Yamaha’s recent announcement of their collaboration with Lola to join Formula E in the upcoming season marks the return of the renowned MotoGP powerhouse to the world of car racing. This move comes after their last venture in Formula 1 back in 1997, which had a mixed outcome. However, it was during their final season in F1 that Yamaha came close to achieving what could be considered one of the most astonishing victories in the history of the sport. Damon Hill’s impressive performance at the Hungarian Grand Prix almost resulted in a shocking triumph, which we delve into in an episode of our podcast series, Bring Back V10s. In this episode, our panelists Glenn Freeman, Edd Straw, and Matt Beer thoroughly analyze how Hill came within half a lap of securing this remarkable victory.
Before this memorable race, Hill had already caused a stir by choosing to join Arrows after being ousted from Williams, despite being on track to win the 1996 championship. Arrows had struggled for the majority of its existence and only managed to score a single point in the previous season. Hill was enticed by the ambitious plans of the team’s new boss, Tom Walkinshaw, as well as the potential of the new Bridgestone tires. However, his journey with Arrows began with the humiliation of struggling to qualify for the season opener in Australia due to an unreliable and ill-prepared car.
By the time the Hungarian Grand Prix arrived in August, Hill had at least secured one point with a sixth-place finish at the British GP. However, no one could have predicted that the Arrows would allow him to qualify in the impressive third position at the Hungaroring. Hill went on to overtake championship contender Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari early in the race and maintained his dominance until a clutch component failure forced him to crawl to the finish line. This unfortunate turn of events allowed eventual champion Jacques Villeneuve to snatch the victory away.
So, how did this incredible turn of events unfold? In our podcast, we discussed five crucial factors that contributed to this captivating race.
Williams’s controversial decision to replace Hill with Heinz-Harald Frentzen was met with criticism throughout 1997. Frentzen’s performance was often deemed unworthy as he only managed to win one race and frequently fell behind Villeneuve. Additionally, he was involved in multiple first-lap incidents. However, the Hungarian Grand Prix presented Frentzen with an opportunity to secure a dominant victory.
According to the rules in 1997, drivers had to commit to their choice of tire compound for the entire weekend after the free practice session. The majority of drivers, both using Bridgestone and Goodyear tires, opted for the softer option. Crucially, Bridgestone’s soft compound was still harder than Goodyear’s equivalent. This put those using soft Goodyears at a significant disadvantage.
Although the harder Goodyear tires performed well during the race, they proved to be more challenging to generate speed from during qualifying. Frentzen was the only driver who managed to do so and started the race in sixth position. He devised a one-stop strategy while everyone else, including the Bridgestone runners, committed to making two stops.
As the early race leaders made their first pit stops, it became evident that everyone would need to make one more stop. At this point, Frentzen had a 19-second lead over Hill. He also set the fastest lap time, which remained seven tenths quicker than Villeneuve’s and 1.3 seconds quicker than Hill’s fifth-fastest lap of the race.
However, Frentzen’s race came to a bizarre end before he could complete his pit stop. Television footage showed a component bouncing off the Williams car on the main straight. It turned out to be the fuel tank connector, preventing Frentzen from refueling during his stop. This incident potentially cost him a comfortable victory. The only uncertainty is whether he would have encountered issues with his second set of tires after the pit stop, as they had to last for over half the race distance.
Despite Ferrari’s struggles in the previous season, Michael Schumacher arrived in Hungary with a 10-point championship lead over Villeneuve. The Canadian driver was facing difficulties in his title bid at this stage. Ferrari introduced a new lightweight chassis for the Hungarian Grand Prix, as they had been struggling to meet the weight limit with their 310B design. The team believed that the new chassis would provide a 0.3-second advantage per lap, equivalent to 23 seconds over the entire race distance. Ferrari’s technical director, Ross Brawn, acknowledged that the team was investing significant effort into their 1997 car due to the unexpected opportunity to win the championship in Schumacher’s second season with the team.
But after securing pole position with a gap of 0.187 seconds over Villeneuve, Schumacher encountered a setback during the warm-up session at the Hungaroring. He went off the track and damaged his car, forcing a switch back to the previous, heavier chassis. This worsened the situation, as the softer Goodyear tires already had a tendency to wear quickly on race day.
Schumacher was not familiar with how this particular chassis would handle the conditions in Hungary, as he had not used it before the race. He also did not anticipate the tires deteriorating as rapidly as they did. As a result, he pushed harder than intended in the early stages of the race. From lap four onwards, his lap times gradually increased from 1m19.8s to 1m23.5s. His driving became visibly troubled, and the tires suffered from blistering. However, Schumacher eventually adapted his driving style and pace to better manage the tires in later stages of the race.
Unfortunately for Schumacher, by the time he had figured out how to handle the tires, he had already fallen behind faster cars. He ended up finishing a distant fourth. Hill, on the other hand, had suspected that there would be races where Arrows would have an advantage with their Bridgestone tires. His goal was to get the team within one second of the leading pace and rely on the tires to make up the difference.
Bridgestone had been planning to enter Formula 1 for a long time and had been testing their tires since the mid-1980s. Their entry into the sport was unexpectedly moved up to 1997, catching Goodyear off guard and leaving them little time to react. However, Bridgestone only had underdog teams at their disposal, such as the struggling Arrows, uncompetitive Minardi, newly established Stewart-Ford, and the recently acquired Prost team.
