Former Williams Formula 1 team-mates Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve have recounted the behind-the-scenes celebrations at the Grove outfit when Hill clinched the 1996 drivers’ championship.
Villeneuve joined Hill at Williams in 1996 for his rookie season in the series, and the two were straight into a championship battle. Ultimately, the Canadian driver finished as runner-up behind Hill, who had been at the team since 1993.
While he had lost out on the championship, Villeneuve revealed that one of his favourite off-track moments with the team was celebrating Hill’s victory at a karaoke cabin.
“I would say karaoke cabin,” Villeneuve explained on a special episode of the Williams Team Torque podcast alongside Hill. “I think that after you won the championship and we were in the cabin there.
“There was a general… People were happy you had won in the paddock because they had been there the previous years. They had seen the hard work you put into it.
“And I was the newcomer. So, it was a good partnership, and it was a good general moment, smiling, and so that was really a cool, happy, positive moment.”
Jacques Villeneuve, Williams congratulates race winner Damon Hill, Williams and Charlie Whiting, FIA official delegate
Photo by: Sutton Images
In the same interview, Villeneuve talked about missing out on the 1996 title, admitting that he had no bitterness over his team-mate’s success.
“We had a good time that night,” he said. “We had a good party, and I was very happy for him. It didn’t feel like ‘Oh, you know, I lost the championship’. Of course, I was not happy to not have won, but also he was deserving it so much that I was cool with it.”
Hill moved to Arrows in 1997 while Villeneuve remained at Williams, partnering Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Villeneuve claimed his maiden drivers’ championship title that year, with his team-mate finishing second after Michael Schumacher was disqualified.
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