Tag Archives: damon hill

Damon Hill says Button-Lewis partnership could boil over at British GP

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This weekend sees the Formula One roadshow visit Silverstone for the British Grand Prix and former world champion Damon Hill reckons it could be the event during which the so far amicable relationship between McLaren drivers (and Englishmen) Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button finally begin to fracture.

Button-Hamilton rivalry to boil over

He may have a point. Both drivers are vying for the Formula One title, both drivers have won it and both drivers will want desperately to win their home Grand Prix.

Not only that, Red Bull have reapplied pressure by winning the last race in Valencia, Sebastien Vettel pipping both McLaren drivers to the chequered flag.

You’ll also remember the Turkish Grand Prix, in which Button and Hamilton fought for the win, Button overtaking his team mate before Hamilton retook the lead for the win. There was confusion over orders given to Hamilton to preserve fuel, allowing Button to overtake which added to the mounting tension.

Hill reckons all this, plus that desire to win the home race could finally boil over on the track.

“Jenson will not be letting Lewis get away with anything. Your closest most significant competitor is your team-mate and when you’ve got a team-mate as good as Jenson then it’s not a foregone conclusion.

“I know Lewis has the mindset of a driver who sees the normal state of affairs as him being first, which is great, and that’s what you’d expect but perhaps Jenson is a little bit more opportunistic and slightly more mature and realistic about things.

“This could be the start of the rest of the season [for the McLaren relationship].

“Traditionally Silverstone [is] smack in the middle of the summer, smack in the middle of the season, the preliminaries are over and from now on the clock is definitely ticking.

“There is only room for one guy.”

The interesting question is who McLaren want that one guy to be. Publicly they have stated they will let their drivers race for the right to be world champion, but privately they will be wary of an on-track war ruining either the chances of both drivers – not to mention McLaren’s own push for the Constructors Championship.

Red Bull, whose drivers have slipped back to third and fourth in the championship race and trail McLaren by 30 points in the Constructors race, will be hoping that is exactly what happens. Both Vettel and Mark Webber are still well in touch with the British drivers and even Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, who trails Hamilton by 29 points, remains in with a shout of the title.

For the good of Formula One I hope Hamilton and Button are allowed to battle it out but they do it sensibly. A return to the heady days of Prost and Senna going head to head for McLaren would fantastic. That it’s a five way battle for the Drivers Championship only adds to the excitement.

Should be a cracking weekend.

As an aside, an interesting question was raised on our Facebook page about who the best driver in Formula One is – I went with Lewis Hamilton, as in my opinion he is the most naturally gifted out there. Mike Shaw disagreed, though he didn’t say who he thought was the best!

So…let’s have your opinions in the comments or on Facebook and Mike – put your money where your mouth is!

Why Monaco is Formula One’s jewel in the crown

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This weekend is the 2010 Formula One season’s Monaco Grand Prix and to many it is the highlight of all the races, including us. There’s something special about Monaco. Here we try to put our finger on just what makes it THE race of the season.

Monaco Grand Prix

The highlight of the F1 calendar

Forumla One is the pinnacle of motor racing and carries a sense of pageantry, a sense of occasion, an almost regal air. A lot of that comes from the amount of money involved in the sport and that’s one reason Monaco is the first race many fans look for when the calendar is announced.

Nowhere else in the world has a setting to match the opulence that Forumla One exudes. There are, arguably, much better tracks out there – we prefer the Nürburgring in Germany for example – but Monaco’s tight street circuit, especially the ridiculously tight Grand Hotel hairpin at turn 6 and the tunnel that soon follows it, offers a style of racing that you don’t get anywhere else in Formula One.

Then, Google Earth-like, zoom out and take a look around at where this track lies. Right in the heart of one of the richest places in the world. From the aforementioned Grand Hotel through the casinos to the harbour from which millionaires sit aboard their over priced yachts to watch the race, catching only fleeting glances of the drivers and their stupendously expensive cars, it’s a playboy’s paradise.

A paradise in which many drivers have felt right at home in over the years, not least the Northern Irishman Eddie Irvine who achieved a third place for Ferrari in 1998 and the Englishman and 1976 F1 World Champion James Hunt. Both were considered somewhat notorious on and off the track and Monaco was without doubt their spiritual home during their careers – Irvine based himself there for a few years.

The whole Monaco Grand Prix weekend is a spectacle of decadence and wealth and really highlights the fact that the sport is awash with money.

Of course, the teams themselves work as hard as they would at any other circuit in preparation for a race that is as hard on the cars as it is on the wallet. And at the end of the day, it is all about the race.

There have been some real classics over the years. Overtaking is almost impossible on the street circuit of Monaco so team tactics play a massive part, as does reliability. That’s not to say, however, that overtaking doesn’t happen – or isn’t attempted at least. But it really is down to tactics and reliability, a true test for the teams, drivers and cars.

Grand Hotel Hairpin

Punishing

Hard breaking for tight corners, fast acceleration – especially through the tunnel and uphill through the start / finish line – and multiple gear changes put the car through a harder test than many other circuits and the number of retirements here reflects that.

The 1996 race is a prime example. Seven time World Champion started on pole but crashed out on the first lap giving the lead to title rival Damon Hill. Hill led for 40 laps before his engine gave up in the tunnel, the race lead passing to Jean Alesi – who retired himself 20 laps later with suspension failure. That left Olivier Panis, who began the race in 14th on the grid, up front and he went on to claim his only Grand Prix win – ahead of just THREE other drivers to finish the race!

Actually winning the Monaco Grand Prix is considered extra special. There can be no doubt that the true king of Monaco is the late, great Ayrton Senna. He won the race a record six times, his last in 1993. That win took him ahead of five time winner Graham Hill, Damon Hill’s father, and Schumacher also has five wins under his belt. These are all greats of Formula One.

After Senna got his sixth win, breaking Hill’s record, son Damon (who, incidentally, finished runner up in that race) said:

“If my father was around now, he would be the first to congratulate Ayrton.”

That’s the sort of feeling Monaco arouses – we doubt something like that would have been said about any other race.

Schumacher has returned to Formula One and has the chance to emulate Senna this weekend and get a sixth win. His form and his car so far this season suggest that won’t happen – but this is Monaco and in Monaco anything can happen. We refer you back to the 1996 race as proof.

Whatever happens, it’s sure to be a great race and an extravagant weekend for all involved. For us sat at home watching on TV, well, we get a sense of it too. Far and away the best weekend in the F1 calendar. Enjoy!

Got any specific memories of Monaco you want to share? Better yet, have you been and can you tell us what it’s like? Let us know in the comments!