1996 Formula One World Champion, and the son who wrote his own chapter in the family story
Motor SportDamon Hill arrived in Formula One with the weight of one of the sport's most famous surnames, and somehow managed to earn a new one for himself.
His father Graham was a two-time World Champion. Damon reached Formula One late, almost by accident, via motorcycle racing and a long apprenticeship as Williams test driver. When Nigel Mansell left for America, Damon stepped into the seat and immediately became a race winner. He finished runner up in 1994 and 1995, was famously denied the championship at Adelaide in 1994 after contact with Michael Schumacher, and finally won the title in 1996. The Hills remain the only father and son to have both won the Formula One World Championship.
He won 22 Grands Prix across a career that also took him to Arrows and Jordan, where in 1998 he gave the team its first Grand Prix victory at a wet Belgian Spa. He retired at the end of the following season and has since built a thoughtful media career with Sky Sports F1, where his calm, curious voice has become a fixture of the paddock.
Away from the track, Hill has spoken publicly about depression and the pressures of carrying a famous name, and has played guitar on stage with musicians including George Harrison. He was awarded an OBE and later a CBE for services to motor racing and charity.
At Steam, he is the rare champion who can discuss both the racing line at Monaco and the middle eight of a Beatles song with equal authority.
Two decades of world class speakers in the basement at EC3. Want to book Damon Hill or someone like them? Tell us what you need and we will come back with a plan.
Start an enquiry