Damon Hill is one of Formula 1’s most recognised drivers, but his debut very nearly didn’t happen without the help of Nigel Mansell.
Mansell won the 1992 season after taking nine victories and three podiums, but for the following season he didn’t want to race at Williams.
This is because Williams signed Alain Prost, whom Mansell did not like after his time at Ferrari, while the Briton also accused the team of reneging on his contract extension.
Williams were the defending champions at this stage, but found themselves in a difficult situation. The FW15C was the first car to feature several advanced driving aids, including active suspension, anti-lock brakes, traction control, telemetry, power steering, and automatic transmission.
Hill was their test driver, having joined from Brabham, where he achieved mixed results, but that would all change for 1993 as he recalled on the High Performance podcast.
Damon Hill explains how early Nigel Mansell exit led to his Williams F1 debut
Mansell’s exit also coincided with Riccardo Patrese leaving the team, which meant that Williams had no reference point for their cars the following season.
This is where Hill came in, having been their test driver and helped develop the FW15C, he was the most experienced driver that the team had who could partner Prost.
“If you’re a test driver, in those days, you were a washed-up, no hope for the future. But because Williams was developing the active car, which is a highly technical car that was going to be used the following year, I was the Williams test driver,” said Hill.
“All expectations were that it would be Nigel Mansell with Alain Prost, but late in the day, he said to Frank Williams that he would not be racing next year.
“He told him: ‘You’ve got Alain Prost’, and everyone else was signed up. So the only person who knew enough about this car was little old me, who had been driving it all year and developing it. Everyone else was signed up.”
Damon Hill helps Williams win 1993 title
Hill’s arrival was more competitive than anticipated with Williams, with the Briton constantly challenging Prost in the race for the title.
The pair had a brilliant battle at the French Grand Prix, then later in the season, Hill finally got his first win at the Hungarian GP after Prost stalled on the warm-up lap on the way to the grid.
Hill would go on to take a hat-trick of victories at the following races in Spa and Monza, helping secure Williams’ sixth Constructors’ Championship.
As for the Drivers’ Championship, Prost outscored Hill by achieving three second places at the end of the season to take his fourth and final F1 title.
