New Rules, New Rivals
Hill and Senna were both confirmed as the Williams driver line-up for 1994, just two weeks after the 1993 Portuguese GP where the Brazillian had announced that he was to leave McLaren and Prost revealed his retirement plans. Frank Williams had at last retained the services of the one driver he had been pining for all those years, but he also showed a clear enthusiasm for Damon's abilities as a title contender. "Both drivers are going for the Championship. Clearly we are expecting greater things from Ayrton, but with every race Damon continues to surprise so the opportunity is wide open. Damon will have to push very hard to stay with Ayrton, but I won't be surprised if he doesn't stay with him and beat him on some occasions. There's no guarantee for Damon in 1995, but it's a foregone conclusion." The announcement was a welcome relief for Hill. "One of my worries was that Senna and Prost might decide they didn't dislike each other so much after all" Both men may have been given the chance of the title, but they were certainly not retained by Williams on the same financial conditions. Damon had been earning something in the region of £25,000 a race in 1993. He was able to improve the deal with Frank Williams for 1994, but for a reputed £750,000 for the season, he was still one of the cheapest top drivers. Michael Schumacher, with one win less than Hill could apparently demand $5million in '94 with a raise built in to $7million for 1995. Senna on the other hand commanded sums which belonged in a different world. His earnings at McLaren in 1993 were reported to top the £1million per race. The Williams deal was rumoured to be in the $25million bracket.
Three times world champion, Jackie Stewart felt Damon's 1993 performance had surpassed all expectations and was a good investment for Williams: "For me, Damon was the driver of the year. When you consider it was his first full season and the calibre of people he was up against at the front, he has been outstanding. Even with the best car. I don't think Prost and Senna did anything sensational. Schumacher, perhaps you might consider. But Damon has done a tremendous job." Many in the sport felt that Formula One was evolving into a two or three horse race and the closer, if somewhat stage-managed, competition provided by the Indy cars on the other side of the Atlantic, may begin to attract more attention, especially with a name like Mansell driving them. TV audience ratings for F1 were averaging about 439 million per race, but that figure was 12% down on the previous year and track attendance was also lower. Without the audience, sponsorship and advertising, so necessary to maintain the sport, would dwindle. To spice up the racing, as well as supposedly making it less expensive to run a car, a number of quite dramatic rule changes would be in force for 1994. Such driver aids as traction control and active suspension were banned. Power throttles were originally ousted, only to be re-instated and then thrown out again. Just what the rules were to be as far as transmissions and a litany of other technical details was becoming a nightmare to interpret. The contentious in-race refuelling of cars was also to return.
Patrick Head of Williams explained the problem facing his team of designers. "We are designing a passive car, but it's a question of whether or not you start a programme on active damping and such. We are having to design a car that is capable of being adapted for all possibilities, because basically the FIA are hedging their bets. For instance, they are not saying to us 'This is the rule that will apply', they are saying - 'These judgements will be made by the stewards of the meeting.' I have to say it is a political game and that instead of running and managing things in a way that is straightforward and in a way that I would call professional, Max Mosley (FIA President) appears to be of a style, and of a type that wants to make things as murky and cloudy as he possibly can. The sooner, in my view, that he becomes what he wants to be, which is a politician, and goes away and does that, the happier we'll all be." Damon had fared enormously well in '93 using the active car but he had never had to pilot a top-flight F1 'passive' car in anger, Ayrton Senna on the other hand had won all his Championships driving one.
Alain Prost gave his opinion on Hill's chances with the new car. "Damon doesn't really know the new car that well. He is more familiar than anyone with the present active-ride Williams and traction control. But he has driven the 1994 passive prototype so little and will have to work quite hard during the winter to get used to it. That could be a problem for him compared to Senna who has a lot of experience." But, Damon points out: "In ten years of motor racing I have only done one year in a car with active suspension, traction control and ABS. When you've driven the passive car a few times, everything feels the same again. But you do have less grip in the slow corners and it will certainly make a difference in the wet and maybe in a race, when the tyres are worn and the grip fades."
While Damon had awarded himself and family a two-week holiday in Antigua, others had awarded him abundantly. The Daily Express made him their Sportsman of the Year; he was presented with the Ferodo Trophy as Autosport's British Competition Driver of 1993 and at the BRDC Awards, he walked away with the Johnny Wakefield, John Cobb and Richard Seaman Trophies while also collecting a BRDC Gold Star to add to six of his father's. He had not reached the pinnacle yet though, and many thought he never would, but Damon still felt he should be doing things 'the British Way'. He had been attempting to retain some of the virtue's, mannerism's and morals that his father had stood for, but he had learnt a lot during the previous year - he was becoming his own man.
A new resolve seemed to have immersed Hill. Damon's perception of his achievements had always been rather self-critical, in a conscious effort to observe his shortcomings before others did. It also helped keep his feet on the ground but had the unfortunate effect of making him appear, in public, to lack the confidence needed in a potential champion. Over the past twelve months, not only had he aged professionally by a good five years, but outwardly his face had changed. No longer that, slightly worried, boy-out-of-his-depth expression. It had been replaced by a matured and more serious than worried look, but one that had still not lost completely it's occasional grin. He gained that Grand Prix weathered appearance combined with a growing aura of confidence. When interviewed, Damon would still search carefully for the correct word - what he would call engaging the brain before the mouth - and always get the sponsors name in! It showed his truly professional approach to what is his business but it would leave him open to attack as a non-personality - a grey man. This label would be hard to peel off. How to appear more flamboyant yet retain credibility, how to create that 'star-quality' if indeed it could be fabricated. Would it come with more success or should it be nurtured?
