1996 F1 world champion Damon Hill is unquestionably one of the all-time greats. And Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is seeing shades of him in one of this year’s drivers.
Hill beat Williams teammate Jacques Villeneuve to win the title, clinching it at the final race in Japan. His career was relatively short, lasting seven years and 122 races, but he certainly made his mark.
The Englishman ranks 15th on the all-time wins list with 22, ahead of Finnish duo Kimi Raikkonen and Mika Hakkinen. He’s only one place lower in the pole charts on 20, level with Valtteri Bottas.
Hill finished in the top three in the standings three times before he tasted glory himself, most notably in 1994. He lost out to Michael Schumacher by just one point after their controversial collision at the final race in Adelaide.
He would leave Williams immediately after claiming the title, making a shock move to midfield team Arrows. Hill then spent the final two years of his career at Jordan.
Christian Horner says one driver has emulated Damon Hill in 2024
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix, Horner praised Sergio Perez for raising his game under pressure. The Mexican is aware that Red Bull will replace him if he doesn’t deliver this year.
Horner has seen a marked improvement in the 34-year-old compared to last season. And he says it reminds him of the step Hill took between 1995 and his title year in 1996.
Addressing Hill, he said: “He feels comfortable in the team. He knows he’s out of contract at the end of this season so he’s driving for his future.
“He’s responded to pressure in the best possible way. You see that with certain drivers, [they] respond to pressure, others sometimes wilt.
“It reminds me, between your 95 and 96 seasons, over that winter, you certainly came back a different driver in 96. And I think it’s a similar thing with Checo. He’s gone away, he’s wintered well and he’s chased a few things in his approach and I think he’s driving really well.”
Will Sergio Perez keep his Red Bull seat?
Perez finished runner-up in last year’s championship, but the margin between himself and Max Verstappen was a record-breaking 290 points. He doesn’t need to beat Verstappen to keep the seat, but he needs to consistently be close.
And he’s done exactly that at the start of this year, finishing runner-up in three of the first four races. Perez also qualified alongside Verstappen on the front row for the second consecutive weekend in China.
The former McLaren driver is trying to ward off the threat posed by Carlos Sainz. Sainz is the top free agent on the market after Ferrari decided not to renew his contract and sign Lewis Hamilton instead.
And the Spaniard has been one of the standout drivers in the field this year, winning the Australian Grand Prix and maintaining a 100% podium record. Helmut Marko said after the last race in Japan that Red Bull would ‘have to’ consider him.
But for the moment, it seems as if Horner and co. are pleased with his performances and ready to offer him an extension if he sustains them. If he does end up leaving, then a move to the Audi project is a possibility.
The post ‘Came back a different driver’: Christian Horner says one F1 star is reminding him of Damon Hill this season appeared first on F1 Oversteer.