by Mark Gallagher, from the Winter 1999 issue of J magazine.

115 Grands Prix, 22 victories, 21 pole positions, 360 World Championship points, and one World Championship title. That translates into winning 19% of Grands Prix contested, scoring an average of over three points per race during a career spanning eight seasons.

Such tremendously impressive statistics convey some sense of achievement. But they tell only half the story, for Damon Hill’s F1 career was about many things, and the hard facts barely scratch the surface.

The son of double World Champion Graham Hill – still the only man to have won a Formula One World Championship, the Le Mans 24 Hours and the Indy 500 – Damon Hill had a lot to live up to.

It is a mark of the man that he not only emerged from the shadow cast by his late father, but that he forged a career which placed him close to the hearts of millions of F1 fans. He gave the Hill dynasty in the ‘90s every bit as much notoriety and success as it attracted in the ‘60s.

Whatever one thinks of Damon Hill – and, like every great driver, he has attracted both critics and fans – there is no denying that he has produced some unforgettable F1 moments. It may have been his emotional debut, in the ’92 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, when he finally qualified the recalcitrant Brabham-Judd during the dying days of that once-great team. Or perhaps his first win, for Williams, in Hungary one year later, as teammate to Alain Prost. Then there was the emotional tidal wave which followed the death of Ayrton Senna at Imola in ’94. Hill took up the reins to lead the Williams Championship challenge. It ended only when he was apparently ‘taken out’ by Michael Schumacher’s wayward Benetton while dicing for the lead – and the title – in Adelaide.

Hill v Schumacher, Britain v Germany : it was a great story and the F1 public, particularly in the UK, loved it. That he took second place in the World Championship in ‘94 and ‘95, before winning it with a controlled drive in Suzuka 1996, confirmed Hill as Britain’s top driver of the decade, a worthy successor to Nigel Mansell.

Then there was the apparently unfathomable decision by Williams to drop Hill at the end of his Championship-winning year. There was even more head-scratching in F1 circles when it was announced that the World Champion would be moving, not to McLaren, nor Ferrari, nor Benetton, nor even Jordan, but to Tom Walkinshaw’s Arrows, with the unfashionable Yamaha engines and then-untried Bridgestone tyres.

For all the heart ache and disappointment that ‘97 brought, it all paled into insignificance when he oh-so-nearly won the Hungarian Grand Prix. It was an unforgettable drive, the sight of an Arrows overtaking Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari and scampering away into a comfortable lead. Noone at the Hungaroring could believe their eyes: Hill’s decision to drive for Arrows, and Tom Walkinshaw’s investment in him, it seemed, were about to be fully justified. Then, with two laps remaining, electronic gremlins interfered with the Yamaha V10 and Hill limped home second. The dream was over.

It was ‘98, Spa-Francorchamps, the Belgian Grand Prix, that Hill produced arguably his greatest win. Having signed for Benson and Hedges Jordan, the first half of his season had been marred by poor car performance, but by the time Spa came round it was all very different. The team was on a roll and the car was performing better and better. On a weekend when all assumed Schumacher would be invincible, it was Hill who beat him fair and square during qualifying. With both cars on the same lap, the Jordan blew the Ferrari away to line up third on the grid behind the McLarens. If ever there was a sign of things to come, that was it. Hill, in full flow, driving the lap of his life in qualifying.

The race has been well documented: that first, dreadful start when the mother of all pile-ups occurred on the run down to Eau Rouge, leaving Jordan the only team to have both drivers emerge unscathed; the restart, when Hill nipped between the McLarens to take the lead, only to be passed by Schumacher who promptly drove straight into the back of Coulthard’s McLaren. Back in the lead, Hill had to keep his teammate Ralf Schumacher at bay after the safety car had caused everyone to bunch up, but he held on to win. It was his 22^nd career victory and the first for Jordan Grand Prix. Who could blame him for emulating Schumacher Senior with a victory leap on the podium. His smile that day said it all.

That was a defining moment for both Hill and Jordan. It showed his critics that Hill could win in something other than a Williams, in a car that was not the best in the field. It gave the entire Jordan team, and in particular Eddie, the long-awaited win – one that would open the floodgates to further success.

So what of the man himself? His thoughts on Jordan, the team with which he achieved that final high - the team with which he chose to end his time in Formula One.

"There can only ever be one first time for everything and, until Jordan wins a Championship, the win in Spa will be special," says Hill. "I think there was only one thing left for me to show – that I can win a race in whatever car I drive. I mean, I nearly won a race in an Arrows! But the win in Spa was special. I got a fax from Frank Williams saying that was my best race ever."

Hill knows the effect that victory had on the team, and the impact his presence had within Jordan.

"The win in Spa was all the more satisfying because I had taken responsibility for delivering the result to Jordan, and saw the delight on the faces of the guys," says Hill. "They were just ecstatic – almost in awe of what had happened. But now they are veterans of three Grand Prix victories and there are expectations of being at the front of F1! It’s good to be like that, to feel ‘we can win, we should be winning’."

"I knew what effect the win would have," he continues. "I’ve seen it often enough, with drivers and race teams. Until they have crossed that threshold they are never really sure whether they can do it. It was a bit like when McLaren’s Ron Dennis engineered a race win for Mika Hakkinen in Jerez in ’97 – persuading teammate David Coulthard to let him win. He started to believe in himself. I think the same thing has happened with Jordan."

