Damon Hill: “Lewis is better than I was”

Britain’s last Formula One world champion has paid tribute to its newest hope today and, in the process, admitted that the 22-year-old is better prepared to win success in the sport than he ever was.In an interview given exclusively to Autocar and our sister magazine Autosport, 1996 F1 world champion Damon Hill said “What Lewis has already achieved in F1 is fantastic, and it’s humbling to see how he’s coping with it all.”“I didn’t get into an F1 race seat until I was 33, and even then I found a lot of what goes on around the sport hard. I wasn’t as confident or as professional then as he is now, at 22. It’s astonishing.”“He’s clearly got what it takes to be a good F1 driver; you could tell that by watching him come up through the ranks. Now’s he’s proving he’s got all the qualities of a race winner, and I’d be thrilled if he became Britain’s next F1 world champion.”The British Racing Drivers’ Club president also demonstrated interesting and clear cut sentiments about Formula One’s proposed commitment to environmental sustainability. “F1 is about racing,” he said. “It’s about sportsmen competing with each other at the top of their game. I can’t see how you can apply the technology it uses to fuel-saving effect in road cars.”“If people within the sport want to be seen to do something for the environment, they should stop racing. I think there’s a lot done for appearances as far as the environment’s concerned.”