07/03/2007
NEWS STORY
Speaking to reporters at Silverstone, just over a week before the start of the 2007 Formula One World Championship, 1996 World Champion Damon Hill gave his views on who's hot and who's not.
Having tipped Lewis Hamilton for success: "He is in the right place, with the right team at the right time, his only obstacle (being) the two Ferraris and his McLaren team-mate, Fernando Alonso," Hill turned his attention to another British driver, Jenson Button.
The former Williams, Arrows and Jordan driver, though a fan of Button, is not convinced that Honda is the team with which the Englishman will achieve his dream, that of winning the title.
"There is a bit missing with Honda," said Hill. "Jenson has put all his eggs in one basket. He's number one in that team. There is a lot of hope there but eventually your loyalty has to be to your career. He has to ask some serious questions about how he gets to be in a regular, front-running F1 car.
"The clock is ticking," he reminded the 27-year-old, who made his GP debut with Williams in 2000. "A grand prix driver has a window. Jenson has done a lot of Grands Prix. I don't believe Honda will be a championship-winning team this year. Therefore, if he wants to be champion, which I believe he does, and he is good enough, he has to have a plan for the next few years."
Despite pouring cold water on Button 'mytitledream', Hill gave hope to his former team, Williams, which he believes will bounce back after the nightmare of 2006.
"I think Williams are going to be bouncing back because they follow a pattern of boom and bust," said Hill, who scored all but one of his twenty-one Grand Prix wins with the Grove outfit.
"I don't know what happens," he continued, "they like to get to the top and then go back to the bottom and start over again. They've been to the bottom last year and now they are going to come charging back up the hill."