Damon Hill reflected on his 1999 European Grand Prix collision with Pedro Diniz as the moment where he decided to call time on his racing career.<\/p>\n
Hill, the 1996 world champion, was adamant with himself that he did not want to \u201churt fellow drivers\u201d by making \u201ccrass mistakes\u201d. Hill revealed that the scary shunt came about due to him forgetting to turn off a device in the car, causing his engine to shut down with Diniz behind him.<\/p>\n
Damon Hill reflects on pivotal Pedro Diniz shunt<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for news you can trust.<\/p>\n Into Turn 1 at the N\u00fcrburgring, Benetton\u2019s Alexander Wurz took avoiding action behind a slow-moving Damon Hill in the Jordan car. Wurz would hit the Sauber of Diniz, which was sent into a roll, and came to a stop upside down.<\/p>\n Thankfully, Diniz was unhurt in what was a frightening accident.<\/p>\n It was one which proved extremely significant in the racing career of Damon Hill.<\/p>\n Following the 1999 season, Hill retired from Formula 1, and racing entirely.<\/p>\n Fearing the worst for Diniz, Hill explained on the Up To Speed podcast how his mistake had instigated the collision.<\/p>\n Hill decided that it was time to call it a career when other drivers were being endangered, he felt, by his actions.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was some sort of device that we\u2019re supposed to turn off, and it had to control the clutch in some way,\u201d Hill recalled.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t remember what it did, but anyway, you did it at the start, and then you\u2019re supposed to turn it off. Otherwise, the engine shuts down.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, what happens? I\u2019m going down to Turn 1. The engine shuts down.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going, \u2018What\u2019s going on?\u2019 Of course, Pedro Diniz was behind me \u2013 and this is reminiscent of what happened with Ollie Bearman and [Franco] Colapinto in Japan \u2013 suddenly I slowed down and he went over the top of me.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought I\u2019d killed him. It was horrible. Poor old Pedro went over the top of me, and he was my teammate at Arrows.<\/p>\n More on Damon Hill from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n \u2018Hatred and division\u2019 \u2013 Damon Hill makes feelings clear on former FIA president<\/a><\/p>\n Damon Hill to reunite with title-winning Williams FW18 at Goodwood<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAnd I think at that moment, I decided, \u2018I don\u2019t want to do this anymore, if I\u2019m going to be making crass mistakes like that. I do not want to hurt fellow drivers\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Two rounds later, at Suzuka, Hill contested his final grand prix. He retired from the race, citing mental fatigue.<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n