wasn't football. People criticise Damon all the time, saying he was an unworthy champion, but the truth is he had to fight harder than anyone to win it. A true legend of British sporting history and to those that know his back story, he is an inspiration.

[@y_fam_goeglyd]

Very true! He's thoroughly underrated.

[@gmay8493]

Glad you made this. While certainly not at the Senna, Schumacher or Prost level, Damon was a good driver I’d put in the same category as drivers like David Coulthard and Jenson Button and the start he had in F1 and his early life is genuinely really interesting. I’m sure his name went some way towards getting certain sponsorship deals and influence with team owners, but when you look at the misfortune he experienced and the way he had to work extremely hard in ‘normal’ occupations just to live when he was a young man, it kind of balances out. I think the Damon’s biggest shortcoming was that he was extremely complex and let pressure get to him too easily. I think it was too easy for other drivers to get inside his head as his 95 season showed…I think that was the area where his late start in a race car and F1 really showed and he needed an earlier start to get stronger in that. It’s a great example of how mentally managing the competitive environment is just as important as driving the car when you get to that level. But as a raw talent, he was actually pretty decent. Seems like a nice fella too if that counts for anything.

[@bernardwarr4187]

What a ridiculous comment. In reality Hill was a 2 time world champion, all be it robbed once! how many titles DC and Button?

[@Mark-zk3gu]

WTF is Coulthard doing in the same sentence as two world champions?

[@Corvin152]

So in a way Damon Hill is the only Formula 1 WDC who didn't want to be one. Like James May, who was the first man to drive to the North Pole who didn't want to be there

[@simontravers2715]

*………Yes he is!* *As Dill fired up his Arrows, the crew were thanking Pedro Diniz…..AND his money……..for getting him there!* (Clarkson once referred to Hill as Dill when Hamilton first appeared on TG)

[@Just_lift_anyone]

I loved Damon as he seemed like he was just one of us; peeking into the world of F1. Lucky to have met him a couple of times and he was just as unassuming off the camera as he was on it. Genuinely nice man. Him and Nigel will always be my favourite drivers 🇬🇧 🇬🇧

[@azapro911]

Damon was unbelievably good for a driver who took up four wheels as a profession far later than his peers. If he was in a good place mentally, he could hang with absolutely anyone at the sharp end. Underrated wet weather driver, everybody remembers Suzuka '94 but Interlagos '96 goes under the radar as well. Then there's his work as a development driver, among the best ever at fine tuning a car's setup window. He and Adrian Newey were a dream team in that regard at Williams. Some of his Arrows drives were incredible, only first class talents can get performances out of cars like those.

[@sametkucuk7305]

with good car yes he is good but with average car he is nothing we can see that in jordan-arrows era of his career specialy i wont forget that team order he do on ralf thats most disrespectful thing i ever see and in that race we cant even see him there he lost lot of position in that race and he doesnt deserve that win. his mental is good because you know "england loby" he has media power just listen every race comments murray walker talk about him almost all race i mean come on if whole england media is my back i will be good mentally too.

[@AidanMillward]

@Jordan got a 1-2 with that team order and it saved Eddie’s team. Eddie needed it, and got it. He wasn’t going to lose it through Ralf trying to overtake or Damon trying to defend.

[@sametkucuk7305]

@@AidanMillward excuse me? dude ralf faster than damon in that race all he need to do is let go its simple he use his loby and star power in that race everybody knows that ok maybe it will be dangerous if he race with ralf in that race but he cant he is not fast enough in that car actually he never fast as like williams era because that era his car good so all he need to do is do some good drive i dont say damon worst but come on he never be a world class either if he dont do anything like that they still will do 1-2 actuality is damon hate shumi it doesnt matter his brother or not he never like them its just like some sort a revenge he even do this in his arrow era in arrows era he block every chance him and scumi lapped him in that races with villeneuve so main problem is not team for damon main problem he is brother of schumi.

[@AidanMillward]

@@sametkucuk7305 Yes. That's exactly it. Of course, how stupid of me... Damon could have let Ralf go, that is true. But Schumacher and Coulthard had already crashed into each other trying to do the same thing. Eddie made the call, Eddie got the result he needed. Benson and Hedges were threatening to pull funding, Mugen was on his back as well, he needed a result and played the team game to make sure Jordan got that 1-2 in the safest way possible. Eddie might not have had that chance ever again. For Jordan it was the biggest result they'd ever get and they celebrated like they had just won the championship because the result meant big points and an even bigger paycheque. Going in to Belgium they had 10 points in 5th while Williams above them had 30 and Benetton had 32. Come the end of the season Jordan came 4th in the constructors, a whisker away from Williams and ended up beating Benetton by a point.

