On the eve of the British Grand Prix at
Silverstone, who better to give their view on the state of play in
Formula 1 in 2008 than Britain’s last world champion,
Damon Hill..?
Crash.net Radio caught up with the 1996 title-winner – a 22-time grand prix-winner in the top flight over the course of his eight-year
F1 career – to get his thoughts on who’s likely to be hot or not this weekend, and just what he makes of Lewis Hamilton’s ‘difficult second year’ to-date…
Q:
Well Damon, with the British Grand Prix taking place this weekend, what are your views on the first eight races of the 2008 Formula 1 season so far?
Damon Hill:
I think they’ve been exciting; there’s been a mixed bag of winners, and the last few years have thrown up much tighter competition. There are [regularly] four guys in the championship fight now, at least until the midway point, and sometimes right until the end. I think it’s been good for the sport; it’s been good for the entertainment.
Q:
Much has been said in the media about Lewis Hamilton’s struggles in the last couple of races, with his error in Canada and the penalty he received in France; what do you make of what Lewis has gone through over the past few weeks?
DH:
I think he’s going through the harder bits, if you like. When he entered last year, he was very much a pretender and a new boy, and now he’s got expectation on his shoulders and he’s finding that that’s a bit of a heavier burden. I have complete faith in Lewis, though. He’s very resilient – to have got to where he is and to have been as prepared as he was in his first season of Formula 1 I think shows that the guy has got very strong depth of character.
Inevitably, though, it does get harder the whole time, and it’s always harder than you think. Even
Michael Schumacher showed signs that the strain is enormous; I think Ross Brawn said it recently, that the pressure that these guys are under is enormous, and it’s very difficult for people on the outside to really appreciate that.
Q:
How do you rate Lewis’ chances this weekend at Silverstone in the British Grand Prix? Obviously last year he set pole position to the delight of the home fans, but then it didn’t quite go according to plan on race day…
DH:
I think he’s got an excellent opportunity. I think being on your home turf gives you a bit of a boost. Last year’s qualifying was just so exciting, one of the best days in a long time that I’ve been at a race track. It was a great feeling when he got pole position, and it’s all there again for the taking. Lewis is a proven race-winner, and he’s got every chance this time of taking the British Grand Prix if he wants it.
Q:
Some fellow former F1 world champions like Sir
Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda have spoken out about the penalties applied to
McLaren in recent races – to Lewis in both Canada and France, and
Heikki Kovalainen at Magny-Cours too. What’s your view on that topic?
DH:
I think when you get a string of penalties that seem to go in one direction, it can be tempting to say that this is an unbalanced approach to the giving out of penalties, but you have to look at each case individually. I would have to say that in Canada there was an error which cost not only Lewis his race, but also Kimi [Raikkonen], and the overtaking manoeuvre was I think ambitious in France; I would say that the place was gained by taking an unfair advantage so I’d have to say that I don’t think that penalty was uncalled for. There are always differences of opinion when it comes to racing incidents.
Q:
Your former
Williams team-mate
David Coulthard has had a tough start to what we now know will be his final season in F1 this year, and then he got the podium finish in Montreal. Does that prove, do you think, that there’s still life left in the old dog yet..?
