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Hill reveals differences between his former teammates Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost

Hill reveals differences between his former teammates Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost

03-02-2020 18:36
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Nicolás Quarles van Ufford

Former F1 driver Damon Hill has explained the key differences between two of his former teammates in Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, who arguably formed the greatest rivalry in the sport's history in their time at McLaren.

After filling in for half a season in 1992, Hill drove his first full season in F1 in 1993 at Williams alongside Prost, who had just come out of retirement to join the Grove-based side. 

The year after, when Prost retired again after clinching the title, Williams signed Senna for the 1994 season. Of course, Senna wouldn't finish the season because of his tragic accident at Imola.

Hill, the 1996 F1 champion, has had the privilege of being both drivers' teammate early in his career, and he tried to explain how different the two greats were from each other.

"I can't judge Alain on the experience I had with him because he'd had a year off [from F1] and then he came back in, but he was quiet," the Brit told Auto Motor und Sport in an exclusive interview.

"He very quietly got on with things, he played very gently with things. He got on with his job and he basically ran out there and did laps, learned about the car, found a balance, found what he wanted.

"As a teammate, he was very charming and polite and everything."

This is a firm contrast to Senna, someone who famously wore his heart on his sleeve both on and off the track, as Hill testifies from his brief time sharing the garage with the three-time champion.

"With Ayrton, [he was] a little bit more difficult to get to know. [He was] a big name and a star, quite formal, I would say, and intense. He often had a frown on his face. He was learning [about] Williams, a different team for the first time in a long time. He looked concerned the whole time, I'd say even worried.

"But he was fine with me. Slightly suspicious of me maybe, I don't know. Not that he had to be!"

To sum it up, Hill just underlined the two drivers simply were different both off and on the track in their character and style.

"Different characters. I think [Senna was] more aggressive in driving style than Alain."