Down to Zero
Before the Portuguese Grand Prix, Williams confirmed that Damon would remain with the team for another season. The announcement and it's timing released some of the tension that had developed within the team over the driver line-up for 1995. With Nigel Mansell set to return for the final three races of the season in place of David Coulthard, it was speculated that Mansell would reclaim his number one slot alongside Hill. Incredibly, rumours also claimed that it would be Mansell and Coulthard next year. By re-signing Damon, it would at least boost his confidence as the climax of the Championship approached. "There is no question in my mind that the Williams-Renault team will provide me with a winning car again in 1995. I am therefore extremely pleased to be confirmed to drive for my third successive year with the team." "Everyone in the team is delighted that Damon will be with us next year. Apart from winning seven races for us, he has made many other invaluable contributions to the team, both in and out of the car." said Frank Williams. Back in the summer when Mansell agreed to drive the last few races, he could not have foreseen the present situation with Hill locked in battle with the Championship favourite. He now pledged to help Damon win the title. This may have been a little precipitate as there was no guarantee he would be on the same competitive level as Damon and Michael.
It was not over-welcome in Hill's corner either. "I want to win the title without the help of any other driver. Nigel has already promised he would be prepared to back me up for the Championship, but I would prefer that not to happen. I would rather go out there and win the title and have no qualms about the whys and wherefores afterwards." Damon had little say in who was to drive for the team. "Let us say, that I objected to Nigel coming back, what could I do about it?" In the week preceding the European Grand Prix at Jerez in Spain, Hill and Mansell were testing at Estoril and Mansell finished only 8/10ths down on Damon's time over 47 laps. Even at this late stage of the Championship in which Hill's performance should have dispelled any doubts anyone had about his performance, certain factions were still dubious of his qualities. "If I win a race that has got Schumacher, Mansell and Berger in it, then I will have proved myself world class. I think I have done that already but some people still have reservations. People are reluctant to declare anyone a great driver and it is now down to a three race sprint for the Championship."
Schumacher laid his cards on the table when he condemned Hill's comments about the Benetton team after Schumacher was banned from the Belgian Grand Prix. His vitriolic outburst left nobody uncertain of his feelings towards Damon. "I did not expect him to stick up for me and say what is happening in wrong, but I did not expect him to try to make it even worse than it is." the German said. " I was in big trouble at this time and people have tried to use it to their advantage. There were a lot of stories from his direction about the cheating car we had and that sort of thing. I did respect him in the past because I thought he was a nice guy and a fair guy, but you start to see people for what they are when you are in trouble." Michael Schumacher's animosity for Damon had either been festering while he sat out the two races, or this was part of the psychological battle that would inevitably be fought between the two rivals before the title was won. Schumacher went on: "Damon has been thrown into the No.1 job but he never really was a No.1 driver. Coulthard was quicker than him after three races, so that does not say much for him. My respect for Damon is certainly not as much as I have for other drivers. If I win the title, I will have done it in twelve and not sixteen races. If I do not, everyone will know why. But I do not think it would have been this close if Senna had been in the Williams. He would have driven circles around me. Perhaps he would be World Champion already."
Harsh words, but if he thought Hill was going to roll over and give in, then he was totally wrong. The comments did, rightly anger Damon, but as he pointed out, calling Hill a second-rate driver would only backfire on the German. Some of his statements were just plain inconsistent with the facts. Senna, for instance, arguably one of the greatest drivers of all time, but, to be blunt, when driving an identical car to Hill, it was Damon that went on to score points whereas Senna failed to finish - tragically in his last race. It depends what measure is used to define race winning qualities - is it the Fangio and Prost rule of do just enough to win or is it the flamboyance and divine genius of Senna? Although the acrimony showed no sign of abating on one side, Hill chose to ignore them and simply stated: "I'd rather not drag the Championship down by trying to diminish the reputation of the opposition. I think that's sad. Schumacher is an extremely confident young man. The levels of responsibility he has had to handle are quite extraordinary. But Formula One has been in that situation for too long, with the two main protagonists seemingly hating each other's guts. I think that's bad for Formula One and bad for sport - especially in a season where we've lost such a great champion in Ayrton."
