Damon Hill recalls how he once upset Formula 1 legend Alain Prost with ‘too French’ remark

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Damon Hill is one of the legends of Formula 1, having achieved the unique accolade of winning a title along with his father Graham Hill.

Having won the title in 1996 with Williams, he was duly dropped by team owner Frank Williams in favour of Heinz-Harald Frentzen after the Briton made large wage demands.

Hill was forced to switch to Arrows for the 1997 season, a team which had never won a race in its 20-year history and had only scored a single point in 1996.

Hill’s title defence would prove to be unsuccessful, with him coming close on one occasion to a race win at the Hungarian Grand Prix before his car developed a hydraulic problem and forced him to finish second.

For the 1998 season, Hill came close to signing with Alain Prost’s team. The four-time world champion offered Hill the drive, but this would later be revoked when the Briton made comments in the media that inadvertently insulted Prost.

Damon Hill once insulted Alan Prost when asked about joining team

When discussing the move in his book, Lights Out, Full Throttle, Hill recalls what happened when he was asked by a journalist about a potential move to the upcoming team.

“As a stylist I’d have to choose Alain Prost. When my contract was up with Arrows at the end of 1997 he asked me if I’d come and drive for him,” said Hill.

“I’d always got on very well with Alain and after he told me all about his new eponymous team I said I’d think about it. After giving it some thought, I decided it wouldn’t be a good fit and a bit later on I ended up inadvertently insulting not just Alain, but his entire team.

“When asked by a journalist why I hadn’t joined Prost F1, I rather clumsily said it was because it was ‘too French’, meaning that I would be the only non-French person in a French team with French engines and a French teammate. You know what they say, you can have too much of a good thing! I’m afraid I rather upset them. Me and my big mouth.”

Damon Hill joins Jordan and makes ‘ridiculous’ demands

Hill eventually joined Jordan in 1998, although the move was not made with some demands that displeased Eddie Jordan.

One of the main sponsors at the time was cigarette company Benson and Hedges, and the Briton was making wage demands that Jordan could not fulfil.

Jordan said the company ‘stumped up the money’ to pay for Hill’s drive, which effectively allowed him to stay there on a two-year contract before retiring.

Hill would go on to achieve Jordan’s first race win at the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix, albeit under controversial circumstances when they decided to use team orders to keep prevent teammate Ralf Schumacher from overtaking him.