[@Foxx_33]

I always thought he was overrated, but you know what: nah he's a great bloke and racer and considering how much spoke against him to be a great car racer it's quite amazing what he achieved. Great vid Mr. Millward!

[@zerogee768]

Since Damons' performance at Hungary 1997, when I first started watching F1, he became my favourite driver of all time. Sure he wasn't perfect, he was older than most and was often ridiculed and underestimated, but he still did the best with what he had been given to work with. This is why I chose the name. ZeroGEE as a username at one point. Zero because of Damons' number at Williams, and that Gee is my first initial. Thanks for the upload Aiden, hope you're having a good day so far.

[@willyhwang1059]

that iconic helmet and those piercing eyes under the visor

[@AidanMillward]

He had that trademarked. 🤣

[@dominicmeredith]

Two facts that highlight just how strange Hill's motorsports career was: In his entire pre-F1 career Hill managed 4 wins, in his first full F1 season he got 3 Hill only won one championship in his career, the F1 World Drivers' Championship.

[@BrotherJP333SP]

The 1990-1997 Williams cars are some of the coolest racing machines of all time. I really hope one day the light and short but still wide F1 cars will return to the World Championship.

[@tonic1330]

Taking the lead of Williams after Senna's death, and battling a ferocious Schumacher was quite the task for a '2nd season rookie' and he handled it admirably. Also worth noting the competition he faced. Multiple all time greats: Prost, Senna, Schumacher. He also had Prost, Senna, Villenueve, Coulthard and peak Frentzen as team-mates in his short F1 career. His rookie season with Prost was strong. His title win over Villenueve, albeit in his own rookie F1 season, and beating Coulthard in the same car are good indicators of his talents too. He also showed good mental strength, firstly to deal with the pressure of being Graham Hill's son, to lead Williams in '94', and to bounce back in '96 after the struggles of '95. To then be dropped by Williams was another blow but he wrestled with that Arrows admirably in '97. His final season at Jordan was poor but I wouldn't hold that against him, he clearly no longer had the motivation to continue.

[@kickstartmotoart]

Got to admire Damon's Resilience and get the job done in 96. Fair play

[@burkezillar]

The first F1 race I saw on the TV was Japan 1996 as a 9 year old. My love for the sport started because of Hill. I cried when the Arrows failed, and when he won in 1998 it was the only time my mom and dad watched and took an interest in the sport because an Irish team had won in F1. I was 24 when my Dad died suddenly and it wasn't until I read Hill's book did it all 'click' in my head regarding the grief of a parent. He's an absolute hero, he's my hero. Bias be damned, there is too many life moments with him involved for him not to be anything but that.

[@JackRoadkill]

A great racer and a humble man. He never lost his temper or his dignity.

[@dazzla84_ssfc]

Growing up, Damon was my first F1 hero. His popularity back then was overwhelming, coming off the back of Mansell Mania

[@tommytoofar]

A great friend of mine, Gerry, passed away at the age of 89, four years ago. He spoke so highly of his admiration for Damon when we watched racing back in the mid 90s. Gerry was like a second Dad to me, but I was a Schumacher fan, but Gerry always viewed Damon as a truly nice guy, a gentleman was the word he would use. I remember watching the 96 Belgian GP and he remarked on Damons demeanour after the race and how he gave the impression of a troubled man that day. When Gerry passed away, by then I had really come to appreciate how well Damon had done against the odds and ultimately how much of a thoroughly good guy he comes across as and seems to be, just as Gerry had well judged it. I really wanted to contact Damon to inform him of how this elderly Irish man who had passed, had held him in such high regard as a driver and mostly just as a man, something I could now appreciate as an adult. I chose not to, as thought it might be stupid, but seeing Damon race in old videos and memories keeps the spirit of my dear friend alive in a weird way. I admire him all the more now myself. Sorry for the big endless ramble, but just kind of wanted to get a point of some description across of how appreciated Damon was and is amongst so many of us, as a driver and just as a sound (good) man.

[@LucasOliveira-tt2ll]

his first test with Williams was also a funny bit, Patrick went to see the feedback and Hill just went "the best thing I've ever drove, is brilliant" to a simple reply "this is not what I want to know"

[@Mike-ux3py]

3 wins in 93 was so very nearly 5 (in a row!) had the car/tyres held up

[@jamesbuckingham77]

Also, consider that Damon Hill could quite easily have been a two-time champion.

[@bernardwarr4187]

Technically he was! He was robbed

[@alanheavey]

I have always been a Hill fan. This brought a rather unexpected tear down my cheek. Nice vid

[@Bezza49]

Just think if Damon debuted in F1 at the same age as Lewis Hamilton did, his first season would have been 1982. 😮

[@blahblahwhatblahblah]

Holy hell, I'd never thought of it like that before, that is crazy.