Schumacher's aim would of course be to come back with a convincing win, Damon though should have extra confidence from his recent three wins. "My approach is to go about the race by knocking the wind out of Michael's sails, and he'll be trying to do that to me as well." Neither driver blew the other apart during qualifying. Schumacher gained pole by 1/10th although Damon had run quicker in earlier practice sessions. Hill's Sunday morning warm-up time must have given some comfort, as he was over a second faster than the Benetton. As the grid waited for the green light, Schumacher started creeping forward, ever so slightly, but enough to make him brake to retard it's progress. No sooner had he stopped, the lights changed and Damon took the advantage and roared past his rival. The pair swapped fastest laps as the third-place man vanished in their mirrors. The German was first to pit on lap 15, and with a stop of just 6.8 seconds for tyres and fuel, it was evident he was heading for another three-stop strategy. When Hill entered the pitlane three laps later, he had only a 19 second lead and after his nearly 9 second stop, Schumacher passed the pitlane exit to lead at the very moment Hill exited. With Schumacher's tyres up to temperature, the initial gap now began to widen.
When the Benetton pitted again on lap 33, Damon swapped places but with only a 4 second lead which after his own stop on lap 35, converted to a deficit of 20 seconds. When Andrea de Cesaris did a passable impression of a mobile road-block, Damon lost nearly 4 seconds on a single lap. Even though Michael Schumacher stopped again on lap 52, he retained his place at the front and finished the race 25 seconds ahead of Hill. Not the way Damon had wanted the race to go. Instead of inflicting a psychological blow to his title rival, the opposite had happened. Hill, admittedly was victim of problems with his refuelling rig. Apparently he had taken on too little and he had to stop earlier than intended and therefore run almost half the race with a greater fuel load, which would have weighed the car down - and not benefit from a later change of tyres, as Schumacher had. Schumacher was jubilant and as they rose from their cars in the parc ferme, the Briton and German stayed firmly on their respective sides of the painted white line separating the cars. It was a good minute before they silently exchanged a brief handshake before moving to the podium.
After the presentation, the ritual champagne spraying lacked any form of acknowledgement for each other. Schumacher confined his bottle of Moet to the team members gathered beneath the balcony while Hill and Hakkinen soaked one another. The rift between the two was conspicuous during the post-race interviews. Not a word or glance was exchanged. "I never say die, I never give up." said Damon. I am still in with a chance, but psychologically, it was important for me to win today. Michael was impressive, as he always is but he is not unbeatable and I think that of the last of the three circuits, Jerez suited Benetton best." The penultimate Grand Prix would be held 6,000 miles away at Suzuka in Japan, three weeks after Jerez. Hill would have everything to gain whereas Schumacher could only lose the Championship from here in. If things went to the German's plans, then he could expect to leave Suzuka as the new World Champion.
Damon, determined to pull all the stops out to clinch the title was afraid the race would be tarnished by dirty tricks. He drew a comparison with the 1964 Championship, when his father had been booted off the circuit by Bandini, allowing John Surtees to win by just one point. Those with shorter memories would also remember the Prost and Senna collisions of 1989 and 1990. If Hill and Schumacher both failed to finish in either of the next two Grands Prix, the title would go Michael's way. "Sometimes the temptation of a Championship overcomes people. I have done enough motor racing to know that drivers are desperate men and when it comes to the Championship, anything has got to be expected. If Michael wins at Suzuka and I do not finish, he is World Champion. It is necessarily important for him to finish the race. I am not accusing him of being a driver who would deliberately become entangled with me because it might be in his best interests, but anything is possible. For me, this is crunch time. I have to win."
Strategy would play as big a part in the Japanese Grand Prix as it had the rest of the season. Schumacher clinched the pole position on Friday, out-qualifying Damon by nearly half a second. Saturday was a wash-out as far as times and weather - in contrast to the previous day's sunshine. The rain adding another twenty seconds to lap times. Race day was to be no different, and if anything, worse. Damon's start plan consisted of powering his way to the front before the first corner - a sound, tried and tested formula. "I have to be positive and I'm trying not to get worked up about it, but if I make a good start, with the horse-power advantage of the Williams-Renault, I can get ahead of Schumacher." The inclement weather had not kept the Japanese spectators away though, with every seat in the house filled with a Formula One enthusiast, keen to witness the resolution of the Championship. In fact over five million had applied for tickets.
