F1 champion Damon Hill thanks Williams for 'one last' return

One-time F1 world champion Damon Hill has thanked Williams for allowing him to drive one of their cars again.

A very special car, in fact. The iconic FW18 that the British driver roared to the 1996 world championship in, winning eight out of 16 races and consigning his rookie team-mate Jacques Villeneuve to second place ahead of Michael Schumacher.

The four-day Goodwood Festival of Speed concluded on Sunday, but not before Hill had taken on the iconic hill climb in his championship-winning Adrian Newey and Patrick Head-designed masterpiece.

The festival takes place every year at the Goodwood Estate, which is well known for its motorsport events, with the Goodwood Revival also taking place at the circuit there every September.

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Hill posted a video of his run on social media on Sunday night, with the caption: "Massive thanks to Williams and the Goodwood Festival of Speed for one last blast of the old girl."

This year marks 30 years since Hill piloted the FW18 to his first and only championship win, but the roar of the V10 engine still sounded as crisp as ever – a timely reminder of a bygone time, while the sport attempts to reclaim some of its old engine noise in years to come.

The FW18 was also the last car Newey ever designed for the team, being put on gardening leave in its championship year of 1996 ahead of a move to McLaren – where he promptly designed the McLaren MP4/13, which Mika Hakkinen promptly drove to the 1998 title.

Of all the special runs at Goodwood last week, Hill in the FW18 may well have been among the very best.

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