[@gmay8493]

That’s actually a really good point. If you think of Damon as starting in F1 at a more ‘conventional’ age, say in 1982, he’d have been good enough to win a championship is his 14th year as an F1 driver and still be competitive to the point of getting podiums and wins into his 16th. It makes me wonder just what the 80s would have looked like in F1 with him in it. Would he have developed over that decade to be something truly amazing, or would have had his early promising talent tainted by injury like Martin Brundle? It’s an interesting thought. It’s weird to think of Hill as more of a contemporary of Prost and Senna’s early career than Schumacher or Jaques Villeneuve, but in theory in another universe it was easily possible.

[@stevepenrose2057]

Damon was my hero when I was a kid. I will always love him.

[@RubyRoks]

Damon getting such a late start in car racing reminds me a lot of some of the pro wrestlers that only got their starts in their 30s like Batista and DDP.

[@marguskiis7711]

Pure talent

[@sipope70]

Thank you for doing this video. I've watched F1 since I was 6 in 1986 yes I'm that old. However Damon was the first driver that got me loving F1. So nice to watch a video focusing on Damon properly not just knocking him. Please keep up the brilliant world. Also loved the video on Sauber. You spoil us Sir

[@MrSniperfox29]

When Hill got his final win in 1969 the only people ahead of him at that time were Stirling Moss (16), Juan Manuel Fangio (24) and Jim Clark (25). In fact, with 14 wins he was the most successful driver who was driving in the 1969 season in terms of wins

[@marzgrab]

Damon is just a top bloke that absolutely deserved the success he achieved.

[@wibblewabblewoo6249]

Great video I really do think Damon Hill was one of the most underrated F1 drivers; - he came to F1 really late, lying about his age, not from a karting background & with very little singer seater experience, so there had to be a certain amount of natural talent to be even able to compete near others who had been racing since they were v young - teammates to Prost Senna Mansell, and was always quite close to them unlike many of their other teammates (93 fascinates me, in only his second season Damon was driving v near to Prost’s level, lots of bad luck with mechanical failures, 3 wins) - everyone thinks Schumacher & Senna (rightfully so) but Damon should also probably be considered one of the great wet drivers - we need to remember how good Damon was at setting up a car, and developing a car! Yes, the Williams was dominant but Newey says in his autobiography how crucial Damon’s feedback was! Damon was one of the reasons the 92 93 96 cars were so good (& tbh, Damon was probably part of the reason Villeneuve’s 97 car was still so good - when Damon was sacked by Williams against Newey’s wishes, Williams went downhill from the new 98 regulations because Williams lost one of the best drivers for understanding setup & deciding how to develop, Damon was a good communicator with engineers) - if someone cheated like Schumacher did in 94 today, they’d be stripped of the championship, and I often wonder how different history would be if Damon had been crowned 94 champion? His slump in 95 must have been in part due to the disappointment of 94, but would Damon have had more confidence in 95 if he had been reigning champ? Imagine if by the end of 96 Damon was a 2 time champion and Schumacher merely the 95 champ? Would Frank have kept Damon in 97? Or McLaren have offered a less insulting offer for 98?

[@KR1736]

4:20 any interview with Graham is a riot. He was so funny

[@AntonHoward-mx9sb]

I machined the crankshaft in the Arrows that nearly won in Hungary......I watched the race live and was absolutely gutted.

[@AidanMillward]

So… we can blame you? 🤣

[@AntonHoward-mx9sb]

@AidanMillward No, it was a 50p 'o' ring in the hydraulics, not me guv...

[@simontravers2715]

👨‍⚖️

[@Wave2imaging]

There is something very special about Hill winning the WDC in Japan.

[@PedanticGaming]

One thing I will say about specific criticism of Damon, and I will repeat this when we get a video of Adelaide, is that people who say 'he should've waited for the straight lol what an idiot' are usually the same people who unironically spout the Senna 'If gap, car' quote. Plus they're the same people who would then, if he had waited just go 'lol he couldn't even overtake Michael with a broken car, he had to wait til the straight', some people just have an already fixed idea of something and bend reality til it fits.

[@JSmith19858]

Even Damon has said yes it was rash, but he didn't know Schumacher's car was broken and he had to take the oppotunity he saw in that moment. He himself has said he should have waited but he went for the gap that was there

[@PedanticGaming]

@@JSmith19858 Oh I know, in retrospect he should have waited. My point was that people who mock him for going for a gap are the same people who praise Senna for doing the same thing.