Not all Damon's fans remembered Graham but everyone could compare him with Mansell. Patrick Head: "I hope there's not too much of this business about the fans wanting to see their Nigel Mansell replacement. That was putting an awful lot on Damon's shoulders, but he handled it very well. It's the same with this 'I did it for my dad' stuff that we see in a certain national newspaper. It's forced upon him. At the age of 33, you're your own man. I've been immensely impressed with Damon's performances. People had made a judgement about him, that he was not necessarily in among the superstars on the highest level of skill, but then they said that about Nigel and I think they had to review their opinion." Although Williams had been the first team to test a passive suspension, development was a slow progress and by the end of January, the FW16 was one of the last cars to be rolled out. Damon and the teams 22 year-old test driver, David Couthard had been testing 1994 variants at regular intervals since August. Testing at Estoril at the end of September, the Williams set-up did not set the track alight, not managing better than 11th fastest. To make things worse, Damon had a huge crash at the final corner seriously damaging his car but luckily not himself. Work on the new car was to continue throughout the winter months but not without further mishaps.
Damon wrote off a Williams-Renault FW15C at the end of November, again at Estoril, climbing out unhurt after the 155mph collision. "I'm not really sure what happened. The car went round so quickly that I didn't have time to correct it. It went backwards into the barrier on the outside very hard indeed. Then it bounced back and hit the barrier on the other side of the track." Hill's mechanics could find no obvious reason for the crash, as the car was so mangled, it made a mechanical post mortem almost impossible. Barcelona, mid-December saw Damon set equal best time with Gerhard Berger's Ferrari, although his main task had been the testing of the new Renault RS6 V10 engine. Leaving Ayrton Senna to do most of the work at the January Estoril test, it was on to Barcelona in mid-February and yet another shunt. Damon, on his first flying lap, lost the back of the car, literally, as he neared the end of the main straight. The crash, estimated to be at about 100mph was thought to have been caused by a gearbox fault. Damon managed to escape unscathed once more, although the back end of the FW15D was a wreck. Hill, who was fortunate to have been uninjured, commented on his misadventures: "Basically, the first one was entirely my fault, the second one may have been my fault, and the third one wasn't my fault. But they are sobering reminders of just how dangerous these cars are."
The last big test before the season started was at Imola, with most of the teams participating, where Williams ran the new car FW16. To their chagrin, however, it was Schumacher, who topped the times, 2/10ths quicker than Senna, and Damon almost 8/10ths slower in third. Hill, who only ran for a day and a half had been plagued by gearbox faults. Outwardly though, the message was upbeat: "It's been great while I've been driving. The car is sensitive to changes and we are making progress." Senna was also impressed with the car: "This is a fast car and engine. We are seeing nearly 200mph on the straight, well up on what I was used to last year. It takes self-control not to exploit what the car can really do, but that would mean exposing yourself to a potential accident." With the new season less than a month away, journalists and fans alike were speculating who would dominate the Championship. Senna's name came naturally to the top of the pile, yet many considered Schumacher's chances in the Benetton to be good. The daunting prospect for Damon was having, for the second season in succession, to drive alongside another giant of his sport. The saying 'your greatest rival in motor racing is your team-mate' had never escaped Ayrton, who was renowned for his ability to destroy, at least psychologically his team-mate.
Hill remained confident that the pair could operate without conflict: "Ayrton has a reputation and it may be a less easy relationship than the one I've had with Alain Prost, but I'm not easily demoralised. I'm on an upward curve in my career and I'm going to grab the chance to be champion next year with all my power. But I'm not going to put up defences. I've shown what I can do." Patrick Head: "I don't think he'll be intimidated by Senna. It will be interesting to see Damon operating with Ayrton, and the fact of the matter is that if they are operating on a similar level, there will be aggravation. The only time you don't get aggravation in a team is when there is a distinct gap between the drivers. I think they are both intelligent guys and I don't think the level of aggravation will get to fisticuffs, or screaming and shouting at each other, but if two guys are competing with each other they'll never be 'Hail fellow, you're my best pal'." Alain Prost: "I think it will be much more difficult for Damon with Senna than it was with me. Damon and I were friends and I never had any problems. I was quite happy when he was winning a race. My feeling last year was very different from previous seasons. I had a team spirit - but I don't know what is going to happen this year with Senna. As a racing driver, Ayrton has fantastic ability but, on a human level, he is more false than anyone I have ever known."
Hill though had a significant advantage over Senna - having spent the last few years testing and driving for Williams, the mechanics and staff embraced him as one of their own. Senna was joining with something of a dual reputation, one for pushing himself and his team to the extreme in an effort to win and one for causing trouble and strife. Prost again: "Damon knows everyone so well and is very much accepted by them. He is much more experienced now than he was a year ago. You learn quickly when you lead races and when you win them." Ayrton Senna retorts: "The team mate thing is never easy because of the direct competition but perhaps I should say that the only driver I ever had a problem with was Alain Prost. With other drivers we may have had different opinions, but we always had respect. There was Berger, Andretti, Hakkinen, Elio de Angelis, Johnny Dumfries, Nakajima. When you look at it, I've always got on well - except for one."
Frank Williams defended his decision to employ the Brazillian: "Senna will test Damon and show him some pretty high standards. Damon learned a lot from Alain, and he'll learn a lot from Ayrton. But I've no doubt that Damon has what it takes to be the next British World Champion. I don't know how long it will take, but he's got a lot of talent and his head works very well for him." Encouraging words, but Damon seemed to be saying he would use more than just his brain to succeed: "The way I'm going to approach my racing is this; I'm going to drive my nuts off, and if that's good enough, then I'll win. If it's not good enough, then I'll have to drive better. My aim of course, is to win the Championship - because there's just no other way to approach it. I can see there's an opportunity, and I know that many things happen in the season that are unpredictable."
Copyright 1994 & 2000 Mike Baldock