Damon Hill says he ‘would have paid’ to watch one Formula 1 driver who was driven out of the sport

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There have been some spectacular drivers take to the track in Formula 1 over its 75-year history, whether it’s more recent drivers like Fernando Alonso or greats like Ayrton Senna.

Gilles Villeneuve was one of the great drivers to have ever taken to the track with his aggressive driving style, which often led to the Canadian doing something Senna would never according to Peter Windsor.

Damon Hill raced with some of F1’s greatest drivers such as Senna, Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost. Having won the World Championship in 1996 with Williams, he duly beat the legends of the championship on track.

But when discussing which driver he would ‘pay to see’ out of F1’s history books, Hill picked another driver from the modern era.

Damon Hill would ‘pay to see’ Juan Pablo Montoya over Juan Manuel Fangio

Races in the early days of F1 often consisted of drivers pounding around a track to try and complete the most laps, without necessarily exchanging position like they do on modern circuits.

Reliability and safety were two big factors in the 50s and 60s, with Juan Manuel Fangio often prevailing due to his experience and ability to extract performance. But Hill thinks Juan Pablo Montoya would be more interesting to watch from the modern era of F1 when writing in his book Lights Out, Full Throttle.

“I wouldn’t have paid to go and see Fangio necessarily but I would definitely have paid to go and see Moss – the greatest driver never to win a World Championship,” said Hill.

“Another driver who I would have paid to go and see is Juan Pablo Montoya. He probably belongs in the subcategory of brilliant drivers who were driven out of the sport. Fernando Alonso would be another one.”

Lewis Hamilton looking to achieve something only done by Juan Manuel Fangio at Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton is one of F1’s star drivers today and he will be making the switch to Ferrari for the 2025 season.

The seven-time world champion is expected to be trying to achieve his eighth world title at the Maranello-based squad, but will have a tough time up against Charles Leclerc.

If he does achieve an eighth title, Hamilton will be the first driver since Jack Brabham to win a championship at 40 years old.

Fangio won all five of his titles in his 40s, while the only other driver to achieve the feat was F1’s first Drivers’ Champion, Giuseppe Farina.