Damon Hill explains why ‘perfectly charming’ Alain Prost was his most unhelpful Formula 1 teammate

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Alain Prost is one of the greatest drivers ever to race in Formula 1 and competed against some of the finest racers in the sport’s history.

When Damon Hill made his F1 debut in 1992 as a stand-in for Giovanna Amati at Brabham, Alain Prost had just retired from the sport for the first time.

The Frenchman had already won the drivers’ championship on three occasions after leaving Ferrari but was drawn back to the grid by an offer from Williams for 1993.

Nigel Mansell had just won his first and only title with the team, but after Frank Williams refused to guarantee his spot as number one driver alongside Prost, he left F1 to race in IndyCar.

That opened up a seat for Hill to join Prost at Williams in a championship-winning car; a remarkable opportunity for a driver who had only taken part in eight Grand Prix weekends and failed to qualify on six of those occasions.

Hill has previously admitted to upsetting Prost later in his career, but the year when they were teammates was far from straightforward for the British driver.

READ MORE: All to know about Alain Prost including Ayrton Senna rivalry and failed F1 team

Damon Hill says Alain Prost was like a ‘poker player’ when they were Williams teammates

Hill was asked on the High Performance Podcast what he learned from observing Prost when they were teammates during his first season in F1, and he replied: “Well, he doesn’t give anything away!

“He’s perfectly charming! I would tell this story, it’s great, you talk about setting the car up you go around and go what’s the car doing?

“And I go, hey, in turn three, my car does this, what about yours Alain? And he says, ‘Mine does the same,’ that’s it! In other words, that’s your problem, kid!

“We talked about it a little bit, but he was a poker player, cards right up against his chest.

“You’re not going to see his cards, and you respect that, he’s a competitor.”

Hill explained that he wasn’t expected to challenge Prost in his first season, given the Frenchman’s previous pedigree in Formula 1 and he would go on to win his fourth championship at the end of that season.

However, he did wonder whether Sir Frank Williams ‘secretly’ wanted him to beat Prost given he was an English driver racing for an English team, but that was always going to be an incredibly difficult task.

READ MORE: Damon Hill reveals the important role Nigel Mansell once played in earning his Williams F1 debut

Damon Hill reveals what he learned from his teammates in Formula 1

Prost was replaced by Ayrton Senna when he retired from F1 again at the end of 1993, although the Brazilian was tragically killed at Imola the following year.

He would go on to race alongside the likes of Nigel Mansell, Jacques Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher during his career before leaving the sport in 1999.

Asked what he had learned from his various teammates, Hill said: “I’ve been with Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost and then Senna a little bit and other drivers as well.

“They’re all different and they’re all different people, different personalities, they go about their work differently.

“You can’t say this is the ingredient, the only thing you can say is that they’re single-minded and you’re working with a team but you’re also protecting your own career within that team so it’s an awkward situation.

“If you imagine being in the team, which we may well have this year with McLaren, you’re in the same team with the guy who’s your rival for the championship, so you’re actually not able to get the whole team, if you like, directed towards you as you might find with say Michael Schumacher’s team or Max’s team, where they’re going to be all focused on one driver.

“You’re aware that information that you impart is also potentially benefiting your rival so it gets quite complicated.”

Hill has since advised Lando Norris and other modern drivers on how they should approach racing in Formula 1.

Many of the skills he picked up during his career still apply today even if the cars are very different.

The mental fortitude Hill needed when driving alongside some of the sport’s greatest drivers still translates to today’s championship.