[@JSmith19858]

@ Aye, I was agreeing. A lot of people don't understand the nuance of situations in motorsport. I've had people tell me I should have done X, but it's easy to see an entire situation from an elevated spectator stand, or on TV, compared to on track

[@PedanticGaming]

@@JSmith19858 Fair play.

[@modelcitizen8731]

Proper gentleman, smooth lines, looked after his car, always liked damon and the way he went about his business

[@casm2003]

When Williams gave Damon the bullet in 96, i was more than happy to watch Williams go down the tubes, i suppose 30 years later, I can forgive them now!!! Another really good video Aidan, love your stuff :)

[@AidanMillward]

Technically he was given the bullet in 1995 when they signed Frentzen.

[@casm2003]

Yep youre right. My mistake.

[@foreverinteriors]

Great show!

[@michaellakinloch5371]

In 1999 I was in Britain and stayed a few nights in a B&B in Pinner, where the owner was a taxi driver with a great interest in road safety. He told me some years previously he had taken a course in high speed driving in high security situations. His instructor was Damon Hill.

[@RMhoneybadger]

Just a quiet strength in Damon. I read his book. Fascinating man.

[@TheRetroByte]

Great video, I think the Damon Hill story would actually make a good movie

[@landiahillfarm6590]

So glad you covered tis, I just happened to be re-watching the 1993 season, mostly because someone just posted the full season here on YT but also for me to remember just how dismal Mr. M. Andretti's season went. I guess at the time I was so focused on Andretti [being an American and fanboy] that at the time I failed to see just how brilliant Damon Hill's rookie season was. Were it not for several runs of horrible bad luck, most of which out of his control, I honestly think he could have taken the driver's title. He was clearly [IMHO] faster than Prost at almost all circuits and really drove well.

[@wibbers01]

As someone who started folowing F1 in the early/mid Nineties as a wee nipper, Damon Hill was my favourate driver. A British driver in a British team doing really well. Finding out about his journey to F1 made me respect even more when I was older.

[@thegregdavieschannel]

Schumacher went on to become known as the rainmaister, but he didn't win his first F1 race in the wet until 1995. He'd one strong wet race at Barcelona in 92. I know he won in Belgium 92, but he won because we went off and brundle gave him his planned pitstop and tyres on what turned out to be the perfect lap to go onto slicks. Schumacher finished third in Brazil 93, threw it off the road in donnington 93 where senna thrashed everyone in both races. He crashed with hill at Japan 93. The next wet race was Japan 94 and he finished behind hill with better tyres. Schumacher threw it off the road in imola 95 in the wet trying to catch Hill. It wasn't until Belgium, nurburgring and Japan 95 that Schumacher began winning wet races on merit. But equally it could also be argued that hill and William's also lost those races because of their own meltdowns and blunders. Brazil 96 was the next wet race and hill was the class of the field. Before Villeneuve threw it off the road in the same car he was being left for dust by hill. It wasn't just a car advantage that gave hill that win. People was lyrical about Spain 96. But Schumacher was the only front runner to go with a full wet setup. But equally he was also the only one really using wet weather racing lines. It could be reasonably argued that he did genuinely outdrive the other drivers that day on merit. Schumacher then binned it at Monaco after losing the lead to hill. Hill drove through the difficult part of that race and was on course to win before his engine blew. It wasn't until 97 and 8 that you would blindly put your money on Schumacher to win in the wet. He was 6-7 years into his career by that point. By hills 7th year he'd won Japan 94, imola 95, Brazil 96, given a race winning performance in Monaco 96 and won spa 98, although I'd admit that he won that race by being the first to finish more than blowing everyone else away. Senna had Monaco 84, estoril 85, spa 85, Silverstone 88, Canada 89, Brazil 91, imola 91 and then Australia 91.

[@conors4430]

Why are you falling into the trap of who is better? The video is just asking if Damon is underrated, and yes he is. Of course he’s good, he went toe to toe with Schumacher for three years. And he won one of those championships. Sometimes you just gotta put rivalry aside and accept that they are all class

[@thegregdavieschannel]

@conors4430 I'm not trying to say anyone is better or worse. I just feel that Schumacher earned the title of rainmaister too early in his career. I'm saying that it took Schumacher longer to reliably outdrive the others in the wet than it did for hill. Hill's big wet weather drivers were done with a team mate who had equal equipment and opportunities, they were done at a time when every team on the grid used the same tyres. During the early 2000's Schumacher had the Bridgestone intermediate tyre which did give him a bigger advantage over the Michelin runners. You can't really praise a drivers skill when they have tyres that are worth a second a lap over their rivals. Personally I think hill was the stronger driver and Schumacher was the stronger competitor. Senna's P2 at Monaco was in a car that could only score points through the cars ahead dropping out. Senna's 1st win was in the 3rd fastest car that season. I've got a lot of respect for Schumacher, I just feel that his success was more through being a stronger competitor and from better teamwork than it was through his driving talent alone. It took Schumacher another 71 races to equal Senna's pole record. I just feel Schumacher's driving talent was overrated. I'm kind of hoping this might be a topic for a future video. Champions biggest wet weather drives during their first 7 years.

