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Being Damon Hill

Damon Hill came into Formula One with the heavy burden of his father Graham's shadow, but he was able to make a name for himself and become the most popular British driver in the past decade. Yet he left Formula One a little too late, and his times in the sport were hardly easy sailing. One of the most intelligent and articulate drivers, he remains a complex and interesting local hero among the fans at Silverstone. Ahead of the British Grand Prix, David Cameron met Hill for a talk about days gone by

David Cameron Jul 6, 2005, 12:39 PM

The simple truth of being Damon Hill was no preparation for actually being Damon Hill - in fact you could argue that it actively worked against preparing him for what his name was going to mean, what it was going to stand for, what carrying his name was going to do to the man himself.

Talking to Hill for any period of time gives you a glimpse into the numerous burdens the man has carried, this refined, somewhat shy but polite man who wears still the numerous marks of an upbringing so different to those of almost every one who meets him, the marks that betray the many faces of a man who was thrust into a limelight not of his own making, a limelight that he loved and hated alternately in almost equal measure.