Testing Time

Damon continued to race in the International F3000 series during 1991, and although the win's had dried up, he had attracted the attention of the Williams Formula One Team. Their test driver, Mark Blundell left to drive for Brabham and Frank Williams in turn signed Damon as his replacement. Hill joined the Williams team during a period when they were developing a number of technical innovations that would provide the team with a competitive edge. Testing was to be of the utmost importance to the future results of the team, at the time comprised of Nigel Mansell and Ricardo Patrese. The test driver would be expected to drive to the same limits as the race drivers - yet without the prior knowledge of the car's abilities afforded to the racers. Damon would be required to test each new facet of the car - be it tyres, engine, aerodynamics, gearbox or whatever - and report back to the engineers in a lucid, intelligent and technically articulate manner. Williams' technical director, Patrick Head said; "we gave Damon a test and he did a very good job, so we carried on."

On the track with Williams that year, Mansell, having returned after two years at Ferrari knew that at the ripe old age of thirty-six, 1991 could be his last chance of winning the World Championship. The pressure would be on for the whole team from the outset. Things did not go well, though, to start with. In the first Grand Prix of the season at Phoenix - after Mansell and Patrese had already diced with some high-speed brinkmanship, Mansell's new semi-automatic gearbox gave up the ghost on lap 36. With only fourteen days between the US and the Brazillian Grands prix, Williams would have to sort out the gearbox problems in Europe and send the 'fix' to Sao Paulo. This was a job for Damon - using the car that Patrese had won at San Marino the year before, he put the new gearbox through it's paces at Silverstone. Hill said "We've made progress in testing - the team will get it right for Imola."

Brazil, however, was a race with mixed fortunes - Patrese collected second place points while Mansell having run close to Senna at the front, suffered first an appalling pit-stop, followed by a cut tyre and finally the gearbox selected 1st gear instead of 4th or 5th and span the car.

At Imola, Mansell struggled with the gearbox, and while doing so was shunted from behind, finishing his race on the first lap. Patrese suffered a rare Renault engine failure. Clearly, Williams needed a dramatic reliability improvement if they were to beat the so far invincible Senna in his McLaren.

Testing time at Silverstone at the end of June saw Nigel Mansell set the quickest lap only for his gearbox to break again. But fellow British driver Martin Brundle remarked that "Williams are going to take some stopping from now on in they'll leave the rest behind."

In Formula 3000, meanwhile, Damon could be found here and there racing his Middlebridge Lola, albeit with little success - at Hockenheim, supporting the GP, his race only lasted three laps when he went off.

Back at Williams, they were still having a bad time. In contention, but luck was not with them. At Estoril, a hasty tyre-change left Mansell accelerating down the pit lane followed by one of his tyres with a mind of it's own. At the end of the season, Williams was second in the Constructor's Championship with Mansell and Patrese second and third respectively in the Driver's Championship.

While their very public driving was thrilling world-wide audiences, Damon was quietly beavering away, testing the FW14B car in readiness for the 1992 season. The introduction of an 'active' suspension system was expected to be the secret weapon that would win Williams the championship. The thousands of kilometres driven by Damon developing the new computer-controlled car paid off immediately. The opening Grand Prix at South Africa saw the Williams pair finish first and second. Frank Williams complimented his team; "It's quite a remarkable engineering achievement to get this one-two which no-one will quite appreciate."

After three races, it was apparent that this season it was the Williams team that had got it right from the start and McLaren with their new car were left trailing. Neither team were prepared to stand still and both could be found testing at Silverstone after Easter.

Damon reflects on F1 testing: "The role of the test driver has become much more important, particularly with teams of this stature. In the past, he may merely have done the boring things, running in stuff and so on. Nowadays, he is expected to be at least close to the calibre and pace of the race driver, because performance is crucial. I didn't feel at all frustrated when the team had first and second places in South Africa. I got great satisfaction out of it. I knew what they were experiencing and felt I had contributed to the performance. I regarded it as a feather in my cap. It's a fantastic experience for me, because I am very much a part of the team, learning about the operation and the technology."