[@theiceman7590]

Well said and by someone that knows their stuff. I never thought Schumacher was as good as Senna in the wet or as good a qualifier. Like you said it took until 1996 till he put an actual insane drive in the wet. It also took until Senna was gone that he took pole. They look at his gaps to his teammates in qualifying and certain laps like Malaysia 1999 (which is great dont get me wrong) and say he was amazing in qualifying but honestly that Benetton from 1992-1994 should've gotten a pole if he was that great of a qualifier not just a mere two front row starts in 1992 and 1993.

[@thegregdavieschannel]

@@theiceman7590 it took schumi another 81 races to match Senna's pole record and he had a few seasons where he was unchallenged by anyone.

[@davidbaker1243]

Like Damon Hill, Roland Ratzenberger was another older debutant in F1. Both were born in 1960 and Roland debuted just a year or two after Damon. It's hard to imagine any driver debuting at such an age nowadays in F1.

[@theiceman7590]

Toshio Suzuki too

[@kevinprior3549]

I will never forget Hill winning the 1996 title.

[@tatsga]

This is calm and intresting enough to watch with 39,5c fever chills...

[@guessundheit6494]

Damon Hill, two times world champion, 1994 and 1996.

[@andrewjoeljackson4653]

gimmie a break

[@gerarduspoppel2831]

Especially because that Bennenton was a illegal car.

[@ArtucoDev]

Lewis Hamilton, 7 time world champion compared to Schumacher's 6 WDC Felipe Massa, First Brazillian Champion since Senna's Death Alain Prost, 4 times world champion Ayrton Senna, 4 times world champion Niki Lauda, 2 times world champion

[@joelapilainen]

Hill only had a mathematical chance to win the title due to FIA assistance. The only race in 1994 where Damon beat Michael in a fair fight was at Suzuka, where Damon drove the race of his life

[@simontravers2715]

1994 title should’ve just been given to Senna in his memory because he’d gotten pole all 3 of his races. Surely, had he lived, it wouldn’t have read *Pole every race, retired every race* would it? 🇧🇷

[@RickyM63]

Question - who else has noticed that Williams, Arrows & Jordan all enjoyed their peak periods of success while Damon was with the teams? Coincidence? At a period in time when on-track testing was still a big part of F1, Damon played a significant part in sustaining Williams's success & elevated the other two teams to some of their greatest achievements. And remember, Adrian Newey was only at Williams - the other successes were achieved with Frank Dernie & Gary Anderson - and some very underwhelming engines.

[@geofftestpilot9076]

❤Pic of the "Kawi 550" , had caption "Winnipeg Mint". As a kid growing up outside Ottawa, all kids go to the "Canadian Mint" in Ottawa! They had a bit, allowing kids to handle a real bar of gold. The "bit" was "Kids, if you can pick up the bar of gold, with 1 hand only, upwards off a table, ❤"You can keep it!"❤😅 I wouldn't be surprised if kids have been picking up that same bar of gold for 8p0 years. I had forgotten about the 🇨🇦Mint in Winnipeg. See Aidan, you are a "FACT FACTORY". ❤Could you please do a video about what happened to 🇨🇦Jacques Villeneuve🇨🇦?? How could a seemingly natural, F1 Driver Champ, fall apart like that? WTF happened?? ❤Love your work, & I never feel clickbaited by you!👍🎯

[@felixstoweflyer]

Yea great piece Millward. This was the era I started getting into F1. For sure the Hill name would have opened a few doors here and there. Once you are in the car you then have to deliver. Hill went in at the very sharp end and but the end of his fourth full season in F1 he was world champion. That's good especially with how late he came to racing. Although Williams gave him his break, it was desperately disappointing when they axed him in 96. Check out Adrian Neweys reaction to that. To then replace him with Frentzen was baffling. I agree with many on here I have his Arrows drive in 97 in Hungary as one of the great performances in F1. Up there with Suzuka 94 and Interlagos 96

[@jortm4075]

16:30 haha, absolutely this!!

[@mets137781]

Great video about my favorite driver. Damon definitely has the strangest path to a title than anyone in the last 30 years. Damon ironically won his first at the same age Lewis won his last. He also has the greatest what if in that if his dad lives and he gets into racing at a proper age where does he end up? This also makes him tough to rate as while he certainly isn’t an inner circle champion he’s probably better than guys like Hunt, Button, etc especially considering the circumstances.

