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Damon Hill spent four seasons racing for Williams during his Formula 1 career, never finishing outside the top three in the drivers’ championship.
A brief debut with Brabham in 1992 preceded Damon Hill being called up by Frank Williams to partner Alain Prost the following year.
Prost was signed to replace Nigel Mansell, who left F1 after Williams refused to guarantee him number one status, opening up an unexpected spot for Hill.
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The Frenchman won his fourth and final championship that year, with Hill finishing P3 in the championship before Prost retired and was replaced by Ayrton Senna.
Senna’s heartbreaking death at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix stunned the paddock and suddenly made Hill the senior driver alongside David Coulthard.
Hill has now recounted his 1995 campaign alongside Coulthard and admitted that Frank Williams’ inability to back him that year cost him a first title in his battle with Michael Schumacher.
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Damon Hill doesn’t ‘understand’ why Frank Williams didn’t enact team orders in 1995
Hill was asked on the Chequered Flag podcast whether he ever questioned the approach McLaren took with their drivers in 2025 and said: “Well, I was in a similar situation in 1995 where we had two drivers fighting Michael Schumacher, me and David Coulthard fighting Michael Schumacher for the World Championship.
“And I did have a bit of a disagreement with Frank over his approach because I was actually leading the championship, and I had a good chance.
“I just didn’t need to have a teammate who was going to take points from me. And he insisted that they’re a race team and they provide the car to the drivers and they sort it out themselves.
“The result was may the best man win, and that’s all well and good except when you’re fighting for a drivers’ world championship, but their focus was very much on the constructors.
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“They’ve always said that they were only interested in constructors. But to me, it’s always been blindingly obvious that the biggest cachet is the drivers’ championship.
“I know that the points and the money and the divvying up of all the funds from Formula 1 are made by the constructors.
“But let’s be honest, we came here to see the drivers’ championship resolved. In the team, I think that’s the thing that lifts up the team and gives the team kudos. If you look at McLaren, the names of the drivers, Niki Lauda, Prost, and Senna.
“I could never understand his approach.”
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Frank Williams regretted Damon Hill’s exit after winning the 1996 F1 championship
Hill finished 33 points behind Schumacher in 1995, with Coulthard only finishing ahead of him twice when they both took the chequered flag.
The Scotsman won in Portugal with Hill coming home in third, before beating him at the Pacific Grand Prix.
The following year, Coulthard moved to McLaren and Hill was joined by Jacques Villeneuve, and the Brit went on to win his one and only title.
However, Hill had already been replaced by Heinz-Harald Frentzen before the 1996 campaign ended, leaving him scrambling for a seat on the grid despite possessing the number one to use on his car.
He eventually joined Arrows, but Frank Williams privately admitted dropping Hill was a mistake, with Frentzen never managing to hit the same heights.
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