With the Williams Renault gaining maximum points from the first two races of the '92 season , there was already talk of change in the air. Although Damon could not have suspected it, this would eventually lead to him partnering Alain Prost in the 1993 season at Williams. Bernard Dudot, the technical director at Renault - was thinking aloud when he suggested that maybe Prost should partner Mansell next year. Frank Williams on the other hand had always been keen to include Ayrton Senna in his driver line-up. A sour relationship had existed between Mansell and Prost while they were both at Ferrari, so some resistance could well be expected from his corner. Frank Williams also had to admit that teaming Nigel with Ayrton would be hard work as "they hate each other's guts." Clearly, as the season developed, the 1993 Williams seats were going to provide some interesting discussion.

Well before any suggestion was made that Damon might drive races for Williams, the Brabham team invited him to drive. Brabham were already in the grips of financial misery and to top that, they had failed to qualify one of their two cars for the first three races. Hill was to replace the only woman driver in Formula One - the Italian Giovanni Amati. After a seat fitting in mid-April at their Milton Keynes factory, Damon made his way to Barcelona's Catalunya circuit for the Spanish Grand Prix. While Brabham's team manager, Dennis Nursey was in South Africa trying to find a buyer for the concern, his cars were being impounded in France on the orders of another company which claimed it was owed money. When they left one car as security, the two race cars were released to eventually rendezvous with Damon. He said: "It's only for one race at the moment. I have no idea about what is going to happen afterwards. I am proud to carry the name forward into Formula One. Brabham are struggling. They desperately need sponsorship. It is one of the most famous teams and I would hate to see it disappear. The car has great potential and if my being in the team helps them get money, either by my dad's name or through results, then that is fine by me." Damon failed to qualify his Brabahm-Judd, finishing in thirtieth place.

Hill was given another chance at the San Marino Grand Prix. On the first day of qualifying, Damon was running in twenty-ninth position, only to have his time cancelled by the stewards when they found his car to be three kilograms underweight. It had not been a good day - earlier, the team had been stopped from competing until they paid an overdue bill from a supplier. Up front, Mansell was about to win his fifth race in succession. The Williams team's overwhelming success was starting to ring alarm bells as the sports governing body, FISA feared a massive drop in world-wide television audiences as the World Championship became a procession. With the gap between the 'have all the gadgets' and 'have nots' getting wider, many people were calling for a change in the rules. Chiefly the voices were from the 'have nots' as they had the most to gain. Faced with dwindling sponsorship income as they faired worse, their prospects were spiralling downwards as they could not afford the massive development costs for the likes of active suspension and traction control.

At the end of May, the Formula One entourage paid it's annual visit to Monaco - the circuit at which Damon's father won five times - in '63,'64,'65,'68 and '69. This was the first time Damon had powered a Formula One car around the narrow streets of the principality and he would obviously have a steep learning curve. But the Monte Carlo would have to wait another year before Hill Jnr. would drive in this GP. Damon could only get to within a second of Mika Hakkinen in his Lotus, who was the last driver on the provisional grid on day one. Damon improved the next day to twenty-eighth position, and only four-tenths of a second away from the grid. Hill, watching the race from the trackside, saw Mansell pipped to the flag by just a car length, having lead for seventy laps, only to have major tyre problems.

Damon had not qualified for the last three races and it was feared his position at Brabham could be in danger. There were rumours that the British driver, Julian Bailey had enough sponsorship money to 'buy' his seat. Team director, John McDonald put Hill's mind at rest, telling him that his job was safe. But things were still not going Damon's way on the track. In the first qualifying session at Montreal, he was last - nearly two seconds behind Eric Van de Poele in the other Brabham. Unable to improve sufficiently, Hill was soon on his way home.

Early July, and Damon is on familiar territory - the French Grand Prix at the Magny Cours circuit - where he shone at racing school nearly ten years earlier. Even with his experience of this track, he was unable to convince his car that it should be fast enough to reach the grid. Once again both Brabhams were back in their transporter before the race began.