[@ianwynne764]

Hello Aidan: I didn't know about the bike racing. Thank you. Also, the competition in Formula Ford was really, really tough. Also, I know that Formula V (Volkswagen) was notorious for insane breaking duals. In those heavily regulated classes, breaking duals were one of the very few places it was possible to pass. Have a lovely day.

[@minibus9]

nice video, I'd say Hill was a better driver than he got the oportunity to show, had he be able to start early/had the interest to do so then he could have had 2 championships at least.

[@pokefrosch617]

I f+in love this guy. Greetings from Germany.

[@rickclogston5205]

Damon was definitely underrated. If it was the car, why didn't Coulthard beat him? And Coulthard was very good, but he wasn't Damon. I was, and am, a Schumi fan but Damon earned my respect. Nobody talks about it, but they battle they had a Spa in, I think, 94 was epic. It was raining on half the course, one was on wets, the other on slicks, and they swapped the lead back and forth the whole race. WOO!

[@iavdortmunder8132]

Not bad at all! One of the greatest stories in F1 history.

[@Normandie17]

Two things I remember about Damon Hill, growing up and attending Secondary School was his battles with Schumacher and the Pizza Hut commercial with Murray. P.S. Walsall top of League Two. See you next season. (Blackpool fan).

[@TheUntitled100]

"Hill's going for it... AND HE'S SPUN, he's spun his pizza through 180 degrees."

[@Normandie17]

@TheUntitled100 "He's LOST IT!! He out of control!!!"

[@markalbert9011]

Your point is well taken. From his first race to World Champion in 14 years? Amazing. Anyone go from that first kart race to world champion in 14 years? Perhaps we should be asking "What if he's been in karts at 6 or 7years old like so many of his contemporaries?" "Just how much raw talent was there?" 0......Put me down for quite a bit more than he's given credit for.

[@DarkLordDiablos]

One thing we can say with some certainty is that despite not wanting to drive cars and as mentioned "Too intelligent to get involved in racing cars". If Graham hadn't died, I think Damon may have started his racing career earlier if only to keep his dad happy. What is clear is that he had natural talent that if nurtured earlier would have seen him go much further even if he decided to persue motorbikes over cars. As in raced in the lower formulas to please his dad but ultimately switching to bikes later. It's interesting to see two alternate futures where he's a three time champion winning in 94, 95, 96 with him just losing out to Jacques in 97. With 97 being he's either retained at Williams or moves to say McLaren and finishes ahead of Michael who finishes in a strong 3rd place with that years title race being between them and Jacques. The other future has him being a multi-time Motorbike Champion and talked about in the same vein as Rossi. On a side note. Imagine a future where Michael is the one who missed out in 94 to 97 but due to his strong finishing in the Championships still gets to drive a Ferrari in 97 and then get his first title in 98.

[@caincha]

No no no, I wasn't going to say anything because yes it was a brilliant achievement considering how late he started racing comparing to any others but when you said Prost couldn't handle the FW15c I couldn't help myself: For one Prost had been a year off (he didn't race in 1992) and between 1991 and 1993 things changed dramaticallly on a F1 car. The only thing they had in 91 was the paddle shifts (which didn't work properly) and a developing active suspension. But in 93 that Williams had everything: properly working paddle shifts (not sure if it was full auto actually), the best active suspension, traction control and probably more that I am forgetting. And with all that Prost couldn't get the feedback feeling from the car - kinda like using a kiddie set of wheels for sim racing vs using a proper force feedback setup. One of those won't let you 'feel' the car, the other will give you feedback from a pebble on the track. So yeah it was also an achievement from Damon to handle that beast but in this particular case having little experience in F1 actually helped cause he got to do it 'from scratch' whereas Prost had decades of experience driving with cars that he could 'feel' on the track. And since were talking about British bias: how many great drivers were left out to favor mediocre English drivers? I don't know how many options did they had other than Damon for instance but they likely had better drivers to get that seat but none that were English with Hill on their names (kinda like why Senna had to start with Toleman rather than Lotus in 84).

[@AidanMillward]

@@caincha Prost not being able to dominate in that car shows that it’s not all the car 💁🏻‍♂️ Plus Hill got the job becuase he was already there. It made sense. Plus Frank and Patrick were close to dumping him because he wasn’t exotic enough. He didn’t have an easy ride at all getting in.

[@chunterer]

​@@AidanMillwardoh come on! Prost was a bit rusty early on, was a very umderstated pedaller. He only ever extended himself in about half a dozen races. Can you imagine the damage Senna, Schu or even Mansell would have inflicted in that car?

