Damon Hill almost performed a miracle 25 years ago

August 10, 1997 fell on a Sunday and on that day the Hungarian Grand Prix was held, which almost caused a sensation. Damon Hill was supposed to be the author, but force majeure intervened, or rather a technical factor that prevented him, the reigning world champion at the time, from winning the race, but he still managed to finish second.

It was the penultimate podium of Hill’s career, but everyone remembers it, because that year Damon was driving for the Arrows, whose Yamaha-powered cars weren’t very fast, to say the least. However, on the narrow Hungarian track, the then almost 37-year-old Briton managed to demonstrate a real championship skill: he showed the third result in qualifying, at the start he was ahead of Jacques Villeneuve’s Williams and rushed into the pursuit of the leading Ferrari of Michael Schumacher …

Here’s how Damon Hill himself spoke about the events of that Grand Prix 25 years ago: “Everything went great. As soon as the tires of Schumacher’s Ferrari started to bubble, I was able to easily outrun him, then increased the lead and checked the course of the race.

I was in the lead with a huge lead and in the last laps I even let myself dream of winning. But motorsport is full of surprises. Several times the engine lost power and I braced myself for the worst – the descent. Since, as it turned out, the cause was a leak in the hydraulic system, I was very surprised that we made it to the finish at all.

At that point, I was overcome with mixed feelings because it was difficult for the team, for the Yamaha mechanics and for the Bridgestone tire workers to process the lost victory. Of course I would like to win, but second place is also a good result, so I’m happy.

Hungary has always supported me – it was there that I got my first Formula 1 win and now my good relationship with this track has continued. I was very disappointed that I couldn’t win, but in such situations you always have to look for positive moments. We were strong all weekend, I dominated the Grand Prix and this is already a cause for joy…”

To appreciate the magnitude of Hill’s performance, it’s worth adding that he overtook Schumacher on lap 11, after which he led for 62 laps (excluding a brief period where Damon pitted and Heinz-Harald Frentzen, the driver Willems).

When the hydraulics started to fail, only third gear worked normally on Hill’s car, and he inevitably lost speed. But Jacques Villeneuve, Damon’s Williams teammate last year, was only able to overtake him on the last lap.

For that August race, Hill only had one bonus point, earned for 6th place in the British Grand Prix – in those days points were only awarded to the top six. Accordingly, before the Hungarian stage of the championship, the Arrows team took last place in the Constructors’ Championship and then went straight to 8th place, ahead of Stewart and Tyrrell.

You can let yourself dream a little and draw a parallel like this: if Sebastian Vettel won this year’s Hungarian Grand Prix at the wheel of an Aston Martin, it would make the world of Formula 1 about the same as old Damon. Hill stage.