A week later, the teams were lining up at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix. This was a race that Graham Hill never won but his last ever Formula One drive was at this circuit. Still waiting to make his Grand Prix debut, Damon could not wish for a better opportunity to drive in front of his home crowd. He pulled one out of the hat just when it was most needed - maybe a sign of that so far restrained winning instinct? Damon qualified twenty-sixth on the grid. In the race, which was completely dominated by Mansell, Damon managed to keep his car going for the duration and finished in sixteenth place. Certainly an achievement to finish in his first Grand Prix - sixteenth was however, second last and he had been lapped by everyone up to fifteenth place and he was four laps behind the winner. But he had finished and been noticed - and he was driving an inferior and much under-developed car. Some thought it a miracle that he had even been able to qualify with the equipment available.

It may have given Hill a psychological boost by finishing in a grand prix, but it did not help him qualify for the German GP at Hockenheim. His first day time was over eleven seconds off the pace set by Mansell. Damon reduced this gap to eight seconds but was still the slowest and failed to qualify. At the Hungaroring, after day one qualifying, only one second separated the bottom seven cars, with Hill in twenty-ninth spot - now the only Brabham car competing. By shaving another one and a half seconds off his time, he managed to nurse the Brabham onto the last row of the grid. Senna won the race but Mansell secured his World Championship by finishing second. From the twenty-six starters, only eleven finished and Damon was proud to be in that body of men - even if it was eleventh place and four laps down.

For Brabham though, enough was enough and faced with an impossible financial situation, they threw in the towel. So Damon was effectively without a drive in Formula One, but things were hotting up in the Williams contract department.

At the time of the Monaco Grand Prix 1992, comments were passed that Mansell had re-signed for Williams for another two years with Prost alongside. Mansell strongly denied this. "I am shocked to hear this. These comments are out of order and quite wrong." It also became obvious that it would be unlikely to suppose he and Prost would drive for the same team in the following season. "There's no way we could drive together again." said Mansell.

By July, Nigel Mansell looked the clear favourite to win the Championship, having won six out of the first eight races - but he had still not signed for 1993. Rumours were rife that Senna may join Williams, but Mansell made it clear that it would not be so if he remained. "Senna does not have the opportunity at the moment to come and join our team. I do have contracts with people, and there are some people in those contracts who are precluded from driving with me. The reason I have not signed ... is that until I know who the other driver is, I'm not going to commit myself."

The game of musical seats was becoming tougher and harder to resolve as the weeks went by. The struggle was not limited simply to drivers. The whole power base of Formula One would have been affected by the time the matter was resolved.

The reigning World Champion, Ayrton Senna, driving a McLaren knew that Honda were withdrawing from Formula One. He surmised that without the Honda power, his car would not compete with the Williams Renault. Not content with just taking part, and financial remuneration no longer of prime concern, Senna was seeking a drive that would give him the best chance of another championship.

The French fuel company Elf and Renault were both in favour of Prost driving a Williams in '93 - and they were prepared to put up the money to make that happen. Mansell would accept neither option - as Champion-elect, he saw himself as the number one driver at Williams and would rather resign than be forced into being just a co-driver. The Great British Public were also on his side - supported by certain newspapers - so there would certainly be a fuss if Mansell was seen to be pushed out of F1.

The governing body of Formula One - whose job it is to protect the sports interests could be faced with a situation where the 1991 champion takes a year out - or retires because he cannot drive a Williams and the probable 1993 champion resigns leaving only Prost. He would be racing the best car and could turn the 1993 season into one long demonstration drive, risking a global television turn-off and the dramatic financial consequences that could follow as advertisers pull out.

Mansell had apparently been offered a deal as far back as March for a sum of "considerably less than what I am receiving this year" told Mansell. He was thought to be earning about �4.5 Million. Williams reportedly told him that if he did not sign, then Senna was ready to step in. Wrangling over his retainer was to continue through the summer - with there still being disagreement over an offer of $10 Million.

Senna thought he could see a way through by offering to drive for Williams for nothing. He also publicly turned down an offer to drive for Ferrari so as to leave himself free. At the Belgian Grand Prix, however, Senna announced his intention of pulling out of the chase for a Williams seat in 1993. "I have found out that Alain Prost had a contract, which he had signed a long time ago, that excluded me from driving in the same team. So there is no point in my insisting, as he is backed up by Elf and Renault."

