Damon Hill reveals regret after rejecting Ron Dennis and McLaren move
Damon Hill got the vibe from Ron Dennis that he did not really want him at McLaren
Damon Hill has revealed he came “very close” to joining McLaren, only to walk away after sensing Ron Dennis did not truly want him.
Following his experience with Williams, Hill said he was not prepared to put himself in a situation again of not feeling truly wanted. He quickly felt regret over his McLaren rejection.
Damon Hill regret over Ron Dennis McLaren rejection
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Hill won his sole world championship with Williams in 1996, though was not retained by the team for the following year.
Hill moved to Arrows for a season, and spent his final two years on the grid with Jordan. Hill retired at the end of the 1999 season.
Appearing on the Stay On Track podcast alongside three-time grand prix winner Johnny Herbert, Hill revealed that he previously held advanced talks with then McLaren team boss Ron Dennis.
Hill described Dennis as “very awkward to deal with”, as “in my experience, he didn’t give me the sense that he really wanted me there.
“And there was an opportunity to go there. I got very close, but I concluded, ‘Look, if he doesn’t want me there, do I want to be there in a situation where I’ve been through that with Williams, where I’d been trying to get the sense that they actually thought I was worth keeping’.
“And after leaving, I’d concluded, ‘I’m not putting myself through that again. I’m only going to go somewhere if someone wants me to be there’. I didn’t get that sense with Ron, so I politely declined.”
It was a decision which Hill should have slept on, however, in hindsight.
“I did have regrets,” Hill admitted, quipping “because the moment I put the phone down to him and said you can stick it where the sun doesn’t shine, I phoned him back about 10 minutes later and went, ‘I might have been a bit hasty’.
“But anyway, it was too late then.”
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Herbert revealed that he also held talks with Dennis during his career, but “never got that close” to signing any McLaren deal.
Dennis’ opening remark to Herbert was enough to end that one.
“I went to the old factory in Woking,” Herbert recalled, “and remember waiting outside. Secretary said that you can go in. Ron was ready.
“I remember the door opening. Ron was there behind his desk. I was expecting, ‘Morning Johnny. How are you? How’s the family? Lovely weather out there. Welcome to McLaren’. And the first words that came out of his mouth were, ‘I need to change you for another driver’.
“So that didn’t really sort of go down very well in my mind. So within 10 seconds, I’d already made up my mind. I couldn’t work here with the team.
“We carried on. We discussed. Walked around the factory and everything else.
“But Ron, I have to say, and I think Mika Hakkinen is probably the best example I can use, where he moulded Mika into a little bit of a Ron, a little bit of Ayrton [Senna].
“But then that worked perfectly, because he supplied Mika what he needed from the team and the car to be able to produce what he did on the race track.”
Herbert branded Dennis a “very complicated man, but you can’t take anything away with what he achieved as a team principal.”
Under Dennis’ stewardship, McLaren won a total of 20 world championships.
Herbert explained how Dennis’ accomplishments went beyond just the titles, though, to his mind.
Herbert continued: “He did some amazing, amazing championship wins. He always got the sponsors on board. He always looked after the sponsors.
“I think, in many ways, what we see in the paddock of Formula 1 is what Ron created. He was so meticulous with everything that happened in the factory, but everything, and the look of what you had when you’re in the paddock.
“So he was very special from that point of view.”
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