Damon Hill reveals why he once ‘declined’ McLaren despite being ‘very close’ to joining

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Damon Hill has admitted that he was “very close” to joining McLaren for the 1998 F1 season, but he rejected the move as he did not feel Ron Dennis really “wanted” him.

McLaren studied the market for a new driver ahead of the 1998 season after questions grew over David Coulthard’s future with the team. Yet while Hill had stood out to McLaren in their search for a worthwhile teammate for Mika Hakkinen, he decided against accepting an offer.

Hill was also exploring the market at the time, having spent the 1997 campaign at Arrows on the back of leaving Williams straight after winning the 1996 F1 drivers’ championship. In the end, Hill joined Jordan Grand Prix for what proved to be his final two seasons on the F1 grid.

While joining Jordan ultimately saw Hill return to the top step of the podium, as he won the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix, rejecting McLaren cost the Briton a chance to contend for another title. Hakkinen sealed the drivers’ championship in 1998 and 1999 with Coulthard’s support.

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Damon Hill rejected McLaren for 1998 as he did not feel Ron Dennis ‘wanted’ him

Reflecting on his chance to join McLaren for the 1998 F1 season, Hill has now admitted that he turned the switch down due to their then-team principal, Dennis. Hill was not interested in joining a team, even McLaren, if he did not feel wanted, having experienced that at Williams.

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Hill said on the Stay On Track podcast: “If eccentricity means perfectionism to the extent where it drives everyone completely mad because you can never get to perfection, then I think that’s probably one of [Dennis’] strengths in a way.

“Ron, I remember, was on the cover of Time magazine or something. It said, ‘Is this the most successful manager in the world?’ or something to that effect.

“And from a business point of view, he was exceptional in getting deals and selling the team and polishing that McLaren thing to being this unassailable team. It was at one point virtually unassailable.

“But yes, [he was] very awkward to deal with in the sense that he never gave you the sense that he, well, in my experience, he didn’t give me the sense that he really wanted me there.

“And there was an opportunity to go there. I got very close, but I concluded, look, if he doesn’t want me there, do I want to be there in a situation where, I’ve been through that with Williams, where I’ve been trying to get the sense that they actually thought I was worth keeping.

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“And after leaving [Williams] I concluded that I was not putting myself through that again. I’m only going to go somewhere if someone wants me to be there. And I didn’t get that sense with Ron. So, I politely declined.”

Dennis was the architect of the modern McLaren outfit, after taking them over in 1980. The Briton ultimately oversaw McLaren’s interest until 2016, which included leading them to 10 drivers’ titles and seven constructors’ titles – including doing the double in the 1998 season.

Hakkinen beat Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher to win the 1998 drivers’ title by 14 points, and Coulthard finished the season ranked third in the standings a further 30 points behind. Hill’s first year at Jordan saw him come sixth in the standings with a quarter of Hakkinen’s points.

Had Hill felt more valued by Dennis, it would have been interesting to see how much closer he would have been to Hakkinen compared to Coulthard during the 1998 campaign. While Hakkinen scored eight wins and 11 podiums, Coulthard bagged one win and nine rostrums.