Four hours before the start of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on 13 September, Mansell read a statement. "Due to circumstances beyond my control, I have decided to retire from Formula One at the end of the season. I have made this decision with some regret - but not without a great deal of thought." He went on to say "I still love motor-racing and I still want to win. So I may look at the Indy Car World Series in America and see what opportunities are available, if any."

If Mansell kept his word, it would mean that another driver - possibly an unfulfilled driver would have to be selected. Certainly the hope of two past World Champions driving for Williams had gone. It soon became known that on Frank Williams short list were Martin Brundle - at the time without a drive, having been dropped by Benetton; the two Lotus drivers, Mika Hakkinen and Johnny Herbert; possibly Jean Alesi, Eric Comas and Damon Hill. Any driver would, no doubt have to be 'approved' by Prost before a decision was made. In an effort to keep the temperature of the situation down, the Frenchman said; "I just want to work in a harmonious atmosphere and believe that could be achieved with any of the drivers linked with the other place in the team. I will be quite content to share equal billing, the spare car and let results dictate who is the best man. That's the way I have always worked."

Prost and Hill were at the Estoril circuit at the end of September. Prost would spend the week evaluating the FW14B with the same set-up as Mansell while Damon would be required to test another car with the new specification narrower tyres.

Technical director of Williams, Patrick Head, was impressed with the way Damon had performed when testing the car's sophisticated systems. Hill had already put in some very fast lap times - some very close to those of Mansell or Prost.

At the beginning of October, Martin Brundle's hopes were shattered when Frank Williams told him that he would not be recruited. Williams seemed content playing a waiting game: "I just want to sit around for a while and see what comes out of the woodwork - I am in no hurry."

One-by-one, the options left for Williams grew smaller. Mika Hakkinen was already contracted to Lotus (although later it transpired, not bindingly) and they were not about to release him without compensation. Lotus boss, Peter Collins said "I estimate a driver like Mika will have cost us around £6 million over two years. I don't see why we should let him go so easily."

Al Unser Jnr., the Indycar driver became the favourite in mid-October but was soon discounted. The only name still surviving on the list was that of Damon. "It would seem that by a process of elimination, I am the only person left on the list. I have even had a strong indication that I might have a chance, but nothing more than that." Damon already had an offer in his pocket from the Ligier-Renault team - but they were prepared to await the outcome of any Williams decision.

Frank Williams was still reticent to sign Hill because of his comparative lack of Formula One race experience. Early in December, Hill tested again at Estoril and produced a lap time better than Prost's best. With a little persuasion from Head and Adrian Newey, the Williams Chief Car Designer, the decision was finally made and announced to the world on 14 December. Patrick Head said: "Testing is quite a different thing from sitting in the hot seat... we decided he was one of those odd bastards who can do it."

Hill said: "The team told me the Portugal tests could have a bearing on the decision. It was a high pressure situation for me but I've had that since I started racing because everyone has expected me to live up to my father's great name." The pressure on his family had been telling over the months too. Georgie: "It was excruciating. Damon was completely pre-occupied with the Williams thing. Neither of us could sleep, it consumed us twenty-four hours a day. I just wanted to run away, it all got too much. I wanted to tear my hair out and scratch my skin off, we were so completely stressed out."

"It became very difficult for us to be in the house together. I was trying to carry on an everyday life without it affecting the children. They still wanted to see their Daddy whether or not he is worrying about something. For him to sit down at the supper-table and talk about Postman Pat must have been excruciating. But he'd still do it. For my part, I reached a point that I thought if I heard Frank Williams name once more, I'd go mad."

Williams asked Damon to meet him at the Didcot factory on the evening of Friday 11 December when he offered Hill a contract. Hill said: "After a bit of wrangling we had it all sorted out. I would have been happy to sign anything that was put in front of me, to be honest." Damon phoned home at 7.30pm to tell his wife and later, when he arrived home, they videoed the contract coming through the fax machine.

Hill's estimated salary of $25,000 a race was but a pittance when compared with Mansell, Prost, Senna and many others. But the choice of an Englishman to take Mansell's place would placate many British motor-racing fans and his Hill pedigree was an added bonus.