Hill warms to his theme. He likes talking about the motivation that winning brings.

"You do that – win a race – and you believe in yourself. You believe that the people you are racing against are beatable. The change in your philosophy and perception is powerful. Once the genie is out of the bottle, it’s not unstoppable, but it will always be there. You always want to win again."

Hill’s arrival at Jordan in the winter of 1997/98 certainly concentrated people’s minds. The Benson and Hedges Jordan 197 had been moderately successful with Ralf Schumacher and Giancarlo Fisichella as drivers, but there was a sense that the team had failed to maximise its potential, partly due to lack of driver experience. Now, with a former World Champion on board, a man whose very raison d’etre at Jordan was to bring the team its first Grand Prix win, the pressure was on.

"I think I was a catalyst in raising the team’s game," admits Hill," not through design, but simply by being in the team. The emphasis was there. I think Eddie said as much. He said I’d won 21 races and a World Championship, therefore if the team couldn’t win with me in the car then they were doing something wrong. It put pressure on ensuring that the design of the car and the engine was up to the job.

"It was a question that needed answering about the Jordan team because they had never had such an experienced driver. The question was starting to be asked within the team ‘is it the drivers or is it us?"

But this not a case of Hill taking all the credit for Jordan’s progress since his arrival.

"One of the big changes was the arrival of Mugen-Honda. The team had had a number of engine partners, and I think there had previously not been the level of cooperation that was needed. Teaming up with Mugen-Honda has been the most significant thing for Jordan, and that was certainly part of my thinking when I joined."

Given that Jordan had been a threat but never a contender for Championship honours, did Mugen-Honda’s arrival really give Hill a crystal ball though which he could see future success?

"Well, I think you have to stand back a bit and take into account what the team was actually achieving with relatively limited resources compared to Ferrari, McLaren and Williams. Given more of a chance, with the sponsorship from Benson and Hedges, and therefore the opportunity to develop, I thought about what Jordan might be able to do. And I think that’s been the case. In the last two years there has been much more money to go testing and more time spent in the wind tunnel."

Apart from the competitive Mugen-Honda engines, and greater financial and technical resources, there have been a number of other major improvements to the team’s performance. But Hill insists that the calibre of the race team staff has always been very high.

"I don’t think the team has changed operationally in the past two years. Everyone is so well organised. It seems that they work without fuss, without complaining. The mechanics and engineers are very good at their jobs. That’s a big help. When there is calm in the garage you can get through the work a lot more easily."

One important development during Hill’s tenure was the departure of technical director Gary Anderson and his replacement by Mike Gascoyne. Anderson had been the cornerstone of Jordan’s technical team since its foundation in 1990. His official departure came after the Spa win, but had been preceded by several weeks’ absence. Gascoyne’s arrival, six weeks before the Spa victory, appeared to have a marked effect on the team. Hill tends to agree.

"That was a very, very big change," he says. "I think that everyone accepts now that Gary was a very accomplished race car designer who perhaps tried to do too much. Through his conscientiousness and desire to be the best he perhaps did not utilise all the resources and technical abilities of the team. When Mike came I think he brought a different approach and by being less hands-on he is doing a better job. He is using the talent in the team and that means there has been an easier flow of ideas."

The arrival of Gascoyne was allied to the promotion of Trevor Foster to joint managing director with full responsibility for the race team, test team and all technical departments. The changes certainly caused Jordan to take a new approach. One which gave Hill the opportunity to win in Spa, and for his team mate Heinz-Harald Frentzen to produce a further two victories this year.

For Hill, Jordan’s rise could not have happened at a better time, and equally Jordan could not have wished for a more experienced driver that rain-soaked afternoon in Spa-Francorchamps. For Hill and Eddie Jordan, it brought great mutual satisfaction. Two very different people – one a quiet Englishman aiming to prove his abilities had not waned, the other a noisy Irishman still seeking a major success in F1. The only similarity between the two, it appears, is that both are family men with four children apiece. That, and the quest for victory in F1.

So what, after two years of driving for him, does Hill think of Eddie? He pauses, smiles, laughs a little, pauses again, then ventures:

"Well." Pause. "Well," he repeats, "let’s say Eddie has been entirely as I expected! He is quite a character and has an emotional personality. It’s been a good two years - he is clearly a great leader for the team. He has got a great personality which, frankly, a lot of the other team owners don’t have."

Talking about the final race in Suzuka, Hill becomes more pensive. He admits he was in reflective mood – as was his wife Georgie, his biggest supporter of all. He took her on the

drivers’ parade lap, waving to the massive crowds, and noting the large banners which said 'Thank you Damon, we'll never forget you' and 'well done, Damon'. They seemed to adorn every grandstand. It was, without a doubt, an emotional day for both of them.

"I have had some fantastic moments in F1," says Hill. "Everyone has to stop some time. You have to make a decision to do something else and get satisfaction from whatever else life has to offer. I won't miss all the travelling we do, because if you have a family it is very difficult."

"I have achieved more than I set out to. There were lots of good races such as '94 Suzuka, which was very special, and I am proud of that performance. Being a Grand Prix driver is a very special thing. It's a rare achievement just to be an F1 driver, and I will miss the environment, the excitement and the thrill of competing."

And with that, Damon Hill was ready to take his leave of F1. In the last Grand Prix of 1999, the final Formula One race of the century, an era had surely come to an end.