Damon Hill

Interesting facts

His father Graham Hill was a two-time world champion who died in a plane crash in 1975 when Damon was only 15, plunging the family into sudden financial hardship - Damon worked as a building labourer and motorcycle courier while starting out in bike racing. He joined Williams as a test driver in 1991, then made his race debut in 1993 alongside Alain Prost, carrying the number '0' - only the second driver in F1 history to do so. At the 1994 season-ending Australian Grand Prix he collided with Schumacher; both retired, handing Schumacher the title by a single point. In 1996, driving the dominant Williams FW18, he won eight races en route to the title, becoming the first son of a champion to become a champion himself - yet Williams dropped him for Heinz-Harald Frentzen before the season even ended. After difficult years at Arrows and Jordan, he scored Jordan's first-ever F1 win in a rain-soaked race at Spa in 1998; in his 2016 autobiography he spoke openly about his struggles with depression - a rare admission for a driver of his era. Damon Hill made his Formula 1 debut in 1992 and raced until 1999, 8 seasons in total as a British driver. He won the World Championship once, in 1996. He scored a total of 360 championship points over his career.