[@caincha]

@@AidanMillward nobody said anything about being all in the car. What I did said was the reasons Prost had difficulties driving it and the reasons it was relatively easier (or less difficult if you will) for Damon Hill to learn how to drive it. As mentioned by someone else imagine if Prost didn't came back from retirement then Senna wouldn't be vetoed to drive for Williams in 93. He would have dominated it so badly that when he did signed for 94 the FIA banned all driver's assist tech - and we all know what happened after that...

[@F1Oversteer]

Great piece, he was unstoppable at the Hungaring. Actually Martin Brundle didn't compete in karting he went straight from a Ford Anglia to Formula Ford.

[@geofftestpilot9076]

❤AIDAN, please do a show on the 1973 INDY 500. This race was so brutal, it made San Marino 1994 seem mild by comparison "IN MY EYES". 8 days earlier, as a stupid 11 year old kid, I was mowing the grass. The lawn mower ran out of gas, so I filled it up. As I was also burning some spring cleaning stuff in the backyard. My parents we're gone for the Victoria Day weekend, & my aunt (HERO) was minding us.🙏 I thought I would pour some gasoline on that fire to get it going "real good!!" The fire burned right up the stream of gas, & I was lucky the whole can didn't blow up. I was on fire! Thank GOD my aunt tackled me and saved my life, losing her eyebrows, eyelashes singed, the hair on her forearms, & some hair above her forehead too, in her heroic effort. 8 Days Later with 2nd degree burns on my left hand, I was watching the 1973 Indy 500, by myself, in pain, (no pain meds) and watching burning ⛽ fuel everywhere! Even on the spectators!😢 Good Times😔

[@simontravers2715]

😲😲

[@charamia9402]

Now I really want Aidan to do a vid on this!

[@geofftestpilot9076]

@@charamia9402 thanks. BEWARE, this is much much worse than San Marino 1994, I promise you. Fortunately I don't think I've seen anything like it since. But like San Marino in 1994, the God damn thing just wouldn't end

[@geofftestpilot9076]

@@simontravers2715 I tell you it was brutal. Of all the bad things I've seen in racing, this is the one that literally haunts me.

[@charamia9402]

@@geofftestpilot9076 I understand. That's why I'd like to learn about it from Aidan specifically. He's got a track record of not sensationalizing these stories, but explaining the (gruesome) events strsightforward, as they unfolded, conveying the severity with just the right amount of detail in a thoroughly respectful manner.

[@MetalgearLuke]

"You left the safety on, Rookie." -Solid Snake

[@tristanwhite3472]

He had an impressive 93 season

[@pliiatz7534]

I've always thought that considering Damon Hill's age, it's even more remarkable what he managed to achieve,

[@privateinformation2960]

BAZZAAAAAAAAAAAAA - two things i grew up knowing about, our Nige and Barry Sheene (his Daytona accident and the aftermath and the footage of the removal of the pin were nuts) - one of Barrys Team managers went to South Africa then ended up in oz as a mate of dads. Video Suggestion - With Jack Doohan getting to have a crack at F1, it might be nice to see a vid of why aussies of my age bracket might just be getting a little bit sentimental about seeing him there? Mick Doohan vid plox?

[@privateinformation2960]

PS - late 80s early 90s 500cc racing might tickle your pickle a bit, nsr big bangs were f'ing insane.

[@valter_vava74]

Two time World Champion, please. Let's keep this fresh in our minds... if people want to go after one of Hamilton's titles for something neither he nor his team did -- preposterous, because it's a huge what if with all the races that followed Singapore -- then what Schumacher did in Adelaide has to come first in line to be reviewed.

[@christiansimmons630]

Love these driver series! Can we get a Nigel mansell one? There’s a lot more to him and think how many titles he “should” have won

[@pisomark]

Most underrated driver in history. He was grear

[@Lee-eeL86]

7:15 - For the new fans of MotoGP, "aero" has been around for decades...

[@tristanwhite3472]

I believe Damon Hill is an underrated driver.

[@stanny_polyglot]

My first race (after Monaco 1992) was Spain 1994. I got to choose between Häkkinen, Schumacher and Hill. I didn't want to support someone advertising tobacco, so Häkkinen was immediately written off (luckily I didn't know Rothmans and Mild Seven were also tobacco brands). Schumacher was already popular among schoolmates and supported by my dad. So my choice fell on Hill. And although most of races of Damon I saw, were in Arrows and Jordan, I continued to support him.

[@MrAndyy87]

Hi man! Been watching this channel for ages and loving it. Question: have you done video about 2004 BAR Honda Suzuka special engine? Then one pushed over 1000hp in quali mode. That car sounded scary.