As the cars started their engines on the grid, the rain was still falling heavily. As the lights went green, Schumacher, in what looked like an outrageous manoeuvre, veered across a full three car widths to his right, effectively cutting Damon's line of acceleration off in mid-flight. The successful conclusion of Damon's start-plan being denied him, left him trailing, at very close quarters, in the spume tossed up by the Benetton's wet-weather tyres. Hill's driving visibility was down to zero, and would need to take clues from the trackside as to his whereabouts on the circuit. The split time at the end of lap one of 1.7 seconds is deceiving as the two car's were much closer at other parts of the circuit. The Williams could be seen fish-tailing as it converted it's massive engine output to motive power exiting the corners. Schumacher, slicing his way through the rain without the hindrance of another car's spray was also less than steady in the treacherous conditions.
By lap four, the precipitation had turned to hail and the safety car was despatched, but not before Noda, Herbert, Katayama and Inoue had slid off the track. With the safety car still half a lap ahead, the leader effectively became the pace car and slowed the fields progress down to a relative walking speed. Eventually the pack caught the safety car, which was itself having to lap at near top speed to stay ahead of the F1 cars. The hail stopped to be replaced with just rain and a lot of puddles, so at the end of lap nine the safety car left the circuit and the race was on again. Just before it left, Schumacher had slowed even more to leave a gap between him and the safety car - this allowed him to get the power down a second or so before Damon and now pulled a bigger gap than previously. That first lap back at racing speed caused another four cars to leave the procession and three laps later the race was red-flagged when Morbidelli crashed, only to be followed at the same spot by Brundle, injuring a marshal.
As Schumacher and Hill stopped on the grid, furious calculations were going on as to when and how - and if the race would be re-started. Mansell, who was in fourth place could be seen talking with Schumacher and Flavio Briatori, the Benetton owner and representations were made to the stewards. This took a good twenty minutes. All the time, Damon sat in his car, determined and resolute. Thirty minutes after the red flag, the cars were on the move again, first a warm-up lap followed by a lap behind the safety car and then, uniquely for Formula one, a rolling start. Once more Benetton No.5 attempted to get a start on Hill as they rounded the chicane, but this time Damon was ready and waiting and although Schumacher pulled out another second, the gap on the road was not enormous. On the road it may not have been, but the race was to be decided on an aggregate of times composed of the race up to lap 13 and the final 37 laps. Hill would have been told over the radio that the Benetton pit crew were readying tyres, so it was no surprise to him when Schumacher pulled in on lap 18. Before the German had even stopped moving, Damon was past the pits and into a 15 second lead.
On a wet track which was recognised by all as being difficult to pass on, even in the dry, just the one pit-stop should have been the ideal. So the Williams team must have been heartened by the German's stop so early in the race although maybe a little puzzled that the team that had got it right all season should be making what could be a strategic faux pas. Damon now had a clear path ahead of him, while Schumacher, exiting behind Hakkinen's McLaren, found it impossible to overtake. Over the next seven laps, Hill extended his lead to 30 seconds so that when he pitted, he returned with his place still intact.
The pitstop was not without incident, although to onlookers all looked serene. The Williams' rear-left wheel jammed, but quick thinking by the mechanic saved the day. As wet tyres wear slowly, it was not vital it be changed, so he simply made sure the original was on tight and sent Hill away none the wiser. Behind Hill, Mansell had been battling to pass Alesi and provided some daring entertainment, only passing on the final lap. Schumacher, released of Hakkinen when he pitted, began to haul in Damon and by lap 36, although still behind the Williams on the track, he had taken the lead on aggregate. The race for the trackside spectator was hard to follow due to the split times, but television viewers were on the edges of their seats as the times were flashed in front of them. With a lightened fuel tank, Schuey was able to maintain the pressure on Hill, especially as the laps ticked by and the Benetton did not pit. It began to look as though the German had pulled it off again, but with only ten laps of the 50 remaining, in he came for fuel and tyres, handing Hill another 15 second lead.
