Damon Hill's 1996 title remembered: Part 1 – The making of a unique F1 champion

2026 marks the 30th anniversary of Damon Hill’s 1996 World Championship. To mark Hill’s achievement, Formula1.com Senior Editor Greg Stuart speaks to the man himself in a two-part feature about conquering the F1 world, defying his critics and dealing with the sport’s ultimate rejection, even as he was en route to the crown…

Thirty years ago, Damon Hill was crowned Formula 1 World Champion.

To those who know a little, but not a lot, of the Hill family history, that may not seem so surprising. Hill was, after all, the son of F1 royalty, in the form of two-time champion Graham Hill – so you might be forgiven for thinking that a life of privilege and a Rolodex of F1 contacts had, by 1996, landed Hill in the mighty, title-winning Williams FW18, the strongest car in that season’s field by some distance.