Portal:England/Selected biography/02 2009
Damon Graham Devereux Hill OBE (born 17 September 1960) is a retired British racing driver from England. In 1996 Hill won the Formula One World Championship; as the son of the late Graham Hill, he is the only son of a world champion to win the title. His father died in a plane crash when Hill was 15, leaving the family in reduced circumstances and Hill came to professional motorsports at the relatively late age of 23 by racing motorcycles. After some minor success, he moved on to single-seater racing cars, and progressed steadily up the ranks to the International Formula 3000 championship by 1989, where although often competitive he never won a race.
Hill became a test driver for the Formula One title-winning Williams team in 1992. He was unexpectedly promoted to the Williams race team the following year after 1992 champion Nigel Mansell's departure and took the first of his 22 victories at the 1993 Hungarian Grand Prix. During the mid 1990s, Hill was Michael Schumacher's main rival for the Formula One Driver's Championship. The two clashed on and off the track; their collision at the 1994 Australian Grand Prix gave Schumacher his first title by a single point. Hill won the 1996 World Drivers' Championship, but was dropped by Williams for the following season. He went on to drive for the less competitive Arrows and Jordan teams, and in 1998 gave Jordan its first win.
Hill retired from racing after the 1999 season. He has since launched several businesses as well as making appearances playing the guitar with celebrity bands. In 2006, he became president of the British Racing Drivers' Club, succeeding Jackie Stewart.