Damon Hill has a Pop

Better Times?
By Phil Giles
October 14 2002

Ex World Champion and Jordan race winner Damon Hill has spoken out about the farce of F1 racing in 2002. In an exclusive interview with BBC Sport Online, Damon was critical of the FIA and the contract signed by Rubens Barichello forbidding him to race his team mate.

Damon also got down to the nub of the matter saying that without the fans, there would be no Formula One.

"The thing that needs to be changed about F1 is the way it communicates with the world and its viewers.  No-one would be in F1 if no-one was watching."

"For a long time it has walked a very fine line between being a serious and credible sport, and a circus where you're not really supposed to take anything too seriously.

"That can only work for so long. After a while, people get wise.

"With the increased interest in the sport has also come increased exposure.

"The more coverage there is of F1, the more educated the audience becomes and the more they expect and the less easy it is to hoodwink the viewers."

"Most of the money in F1 has come through the marketing of the sport creating a massive viewership. No-one would be there - BMW, the sponsors, whatever - if no-one was watching."

Damon has been in attendance at races during the year and has appeared as a regular pundit working on Sky Digitals F1+ Service so he has been keeping well in touch with goings on in the F1 world.

"It has been quite sad to see some of things that have happened this year, orchestrating their races backfired on them in Austria, where they were booed after getting out of their cars because of Rubens having to pull over and it went horribly wrong again in America. Both those events were terribly damaging, much more damaging for the sport than if they had carried on racing properly. "

"There is not really the same kind of feeling of triumph and success that they were expecting. Quite often it has gone the other way. It's damaging for F1 when it should have been the complete opposite."

"McLaren won 15 races out of 16 a few years ago. The difference was that they had two drivers who wanted to kick the living whatsername out of each other. Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna just went at it hammer and tongs throughout the season and it was a real battle. So there was racing, even if it was only between two cars."

You can read and hear the full interview at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/2325981.stm

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