By now, the rain had ceased and the track was drying albeit not as quickly as the excitement was growing. Hill had now set Schumacher the task of catching him at a rate of nearly two seconds a lap. Car No.5 was nearly match for this, but Damon, being fed all the relevant times by his team's radio, kept his head. The final few laps were electrifying, Damon driving under immense pressure was sometimes almost sideways as he exited the hairpin. Schumacher would have to eat 2.4 seconds into Hill's last lap time if he were to win. Hill now dug deep into his driving reserves and improved his lap time by a full second - his fastest time in the second half of the race. As Damon took the chequered flag nobody, least of all the occupant of car zero knew who had won.
Not until Schumacher crossed the line did the computer announce Hill as victor - by 3.4 seconds. As they parked up, suddenly, some of the pre-race animosity seemed to disappear, as Michael Schumacher became the first to congratulate Damon by tapping him on the helmet and shaking his hand. Maybe not yet friends again but Hill's performance had no doubt impressed the German and left him slightly bemused. "The race was thrilling - I knew when Michael came in that obviously things were looking good but he made such a storming drive to close the gap after his pitstop that I had no time to rest, it was flat out all the way. I knew I could not drive with any amount of conservatism so I was really throwing caution to the wind to stay ahead of Michael. It's so satisfying to drive like that, it really does mean a lot to end up in that position at the end of the race. It's just a shame we were racing against the clock rather than fighting for the same piece of track." This was the first race of the season where both drivers appeared to be equally matched.
At the start, Damon had driven in Schumacher's blinding spray, just feet from the Benetton's gearbox, holding station until the safety car appeared. Ultimately, it was the pit stop strategy adopted by the Williams team that swung the pendulum in Hill's favour. "We took a decision about the wet conditions earlier this morning and a one-stop routine was certainly among our plans of action and we stuck to it and it worked well. Now there is everything to play for. One race - it's terrific. You couldn't have hoped for a more thrilling final race. It's going to be tough but it's going to be good." Hill now trailed Schumacher by a single point 92-91 which meant that he would have to win the Australian GP for the title. Had Benetton and Schumacher peaked too early in the season? Williams were in the ascendancy and the fast Adelaide track would suit their Renault V10 engine.
Damon's profile at home and around the world had reached it's highest to date. In Britain, The Sun acclaimed him to be the 'master of the saturated Samurai. But the big story was Hill's contract for 1995. Although Williams had taken up their option on Damon in July, he had so far refused to sign on the dotted line, arguing that the money he was paid was peanuts compared with other top drivers. "I don't feel like driving myself into the ground for the sort of money you pay someone with no experience. I am still on a contract that was formulated when I was a test driver and I feel it no longer bears any relevance." 'Damon: I'm paid peanuts' said The Sun; 'I want to be a millionaire' were the Daily Mail headlines whereas the Express offered 'Pay me what I'm worth'. Frank Williams: "I do think that Damon is a top-flight driver. While it is accurate to say that Schumacher has had the better of their jousts this year, it is arguable that he has had the better car. It is also arguable that Schumacher has more Formula One experience so he may be quicker at this moment in time - but it is only by the smallest of margins and there are reasons for it. It was a fair and square race between them in Japan and Damon won. He is still very young in Grand Prix terms and it will take a while for him to become accepted."
The discussions between Damon and Frank would be given greater emphasis with the title but a point away. "The fact is that Frank Williams has an option on my services for next year and it is very unlikely I will be going anywhere else. My belief is that the amount a driver is paid reflects his value to the team, or should do anyway. I do not think that situation exists at the moment as far as I am concerned. It is always your results that influence things. It's like a promise. When I signed up it was 'if you do well, you never know'. That cannot go on forever. It has been very exasperating for me and I would like the situation resolved as quickly as possible. I am constantly under pressure to prove my worth. I did it in Japan and I believe I'm doing it all the time. Until you have a history of success, and I think nine Grands Prix victories should be enough, you cannot just stand there and demand so much money. But I see other drivers getting a lot more than me." Ten wins of course, might clinch the deal, which ironically would then pale into insignificance against the ensuing glory of a World Champion.
