F1 Through the Eyes of Damon Hill: Inside the World of Formula 1

Since Damon Hill retired from the grand prix circuit and writes for a certain very popular English motorsport magazine we know that the guy can write. What we learn from this book is that he already had that gift when he was still driving! The book was made in 1998 when Damon was on his last F1 stint with the Jordan team, during that emotional year when Jordan scored a historic 1-2 in Spa. The F1-educated reader who knows what happened in '99 (Damon fired by Eddie Jordan because he was consistently outperformed by team-mate Heinz-Harald Frentzen) will find his remarks on the team a poignant read.The book touches all the major aspects of Formula One motorsport: technology, image, media pressure, professional rivalry, the fear, money and fame. Damon also talks about his famous father Graham Hill and "his" race: Monte Carlo (GH won Monte Carlo 5 times and was only fairly recently surpassed by Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher in this feat). Damon explores how having a famous race driver as a father influenced his own career path and attitude towards the sport.The book is overall very well crafted. Damon's text is supported and enhanced by the superb photography of Keith Sutton, England's premier F1 photographer. Overall a very good read and a pleasure to the eye, certainly a must-have for every serious F1-fan, even you Schumacher fans: Damon has some very interesting things to say about his famous rivalry with Michael!

Damon Hill is seen by many fans as the "loser" champion, the champion who had it, he had the drive, he had the car, he had the intelligence, he had the motivation and dedication, but there was Schumacher in the way, as there was Clark that came Graham's way. It must be said that, even if the 1995 season, climax of the 90's, is most remembered and pictures Damon's defeat, Damon's 96 title is thorougly deserved and well acomplished. Damon deserves much respect for his acomplishmnet in the sport; even during his last and terrible f1 season, 1999, where he was outshined by his very fast team-mate Heinz Harald Frentzen, Damon was not to be looked pathetic next to him - instead he was to be held tremendous respect and would not receive any contempt from any TRUE F1 fan. Damon was not the fastest driver ever, but he holds his place among the other World Champions and stands as one of the Lords of this sport.

From the moment I recieved this book, I could tell a lot of time and energy (money) went into making it. The cover is made of a nice, almost sliky paper material, which just makes you feel like it is worth the price. However, the real treat is inside. Damon Hill is a very eloquent writer, and makes some very personal revelations. If you ever wanted to know what makes an F1 World Champion tick, here's your chance. His gives his feelings about his early years driving with legends such as Aryton Senna, and Alain Prost, as well as his current on-going rivaly with M. Schumacher. Also, the photographs taken by Keith Sutton are an added bonus. As Damon said in his book, "So here it is. A book about all that (F1 life). But you can just look at the pictures if you prefer..." Yes! You really can; the pictures are fabulous. It's a shame about his retirement, and i actually would have felt that this book would have been better off, if he retired first and then published it, so that his writing wouldn't be so restrained. Even so, it gives the most comprehensive first-person's view of the things that transpire in the world of F1. Personally, I am a Damon Hill fan, so I can recommend this book to all those who also follow this "gentlemen's racer."