- Damon Hill became world champion in 1996 after beating Michael Schumacher
- He later turned to punditry joining Sky Sports when they bought rights in 2012
- The Englishman recently revealed he shared a ‘mutual hatred’ with Schumacher
Sky Sports veteran and former F1 world champion Damon Hill has called time on his career at the broadcaster after 13 years and hundreds of races.
The Englishman lifted the title at the end of a glorious 1996 season with Williams and won 22 Grand Prixs across eight years.
His career was littered with battles with main rival Michael Schumacher, who ended up claiming a record seven world championships.
Since his retirement in 1999 after being dropped by constructor Jordan, Hill has filled key roles such as president of the British Racing Drivers’ Club but has spent much of his time lending his expert analysis to Sky Sports’ F1 coverage.
But now the stalwart has waved the chequered flag on his broadcasting career, stepping aside from his punditry role after more than a decade.
In an emotional message posted to his X account, Hill said: ‘Its been a fantastic 13 years with @SkySportsF1 but all good things come to an end.
Graham Hill has quit Sky Sports after 13 years offering his insight on their F1 coverage
The presenter had a fine racing career in the 1990s, lifting the world championship in 1996
Michael Schumacher (centre) beat rival Hill (left) to the 1995 Formula One World title
‘I will miss the most impressive bunch of professionals it has ever been my pleasure to have worked with. Looking forward to new challenges.’
Sky Sports won the rights to show the sport in 2012 and Hill has been a regular on the coverage since then.
He will leave the broadcaster at the end of the current season, which reaches its finale on December 8, following colleague Johnny Herbert’s departure ahead of the 2023 season.
The veteran insisted that he had ‘no idea’ why he had been let go and had picked up the phone call from bosses thinking that his contract would be renewed.
Hill followed in the footsteps of his father Graham, who won two F1 championships in the 1960s, and was a star of the sport during the 1990s.
He narrowly missed out to Schumacher in the 1994 season when the German seemed to deliberately collide with his car to avoid being overtaken but he still managed to scoop up the BBC Sports Personality of the Year shortly after.
He won the prize again two years later after his memorable world championship triumph.
Hill’s exit from Sky Sports comes after he revealed that he and Schumacher shared a mutual hatred on the track.
Damon Hill has been part of the coverage since Sky Sports bought the rights in 2012 (pictured, right, with, left to right, Simon Lazenby, Martin Brundle and Red Bull chief Christian Horner)
His father Graham won two World Championships in the 1960s before his death in 1975
Schumacher is widely regarded as the greatest racing driver of all time having won seven F1 World Championships
‘Michael and I actually got on well, but on the track we hated each other. It was and is not possible to be any other way if you want to become Formula 1 world champion,’ the 64-year-old told German outlet BILD.
‘There was no room for niceties. You have to exploit every weakness of your opponent and wear him down with it.’
He added: ‘Michael was a master of psychological games. He made me feel like I was useless and untalented. And he told the press that too. Because he won a lot of races back then, there was no reason not to believe him.’
Schumacher was seriously injured in a skiing accident back in 2013, and has not appeared in public since then, and has been receiving around-the-clock care ever since his accident.