[@TomBrash-cn4im]

Top driver, v underrated

[@rwbb5757]

People forget how massive he was. With F1 on BBC1 he was a national hero in 96. Would argue Lewis isn’t as widely known by the average non f1 Brit on the street

[@Welshguy78]

"Did alright" is a bit of an understatement! 22 wins and a WC. One of the only drivers who could go toe to toe with Schumi along with Hakkinnen and Alonso. So yeah... Did alright.....

[@kevinprior3549]

1993 & 1994, I think Hill was excellent in them years.

[@TheKestevon]

Norris is like modern day Damon Hill

[@ManxAndy]

Really interesting…didn’t know he was 32 when he made his F1 debut…I knew he was pretty decent on a bike, and could have had an amazing career, although I suspect F1 certainly paid better….cheers Aidan, great vlog.👍🇮🇲👌

[@creaturesaintly1786]

6:23 brazil mentioned!!! (the image LOL)

[@sidewaysdanny]

People can say Damon had the car advantage, but the truth is the car was better because of him. Mansells championship is partially due to Damons talent and hard work at setting up the car. He proved how good he was at Arrows

[@Holden308]

I honestly didn't mind Damon Hill. Sure he probably lucked into the best car on the grid as a relative rookie at Williams Renault in 1993 (I know he'd been with Brabham in 1992, but by then Brabham were on life support so it was hardly a rookie season for him). But as has been said about a few drivers, you can be in the best team, you can have the best car and engine package ... but you still have to drive it, to steer it around a track faster than anyone else. Damon Hill proved capable of doing that when things were right.

[@eamonahern7495]

I read that his Dad Graham didn't even learn to drive a car until he was in his 20s. So there must have been something in the genes to help those late starters.

[@BekaJadexoxo]

I definitely have a soft spot for Damon Hill, maybe because he was world champion the year I was born or maybe because my mum literally named my brother after him (my dad doesn't know that, but like my dads name is my brothers middle name).

[@ruddgrandprix-speedrunraci8515]

There was no introduction to this guy. He would have been the triple Crown Prince. But at the same time, he was not going to risk it all for the empty cup.

[@rogermaybank9345]

Damon's autobiography, Watching The Wheels, is excellent, one of the better ones.

[@AidanMillward]

@@rogermaybank9345 had my copy next to me for this video.

[@willyhwang1059]

Damon always my first WDC

[@tristanwhite3472]

Yes you need to do Adelaide 94 race.

[@ApexwithDavin]

All of these reasons is why Damon Hill is my favorite F1 drivers.

[@FormulaGuppy]

Well I learnt a lot. I just thought Damon was the son of Graham and had it easy start to racing. Wild

[@zt2max]

Hill is underrated because the haters USE his bad season to argue he was rubbish. (1995). Truth is the Schumacher pressure got to him, as it would have any driver given Schumy was arguably the GOAT. Hill wasn't a big talent but he had other values people don't always value because they only see their own lack of character mirrored in unsavoury people. The fans don't really care that Hill wasn't some all time great, we just love him as the champion he was, for himself, a sportman that was oldschool like his dad, and had integrity and humility. Quintessential english gentleman driver.

[@YTSsport]

Damon is my favourite driver in F1. I've always said how understated he were considering how old he was at the time to join F1. People forget that or just assume he was driving cars for years just like the rest. You still need to be a great driver to win the Championship regardless of the car you are in. There's plenty of examples of those who lost with the better car.

[@mattbuck4950]

I always feel F1 statistics of total wins and such should be normalised to say 10 races per season. So If you have 20 races in a season, each win gets you 0.5 on the stat, if there are 5 races in the season each win gets you 2 on the stat. This then allows you to handle the fact that older drivers had less races, but without going all the way to a pure percentage which gives someone who was amazing but only competed in three races an advantage.

[@oxcart4172]

I haven't met him, but he seems like a very nice bloke

[@barrycheesemore2928]

I think he's somewhat underrated, for the reasons you've outlined in this video. If he had started racing cars much earlier I reckon he'd probably have at least one more world title, but it never happened so I guess we'll never know. Besides which, he had the honour of being interviewed once by Donald and Davy Stott......😜😜

[@sametkucuk7305]

with good car even stupit driver can be a national hero we can see that in hamilton and damon hill.

[@AidanMillward]

@@sametkucuk7305 British bias innit 🙄

[@1greenMitsi]

Damon 'I cant remember (at the Senna trial) Hill

[@marguskiis7711]

Yeah, it was embarassing. But the trial turned into Italy vs Great Britain battle eventually and all the truth was killed meanwhile.