Damon Hill

Damon Hill achieved something no one else had: becoming world champion like his father. Son of double champion Graham Hill, who died when Damon was a teenager, he came to motor racing late and always carried the weight of a legendary name and the comparisons.

He stepped up to Williams in 1993 and, after Senna's death in 1994, suddenly became the team leader and Michael Schumacher's great rival. That year he lost the title by a single point in the Adelaide controversy, where Schumacher rammed him. In 1996, aboard the dominant FW18, he did not let his chance slip: eight wins and the world championship.

As had happened to Hill senior, the glory was bittersweet: Williams had already decided to drop him for 1997. He ended his career with one last unforgettable joy, a heroic win with the modest Jordan at Spa 1998. His story is one of persistence rewarded in the shadow of a myth.