Damon Hill reveals why he turned down the chance to be Michael Schumacher’s teammate at Ferrari

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Damon Hill won the 1996 Formula 1 world championship, but were it not for Michael Schumacher, he would have at least one more title under his belt.

After making his Formula 1 debut at the age of 31, Damon Hill quickly went on to become one of the fastest drivers on the grid during the 1990s.

The beginning of the decade was dominated by Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell, before a rivalry between Hill and Michael Schumacher quickly developed.

Schumacher controversially beat Hill to the drivers’ championship in 1994, before the British driver finally finished at the top of the standings two years later, racing for Williams.

The German driver won his first two championships with Benetton before joining Ferrari in 1996.

Guenther Steiner has shared previously how Schumacher changed Ferrari, and Hill has now recalled the story of how close he came to joining the project, and why he turned it down.

READ MORE: Michael Schumacher’s ‘brutally controversial’ Damon Hill move that decided the 1994 F1 championship

Damon Hill turned down Ferrari move over having to become Michael Schumacher’s number two driver

Hill was speaking to Johnny Herbert on the Stay on Track Podcast and when asked about a potential move to the Scuderia during his career, he said: “If you get offered an opportunity to go to Ferrari, of course, it’s very tempting to go, ‘Yeah, I want to go and do that,’ but you have to think carefully because it’s very complicated.

“I mean, I had a basically fundamental rule, which was I want to be in the best car, with the best chance of success.

“I turned them down because I needed a drive. Jean Todt said come and have a word, and we’ll talk about it loosely.

“So I did go to Italy and I met him at a house. I think it was his house where he worked from.

“He said, ‘You know, you’d have to be number two to Michael.”

Herbert replied: “So that went down really well, I guess, for you.”

Hill continued: “Yeah, that was the reason for turning down this very generous offer.

“It’s not an offer you can’t refuse, is it? That one. It’s an offer you have to refuse.

“Maybe I should have done it, maybe I should have gone. Someone asked Jean Todt that a few years ago, and he denied that I ever went and spoke with him. So actually I must have dreamt it!”

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about F1 legend Michael Schumacher from net worth to career stats

How would Damon Hill have compared to Michael Schumacher’s other Ferrari teammates?

When Schumacher joined Ferrari, the team allowed both Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger to leave, with the pair ending up at Benetton in 1996.

This opened up the opportunity for Eddie Jordan to sell Eddie Irvine to Ferrari, and the Irishman partnered with Schumacher up until the 2000 season.

Irvine had a strong chance to win the 1999 championship, but Schumacher wasn’t the most willing teammate, and eventually the title went to Mika Hakkinen.

When Irvine left, he was replaced by Rubens Barrichello, and the Brazilian ended up having one of the best careers of any Formula 1 driver who never won a championship.

Schumacher described Barrichello as his best teammate, and given the rivalry between Hill and the Ferrari legend, it would be hard to believe that he’d ever describe him in the same way had they been partnered together.

Hill ended up in a similar position to another British driver, with David Coulthard also approached by Ferrari to race alongside Schumacher.

It’s hard to believe that Hill wouldn’t have fared better than Irvine or Barrichello at Ferrari, but given he walked away from F1 in 1999, the likelihood that it would have been an amicable partnership is very low.