Alan Henry : Motor racing
Damon Hill’s second place in the Hungarian Grand Prix may turn out to be a crucial result in his seven-year Formula One career.
Although it is too soon to say whether it will open the door to a place in one of F1’s top teams, it was certainly a timely reminder that here is a seasoned front-line operator who is well acquainted with the psychological inticacies of succeeding at the highest level.
The world champion’s status within the F1 community has remained high since he was ditched by Williams at the end of last season. However his finish behind Jacques Villeneuve – and but for a hydraulic problem on the final lap he seemed assured of victory – will have consolidated Hill’s profile at a time when McLaren, Prost and Sauber are following his progress with more than passig interest.
All three teams may make driver changes at the end of this season and Hill is regarded as a contender if they do indeed have any vacancies. The British driver is particularly keen on move to the Mercedes- powered McLaren, whose current drivers David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen, however, are determined to hang on to their jobs.
Hill’s near-triumph has another dimension: it goes a long way towards justifying his signing for Tom Walkinshaw’s Arrows-Yamaha team, a decision which had looked questionable during the early races of the year.
But it would be wrong to suggest that Hill’s performance signals a shift in the established order of F1. He made superb use of his Arrows’s durable Bridgestone tyres on a day when all the Goodyear opposition blistered their rubber in the torrid conditions.
This, and the fact that the tight Hungaroring circuit suited the Yamaha engine better than the more powerful opposition, was just the opening Hill needed.
“That was a great drive by any standards,” said the former F1 driver Martin Brundle, who is now part of ITV’s commentary team.
“He must have gained enormous satisfction from it, bearing in mind that here was a reigning world champion who had made a controversial choice of team, then stood up and predicted that he would win another grand prix this season – to the accompaniment, it must be said, of a certain amount of sniggering.
“Yet it was a bitter-sweet moment. He’s won 21 grands prix, so really second place doesn’t mean that much to him. It would have gone down in history as a great win – the first for Arrows, the first for Bridgestone, the first for Yamaha – which he certainly deserved,” Brundle said.
oppostion’. But where were the other Bridgestone runners? Where was his team- mate?
ENDS