Prost, as Bridgestone’s lead team, was consistently 0.6% faster than Arrows throughout the season. So why were they not in contention for a race win on the day when Bridgestone had the best chance? The answer lies in the absence of their lead driver. Olivier Panis had already showcased Bridgestone’s potential with podium finishes in Brazil and Spain, a retirement from second place in Argentina, and a strong qualifying performance at Imola. He was also sitting in third place in the drivers’ championship at mid-season.
However, during the Hungarian Grand Prix, Panis sustained severe injuries to both of his legs after a brutal crash. As a result, Prost made the decision to replace him with rookie Jarno Trulli from Minardi. It quickly became apparent that the team had heavily relied on Panis’s three years of Formula 1 experience. Trulli had entered Formula 1 directly from Formula 3 that year, while his teammate Shinji Nakano was also a rookie, participating in his first campaign outside of Japan since his time in Formula Opel Lotus in 1991.
There were still moments when Trulli’s performance was impressive – he finished fourth in the German Grand Prix just before Hungary and even led a significant portion of the Austrian Grand Prix. However, Prost’s days as Bridgestone’s leading driver, consistently performing week after week, came to an end after Panis’s accident.
During the Hungary practice sessions, Trulli showed promise by achieving third and sixth positions and expressing satisfaction with the car’s performance. However, for the remainder of the weekend, he struggled to find any grip. Trulli qualified in 12th place, 1.2 seconds slower than the lead Bridgestone car driven by Hill. Despite being half a second faster than Nakano in qualifying, Nakano’s driving style was more gentle on the tires, allowing him to beat Trulli to the final championship point by a margin of 34 seconds.
Nakano was a competent Formula 1 driver, but he was never considered a potential race winner. Trulli’s performance during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend hinted at his tendency to lose his way throughout the course of a race. Panis had previously demonstrated his ability to challenge for the race lead in Argentina before retiring, showcasing his potential in hot and challenging races on twisty tracks when Bridgestone had the advantage. Unfortunately, Panis could only watch the events of the Hungarian Grand Prix unfold from the comfort of his home.
In the tabloid format, it can be said that while Villeneuve and Ferrari struggled on the deteriorating Goodyear tires, every other Goodyear runner who seemed to have a chance at handling the situation encountered problems or started from a disadvantageous position.
One example of misfortune was Frentzen, who experienced unbelievable bad luck. However, he wasn’t the only potential winner whose car broke down.
During this race, the McLaren-Mercedes combination was starting to challenge the dominant pace but was still too fragile. Hakkinen, who was in front of Schumacher after Hill’s move, had to retire due to a hydraulic problem after just 12 laps. Coulthard, his teammate, briefly overtook Villeneuve after their second pit stops but had his electrics fail 12 laps before the end while still following the Williams.
The Jordans opted for the harder Goodyear tires but couldn’t extract any speed from them on a single lap, resulting in a starting position on the seventh row. Fisichella eventually spun off while attempting to overtake Schumacher’s Ferrari, and Ralf Schumacher finished fifth without much resistance.
Sauber and Johnny Herbert had a strong performance in 1997, taking third place in this race. However, they started from a disadvantaged position as Herbert only qualified 10th.
Benetton, the winner of the previous race in Germany, had a disastrous performance in Hungary. They were significantly off the pace and encountered severe tire problems. Gerhard Berger, the winner at Hockenheim, finished eighth, well over a minute behind, while Jean Alesi was beaten to 10th place by Ukyo Katayama’s Minardi.
The reasons behind the failures of the other six teams that showed race-winning potential in 1997 have been discussed, as well as the clear advantage that Hill and Arrows had in terms of tires.
However, a significant part of this remarkable story was Hill’s exceptional performance on that day, with the twisty circuit minimizing the usual weaknesses of the underpowered Arrows-Yamaha. By this time, Yamaha had made progress with its upgraded D-spec engine, and the Arrows car was relatively agile. Hill himself described it earlier in the year as “quite nice to drive, probably because it was slow. It didn’t have any downforce, but it was well-balanced.”
Furthermore, Hill had always excelled on the challenging and technical Hungaroring track. He had even managed to qualify the terrible 1992 Brabham for the grid in Hungary, which was one of only two races he achieved that feat.
The Hungaroring circuit holds a special place in Damon Hill’s heart, as it was where he achieved his first Formula 1 victory in 1993. Although his triumph in 1995 may not be widely remembered, it was an exceptional performance that showcased Hill’s dominance throughout the entire race weekend. Prior to this, Hill had experienced a series of setbacks and unfortunate incidents that had shaken his confidence. However, at the Hungaroring, everything fell into place for Hill, with the track perfectly suiting the strengths of both himself, the Arrows team, and the Yamaha engine.
Despite the fact that the usual contenders at the time unintentionally created opportunities for Hill to shine, it was clear that he was determined to make his mark regardless. This was exemplified by his unforgettable overtaking maneuver, where he displayed impeccable late-braking skills and unwavering composure to resist Michael Schumacher’s attempts to squeeze him out. On that day, Hill demonstrated his unwavering determination to succeed, proving that he was destined for greatness.