Hill reflects on Schumacher rivalry: ‘He tried to humiliate me’

F1 world champion Damon Hill was often on the receiving end of Michael Schumacher’s ruthless approach to racing during their mid-90s battles in F1, and yet the Briton also recalls another side of the German driver’s persona once he had departed the grid.

Following the retirement from the sport of icons like Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost, and the devastating loss of Ayrton Senna in 1994, the sport was left with Hill and Schumacher as its two main protagonists.

Hill, carrying the hopes of the Williams team, and Schumacher, the rising star at Benetton, quickly found themselves locked in a bitter, personal battle for supremacy.

In a recent in-depth interview with GQ Magazine, Hill looked back on the intensity of his on-track duels with Schumacher – especially during the 1994 and 1995 seasons, when his arch-rival secured back-to-back titles, often amid controversy.

“He was out to get me, no question. He was trying to humiliate me,” Hill remembered.

“And, of course, he had all the credentials to make me look inferior. I just thought that was a slightly nasty streak, which I wasn’t too enamoured of.”

Hill’s most painful memory of that rivalry came in the title-deciding 1994 Australian Grand Prix. A mid-race collision – following a mistake by Schumacher – ended both drivers’ races but handed the German his first world title. It was a move widely criticized, but one that ultimately went unpunished.

From Adversary to Admiration

After their respective careers in F1 had concluded, Hill said that retirement revealed a side of Schumacher the public rarely saw.

“After I stopped racing, I agreed to interview him for F1 Racing magazine, and he was a completely different person. He seemed like a really fun, nice guy. In a competition, you never saw that,” he explained.

“He would stick out his chin and puff up his chest and walk with a strut – he radiated confidence. He was a supreme competitor.”

While today’s F1 is full of assertive young stars like Max Verstappen, Hill believes Schumacher's demeanor was uniquely forceful – even bordering on confrontational.

“I don’t think there’s been too many like him. Even Max isn’t arrogant like Michael was,” Hill remarked. “But I’m very upset by what has happened to him.”

Schumacher’s life was irrevocably changed by a skiing accident in December of 2013. Since then, he has remained out of the public eye, with his family offering only sparse updates about his health.

Lessons from Legends

Hill’s career as a Grand Prix driver placed him alongside other F1 icons, including Mansell, Prost, and Senna, during his time at Williams, a team at the height of its powers in the early 1990s.

The 64-year-old offered his thoughts on their distinct personalities.

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“They were all the same in their intensity around their own careers, but they were completely different personalities, all three of them.

“It just goes to show that there’s not one personality type who becomes world champion. Nigel was less bothered about the details, I think. He sort of carried the car if necessary.

Alain never gave anything away. He was perfectly charming, but he was a poker player. And Ayrton was conscientious and also very serious, and I would say introverted or at least self-contained.”

Hill’s insights underscore the diverse paths to greatness in F1, even as his own journey was shaped by his battles with Schumacher.

Though their championship battles were heated and often controversial, Hill’s reflections carry a deep respect for Schumacher’s legacy – even as they remain shaded by personal experience.

The ruthlessness that once fueled a title fight now stands as a defining trait of one of Formula 1’s most legendary figures.

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