Breaking news
Formula 1 Chinese GP
Hill drives father's Monaco-winning Lotus in Shanghai demo
Damon Hill has driven the Lotus 49B with which his father Graham won the 1969 Monaco Grand Prix in a demo run in Shanghai.
Adam Cooper
Published: Apr 12, 2019, 9:51 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The R10 chassis in question was also raced by Jochen Rindt and Emerson Fittipaldi, enjoying its last outing in the Brazilian’s hands in Austria in 1970.
The Lotus was the only classic Formula 1 car to take to the track today as part of the celebrations for the 1000th World Championship race.
“It was great fun,” Hill told Motorsport.com. “I’ve driven 49s before, but I’ve never pushed them, although you’ve got a bit of space here.
“It’s very odd getting in – the way you get into them is very unique, because the steering wheels don’t come off. I can remember watching my dad getting in, and I’m putting my hands behind me and sliding in just like he did.
“So I have a little bit of a giggle to myself about that. However, he would have been 40 when he was driving it, and I’m a bit older than that now!”
Hill has driven his father’s cars so often that it’s not as meaningful as it might have once been, and he says he got a bigger buzz the first time he was reunited with his own Williams FW18.
“I think I’ve got over it now. Although I did get emotional driving my 1996 car at Goodwood, because I hadn’t driven that car since I got out of it.
“All I can say is that the environment is so familiar, having had such extreme experiences in it, that there’s some sort of memory thing kicks in. You remember who you were as a racing driver at your peak, and that’s a very strange feeling.”
6
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Hamilton "struggling" with car handling in China
Next article Giovinazzi says Alfa doesn't know what sidelined him in FP1
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Adam Cooper
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
More from
Damon Hill
Damon Hill compares George Russell-Kimi Antonelli battle to 1996 F1 rivalry
Formula 1
Formula 1
Hungaroring Pirelli test
Damon Hill compares George Russell-Kimi Antonelli battle to 1996 F1 rivalry
Damon Hill reveals the F1 career lesson he wishes he had learned earlier
Formula 1
Formula 1
Belgian GP
Damon Hill reveals the F1 career lesson he wishes he had learned earlier
Hill's 1996 F1 title - in Autosport covers
Formula 1
Hill's 1996 F1 title - in Autosport covers
Latest news
Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
1 h
Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale
Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
1 h
Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale
Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
1 h
Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title
Winners and losers from F1's chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
2 h
Winners and losers from F1's chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix
Feature
Discover prime content
How F1’s rules got to be so complex
Formula 1
By Pat Symonds
How F1’s rules got to be so complex
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe