The world of sports is cruel: as soon as the champion finishes his career, the young guys immediately come to his place, and they forget about the former leader almost immediately. However, there are individuals whose name is written in literal letters in gold letters for many years to come. One of these multiple winners of racing races is Damon Hill, whose biography will be considered in this article.
Birth
The future owner of many titles in car racing was born on September 17, 1960 in the capital of Great Britain - London. His father is a former Formula 1 champion Graham Hill. It was the influence of the pope that in many respects predetermined the fate of Damon, who very often visited the tracks. We can say that the boy literally grew up behind the wheel. At the age of five, Hill Jr. sat down to drive a motorcycle, and a few years later his father gave him a Honda bike with an engine of 50 cubic centimeters as a reward for good studies. Therefore, already in his school years, the young man began to take part in motorcycle racing, categorically opposed by his mother, believing that riding a car is much safer.
Tragedy
The head of the family tragically died when Damon was 15 years old. Since the plane operated by the deceased was not insured, the Hill family was forced to independently pay for all lawsuits that the relatives of the deceased passengers began to actively bring against them. As a result, Damon Hill and his sisters stopped going to an elite school and moved to live in another place.
Youth
At the age of eighteen, our hero became a messenger in one of the London offices. At the same time, he regularly participated in races in the ring and the “Triale”. In 1981, he met his future wife, Georgia. In addition, Damon Hill was at one time a guitarist for the Sex, Hitler, and Hormones group.
The beginning of a racing career
In 1984, he won the Yamaha TZ350 motorcycle race. However, this did not stop him from entering a racing school, where almost immediately he was able to win his first victory by driving a Formula Ford 1600. The following year, he managed to win 6 victories and take the final fifth place in the Townsend Thoresen races, as well as third place at the Formula Ford festival.
Participation in more elite races required a lot of money. In this matter, the English race car driver was able to rely on the friends of the late father. In particular, George Harrison (a former member of the Beatles) regularly supported the young guy. But still, there was only enough money for three seasons. At the same time, Hill Jr. did not achieve anything high, although every year he climbed the tournament ladder higher and higher. For example, "Formula 3" made it possible to win a bronze award.
In 1988, he also spent two races in the Formula 3000 series, after which his finances approached zero. 1989 was a critical year for Damon: he had no money to start any business, there were no positive results in the races. And besides, a replenishment occurred in his family - the son Oliver was born, in whom doctors diagnosed Down syndrome.
White stripe
In mid-1991, the Briton finally smiled at luck - he was invited to the Williams team, in which a vacancy suddenly formed after the departure of their lead driver to McLaren. Thanks to this gift of fate, Hill managed to start making decent money and calm down a bit, not being afraid for the fate of his family and loved ones.
And in 1992, when Formula 3 was already far behind in his career, Damon ended up on the Brabham team. Working in it, he couldn’t even qualify for 5 races in a row, he was 16th in the race at Silverstone. At the same time, changes also took place in his personal life: the second son Joshua was born, who was born completely healthy.
Unexpected rise
In the fall of 1993, Frank Williams said that the team's pilots this season will be Alain Prost and Damon Hill. This message literally stirred up the entire racing series. No one understood why such a happiness fell to the newcomer, whom the Briton was. After all, with the most successful driver at that time, a pilot who would not have a single victory in his career will be nearby! However, Frank was implacable, because he was supported by the designers of the team Head and Newey. Yes, and he himself was also impressed by Prost that next to him would be an unclaimed racer, in whose place before that there were ambitious and strong Alesi and Mansell. In addition, Head always opposed a dramatic change in the composition of the pilots, wanting to leave at least the tester in the cage. In a word, Hill entered the new racing season absolutely happy with far-reaching plans in his head.
First triumph
Despite the not very successful start of the season, on August 15, 1993, Damon won the first Grand Prix in his life. It happened on the highway in Hungary. This was followed by first places in races in Italy and Belgium. Such achievements allowed him to become the third in the overall standings at the end of the season. However, skeptics tried in every possible way to humiliate him, calling his successes the result of the entire team, and defeats by the usual bad luck of Prost and a commonplace coincidence.
Career continuation
In 1995, with already thousands of kilometers that were driven on the latest Williams FW-17, Damon Hill said that the best car in the world simply does not exist. And he almost immediately confirmed his words in practice, winning two stages in a row. However, then a black streak went. The Spanish Grand Prix took Schumacher. In Monaco, tactics failed. In Canada, hydraulics failed. In Germany, Hill got off the track. In Monza and Silverstone clashes with Schumacher. A very difficult season ended with defeats in Japan and Nuremberg.
Competitor
In 1996, Jacques Villeneuve became a team mate for Hill . Already during the first race in Australia, the Frenchman won pole position. And although Damon eventually won the race, Jacques managed to come second. After that, everyone realized that a serious season was coming.
A series of victories was replaced by a losing streak, but nevertheless, on October 13, 1996, the Briton won the long-awaited title - the Formula 1 world champion. For this achievement, the Queen of Great Britain awarded him the Order of the British Empire.
Transition to Arrows and Jordan
In 1997, Damon Hill, whose sports career at that time was at its peak, was in the line of the outsider of the championship - “Arrows”. The team received new sponsors and entered into contracts for the supply of the latest engines and tires. But the rider’s hopes of victory did not materialize. Already at the first stage, the car failed the pilot. After five gatherings in a row followed. The first points Damon could win only at Silverstone. At the Hungarian Grand Prix, it would seem that intrigue began to revive again, but a broken gearbox in Hill's car allowed him to take only the second line.
However, a miracle did not happen and more in 1997, the Briton could not earn a single point, and in November he completely moved to Jordan.
Activities in the new team did not work out positively for our hero. The McLaren immediately put the young "stable" in its place, and even technical problems added fuel to the fire of discontent that erupted in the Jordan. Nevertheless, Hill managed to score a few points for the team and even put her in fourth place in the overall standings at the end of the season.
Leaving Racing
In 1999, Damon announced his retirement. This was largely due to the fact that he had lost all motivation, and his age had already affected him - it was increasingly difficult for him to compete with younger riders. After the Canadian Grand Prix, Hill officially announced that he was leaving Formula 1, but wished to remain in it as a consultant. The reaction of the sports community was stormy, and his eternal rival on the highway German Michael Schumacher said that leaving Damon is a big loss for motor sports, in which interesting dueling took place between them.
Leaving the post of pilot, Hill was not left idle. So, for example, in the period 2006 - 2011 he was known as the president of BRDC. In addition, he wrote a lot of articles for a very respected magazine in the auto world called F1 Racing. The Briton also became the founder of a company specializing in car leasing.