Having ascertained the importance of the Australian Grand Prix, it follows that qualifying well in Adelaide would top the list of anyone aspiring to win the race. But it was Mansell who achieved pole with Schumacher 2/100ths slower. Damon lined up third, 6/10ths down on the Benetton. Away from the start-line, just momentarily, the first three cars were side by side as Hill and Schumacher relegated Mansell et al to another race. Admittedly, cars zero and five were planning a three-stop race, but their pace was meteoric. Very soon they were circulating 2 -3 seconds faster than the next man down, but the gap between the two champions-elect was measured in fractions. From the green light, Damon was seemingly attached by elastic to Schumacher's gearbox. By lap ten, they were beginning to lap the backmarkers. Hill, not always as confident at passing slower cars as Schumacher, especially since a number of incidents earlier in the season, was now showing he could be as incisive as anybody. For eighteen laps they ran together, they pitted together and exited as one. At least the race outcome had not been decided by the pit-crews. Still the gap between the title contenders stayed approximately similar. At some points on the circuit, they were so close that spectating from a distance one was positive the cars had touched nose to tail. Only when they began lapping the midfield did Schumacher get the better of Hill by a second or two. Immediately, he tried to profit from his gains, but Damon was not letting him go without a struggle and within a few laps, the span was trivial.
Watching the cars, it was apparent that Hill's was making the smoothest progress of the two. On a couple of occasions the Benetton looked rather unhappy exiting corners, probably because it was running with less wing than it - and Michael was accustomed to. Clearly Schumacher was feeling the pressure. For the first time this season, under normal dry conditions, another driver was equalling his every move. Finally on lap 35, something gave. Schumacher failed to negotiate the Flinders Street corner successfully and lost control of the car, hitting the right-hand wall, damaging the car and then bouncing back on to the track. At this moment, Damon rounded the corner. The German, now recovered, saw the Williams first in his left mirror, then his right and alongside him, both heading for the next right-hander. Now the Benetton lurched across Hill's bow.
The door shut, Damon had nowhere to go and his front-left wheel collided with Schumacher's side-pod. Car five then ran over Damon's practically stationary car, almost turning itself over in the process, coming to rest in a tyre barrier. Hill's front tyre was punctured and the world held it's breath as he coaxed the wounded car back to the pits. Now it was manifest that more than the tyre was awry. The front suspension arm had been bent and Hill's eyes showed that he knew in his heart it was over. Confirmation came as Patrick Head and his mechanics helplessly waggled the disfigured wishbone.
Only now did Damon rise from his car, his head held forlorn, his dream shattered. Conversely, standing where his car had fallen, Schumacher, now realised that Hill was out and the title was his. Not for the first time had a Championship been decided by a coming together of the main contenders - Prost and Senna in 1989 and 1990 come immediately to mind. Ironically, if Hill had been a few seconds further behind Schumacher, this incident would not have happened, and in a way, he paid the premium for chasing Michael so hard. No sooner had the television slow-motion replay finished did the controversy start.
Had Schumacher intentionally removed Hill from the race, knowing that his own car was irreparable? Had Damon been over-enthusiastic, whereas a more cautious approach could have seen him crowned instead? Already this incident was being embedded in motor racing folklore. For his part though, Hill was keeping his composure and declined to add to the controversy by brushing it aside with "Ah well, that's motor racing". "Michael fell off the road, but he is champion and I'm not. I didn't actually see him hit the wall I just thought 'Hello, he's slipped up', but that his car was OK. Then I looked again and it seemed his rear suspension was damaged enough to put the car out of the race. If I could go back in time I would have sat back and let him go. I think maybe my family and fans may be more disappointed than I am myself because I know I gave my best. The Championship was decided over the whole season, not just the last race."
If Hill was magnanimous in defeat, Schumacher found himself eating his own words. "I did make some comments about Damon but I have to admit that I was wrong because in the last two races in particular, and he must have done even before, he has done a proper and fantastic job. He has been a great rival and I must say sorry for what I said." The eventual winner of the race was Nigel Mansell who said this about Damon afterwards: "What a fantastic job he's done. He brought the Championship alive, he won those races which he had to and I for one am very proud and the whole country should be - he was fabulous." Second place man,
Gerhard Berger had this to say: "I'm sorry about Damon, but he's shown he's able to do a great job and that he's able to win a Championship. It's always like this, one has to win it and one lose it - but he's going to have time to win it and he'll do it." Damon: "I knew Michael had everything to gain should neither of us finish the race. I'm afraid going into the last race with a one point deficit to Michael is always going to be putting you in a position where you have everything to lose. I don't think he did anything I wouldn't have expected. He tried to take the line just as if I wasn't there. I think he would have made it difficult for me to pass in any situation - that's understandable, after all we were racing for the world Championship.