Up to the last minute, Damon was uncertain whether he would get the drive. "I was a bag of nerves. I was hoping and praying that my dreams had come true, that all my hopes were going to be realised and that I'd get the drive that everybody wanted."

But when Frank gave me the nod, the feeling and agony of the wait was suddenly worthwhile. To say I'm overjoyed is the understatement of the century, but I'm certainly not overawed. I have plenty of confidence in both myself and the car. I know I can be the champion just like my dad. I just wish my father was alive to share this great day with me. He was my inspiration. Although I once remember saying that I had had a bellyful of cars, and at one time was seriously into motor-cycle racing, my great guiding light was seeing how he made it from nothing. He never had any help from anyone but he got where he wanted to go. That inspired me and now I have got the opportunity to drive for the best team in Formula One."

At the press conference announcing the occupant of the second Williams seat, Damon considered his racing prospects for the coming year. "If I felt there was a chance of the championship and didn't go for it, I wouldn't be normal. We can't say for sure what's going to happen next year. But there's a good chance our car will be very competitive and, in that case, the only person to beat will be Alain Prost, and no racing driver wants to be second to anyone."

Frank Williams offered Damon some advice: "Don't crash and get as many podium place and championship points as you can." Williams thought Damon a fine prospect and a great young driver, but he was adamant that he did not want to put any unfair pressure or expectations on him. "We'll be patient" he added.

Frank Williams said "It's unusual for us to appoint a driver with little or no Grand Prix experience. But Damon has proved that he has the talent, that he's fast and that he knows the car inside out. He's even been able to help Prost in setting it up. And I must say I was strongly influenced by his performance in Portugal."

Damon: "Driving the Brabham was different altogether. There wasn't exactly much pressure there. It's going to be very tough with Williams. There's a lot of pressure. It will be tough for me. I have to get fitter, be better prepared and learn to cope with the job." People ask me what sort of person I am, but I can't answer. I'm a different person to different people. I know who I am in the car and I think I am as determined as anyone to fulfil my own potential. I hope I can go out and avoid accidents and do the best I can."

Damon had lived in the shadow of his father all his life, but now he would have another hard act to follow - that of Nigel Mansell. Damon thought that "If I can't win in this car, even though all our rivals will have improved, then I've no right to be driving."

I've been told all the stories about how my dad used to stand in the Steering Wheel Club with half a pint of lager just wanting to talk to people and try and worm his way into Formula One or whatever he could get himself into. It seems as though the story has been repeated for me. Although I do not have the gift of the gab and I am completely charmless, I just persevere. I never give up."

"I was always told my father made himself the man he was and that always gives me hope. He never gave up. I often refer to what you might call his code of conduct. When I start thinking that what I'm doing is too much like hard work, when I think of packing it in, then I remember that it is not the Hill tradition. You stick at it. He made that impression on us from very early on."

"I know I've had a lucky break. I'm not owed a Formula One drive. There's a long list of brilliant drivers who never got the right opportunity. It's not impossible I could be world champion next year and I would be lying if I said I didn't think about it. But I have to keep my feet on the ground. It's going to be my first season in Formula One and my main job has to be to help the team win the constructor's championship." Hill had got on well so far with his team-mate, but they both knew that once in their cars, they become rivals. "So far, Alain seems a completely charming, affable individual but I know that inside there is somebody who will do anything to win. He didn't win forty-four Grands Prix by being a nice chap."

Damon's mother, Bette, was looking forward to her son's new drive. "We're all slightly numb at the moment" she said, "we've had so much has-he, hasn't-he all along that everyone's over-excited now Damon has definitely got it. When he told me that he was going to have a discussion with Frank Williams, I said 'Don't tell me anything, I don't want to know. Not until it's all signed, sealed and delivered.'"

The dangers held by Formula One appeared not to worry Bette. "I have no fears at all. I love motor-racing. I can relate to it. I just want him to do well because it's been tough and he's had the most dreadful struggle. He's tremendously talented and has real stickability."

With everything settled, Damon could afford to celebrate a little before the new year. "With all my family at home and me in a job, I am sure the drinks will be on me this year. I'm really looking forward to it. I've had a few Christmases which have not been so memorable, I can tell you."