Talk:1995 British Grand Prix/Archive 1

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A few quotes
I don't have any intention of messing up the article ;) so I'll post a few quotes on here from a Damon Hill book that I've recently downloaded. The suitable ref to use is:

Pages in question note contract renewal time. Here are the key paragraphs (I won't copy it all):

pg81 [pre-race]:

"Inevitably, plenty of muscle-flexing took place in the run-up to the British race. ‘In my position,’ said Hill, ‘it’s obvious that I am keen to talk to other teams, and that is what I have been doing. It’s a little early to say anything further.’ In fact, both Ferrari and Benetton had made tentative inquiries, although, ironically, both approaches were indirectly linked to Schumacher’s plans.

The bottom line was that Ferrari had taken the decision to bid for Schumacher. But if the German star was financially out of reach, Hill was an ideal alternative choice. In addition to his speed and proven track record was his talent as a test and development driver."

pg82 [pre-race]:

"By the same token, Damon acknowledged that Schumacher was calling the shots in this particular market place. ‘I’m obviously not going to earn more than Michael,’ he admitted. ‘He is the World Champion, which inevitably raises his value. He is currently playing the market and calling the shots, there is no mistaking that.

‘But I certainly believe that I am a match for him as a driver and I intend to become a World Champion, so hopefully that will increase my value.’"

and another from pg82 [pre-race]:

"Of course, as far as Frank Williams was concerned, this was all water off a duck’s back. Being supportive to his drivers when they were out of the cockpit had never been his line of country. Ever the ‘cold father’, he appeared profoundly unmoved by all the speculation and gossip, preferring the company of his engineers, technicians and — perhaps above all — his racing cars.

‘I couldn’t care less who Damon talks to,’ he said. ‘It’s all perfectly healthy. I’ve probably talked to every driver in the pit lane 74 times this season.’"

pg83 [post-race; all regarding "that" incident]:

"While Damon attempted to explain away the episode as nothing more than a racing accident, Schumacher used the opportunity to lambast Hill yet again in public.

‘What Damon did there was completely unnecessary,’ he claimed. ‘There was no room and he came from nowhere. I just don’t see the sense of doing things like this, even in front of your home crowd. You have to keep your nerve and temperament and not be a danger to anyone.

‘It’s more or less the same situation as Adelaide where he tried to dive inside and there was no room. I can’t understand it. Damon was probably under too much pressure and tried to do something that wouldn’t work.’"

pg84 [post-race]:

"Yet reports in the British daily press that Frank Williams had labelled Damon ‘a prat’ did little to soothe his spirits. It had been suggested that Williams made this crack when he dropped by the Benetton garage at the end of the race, possibly to apologise to Flavio Briatore and Schumacher.

These reports surfaced on a day when an official press statement from Williams was issued endorsing Hill’s driving. It read: ‘Both Frank and Patrick (Head) are very supportive of Damon. They appreciate the way he played the incident down, just like we did after Adelaide last year. This is motor racing, this sort of thing happens. Damon is the man chosen to drive the race. If he feels he had to go for it, then we back his decision.’

This was followed speedily by a personal statement from Frank Williams claiming that reports that he labelled Damon a prat and apologised to Benetton were ‘totally erroneous’."

another bit from pg84:

"Yet on the Tuesday after the race, Hill was still saying ‘I felt there was a genuine chance to attack him as he had taken a wide line. I believe that, and I don’t think I did anything wrong’.

In fairness, it has to be said that many people agreed with that viewpoint. Perhaps Schumacher did indeed take a wide line, intending to tempt Hill into over-braking and sliding straight across his bows into the gravel trap? Others felt that Schumacher was simply determined not to allow Hill the satisfaction of winning on home ground — at any cost. Interestingly, once they had examined the video evidence, the stewards of the meeting issued a severe reprimand to both drivers. It was clear that they regarded Schumacher as at least partly to blame."

D.M.N. (talk) 17:23, 13 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Thank you very much!-- Midgrid  (talk)  16:44, 14 June 2009 (UTC)