Until the crash, things had been going really well and it was going to be an exciting finish." "When I stepped on the gas to go for the gap he had left, it was obvious he was coming back across. I tried to go up the kerb on the right-hand side, sometimes you get away with it and you get a little bit of luck. But he rode over my left-front suspension and it gave the front of my car a great big twist that broke the wishbone. There's no doubt he was still racing me and making it difficult for me to overtake. After the crash there was no way I could have carried on. The damage was too great and it would have been far too dangerous. It was all I could do to drive the car back to the pits. I still held some hope all the way to the garage, but in my heart of hearts, I knew it was all gone for me and there was nothing anybody could do. It was an awful feeling. I would not want to go through it again, it was a real heartbreaker." "I've looked at the video time and time again and I could see his car was damaged after it had hit the wall. But I didn't know that at the time. And that makes it doubly difficult for me to come to terms with now because if I had not tried to overtake him, and had not given him the opportunity to touch, then he would probably been out of the race and I'd probably have been champion. Michael's the champion by one point, and we can't take that away from him. Honestly, it is not anything I feel any anger towards him about. I keep re-running it in my mind but it has certainly not destroyed me even though I am terribly disappointed. I gave it my best shot and did everything I could to win the title. I had a great bash at it, it was fun up until that final conclusion. I'm a better driver now than I was this time last year and I'm always getting better. I think I've shown I've got what it takes to become a champion and I'll be starting off from that platform at the start of next year."
Frank Williams thought the jury was still out regarding the crash: "I have seen the replay of the crash and it was obviously quite a controversial thing. I would like to look at it several more times before I make any firm conclusions. There wasn't any point in protesting about it. Suppose we had. I would hate to win a Championship that way. I thought Damon raced superbly and really had the measure of Michael." The press had a field day, the Daily Mirror claimed that their telephone lines had been jammed by Damon fans, 99% protesting that Schumacher was a cheat. No longer just back page news, the controversial incident now spilled onto the front page 'Damon Hill Sensation' announced the Mirror. While the Daily Mail called it: 'Smash and Grab'.
Hopes were raised two days after the race when the official observer announced that he would be submitting a report to the FIA. If they accepted it, there would be an investigation and rumours were that Schumacher would be stripped of his crown. But the implications of such an event would have been awesome. Where would it end? Would they make the decision retrospective and take away Senna's title - or Prost's - or Surtees? The FIA soon announced that no action would be taken - but instead proposed a rule change whereby the contenders in a similar situation might race on in spare cars, or be told to decide the title with a two-man race-off. Hill knew that championships are not won in the last few races. He started the season at a disadvantage and missed opportunities along the way.
The Williams car was simply not on a par with the Benetton, not until late in the season did they look equal. Benetton seemed to outwit the Williams pit strategy every time - until Suzuka. Damon and his team spent months coming to terms with Senna's death and regaining their confidence while Schumacher bounded ahead. Individual incidents knocked Hill backwards too. Hakkinen defying physics and sharing the same space and time as Damon at Monaco, the collision with Katayama in Germany and the bent wing courtesy of Schumacher at Imola. These comings together, more than anything, instilled far more caution in Hill than was arguably good for him. While Schumacher sliced through the traffic, Damon would often hold back until he was sure of a clean manoeuvre. Not until the humiliation at Jerez did Hill really look a determined man. Suzuka changed him. He knew then that he was capable of out-racing Schumacher.
If he can only retain this confidence through the next season he will surely finish 1995 wearing the crown that was so nearly his. For Damon, his return to Britain would be greeted with TV cameras, reporters, photographers, fans and family. Ahead of him, a winter of award ceremonies, book launches, constant radio and television appearances, a holiday - and more testing. But like his father's friend, Jackie Stewart, Damon has made a personal decision to limit his Formula One career to one hundred Grands Prix - so by 1999, we can expect Damon to have acquired a new direction to his career. Until then, the Hill spirit is never give up, keep on 'til the last - and he will keep coming back for more, until he has achieved that ambition of emulating his father's achievement and become World Motor Racing Champion.
Copyright 1994 & 2000 Mike Baldock