Will Josh Hill get to F1?

[El_Bando]

Gilles Villeneuve, Jaques Villeneuve
Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti
Nelson Piquet, Nelson Piquet Jr
Michael Schumacher, Ralf Schumacher
Keke Rosberg, Nico Rosberg
Ayrton Senna, Bruno Senna

Its fair to say F1, well general Motorsport is a family business, above are a list of some of the greater family afairs in F1 and on a lower sacle we have mini brundles, mini Mansells. Hell we nearly had a mini Scheckter in F1 driving for jaguar if it wasnt for a 'Misunderstanding' . And lets not forget Buemis hot cousin!

But one of the most famous world champion Families in F1 could well have a 3rd generation. If you havnt guessed who Im talking about then you clearly didnt read the title . Yes its Josh Hill, son of 96 champion Damon and Grandson of double champion Graham. Josh has big goals to add to the Family championship Gold But the question I ask is will he get to F1?

Please Discuss,
El_Bando

 

[chrispa76]

Almost never heard of him before and have no idea how he is doing so far. But if he do NOT get through by merits, then with Hill as last name I think he wont have to fight too hard to get a seat in F1 when the time comes should he still be interested.

And if he is anything like his father it would be nice see him join the F1 circus. No suitable option on the poll unfortunately.

 

[Big Ern]

If he does I doubt he'll get the grief of the capable Senna, on here anyway.

 

[El_Bando]

Ok a little background:
He is 20 and currently 7th racing for Manor in the Formula Renault 2.0 series. The same route taken by Hamilton, Kovalainen and Kubica

 

[cosicave]

I think this is the first time I've seen Josh Hill discussed in a forum.

The first point I'd like to make is that like his father and grandfather, Josh is a real fighter and a very spirited racer; and has pulled off some superb overtaking manoeuvres. But so far - in his first season in Formula Renault - he has had some bad luck and has struggled to make the podium, in spite of being with the renowned Manor Racing outfit, which has been successful in the past.

At the moment, he is a considerable way from F1 (Formula Renault is also miles below GP2, for instance) and unless he makes a quantum leap, it will be quite some time before he is seriously considered for F1 - if ever.

In spite of misconceptions, his father Damon warranted his drive on merit; brought no money to the team through sponsorship and had an early salary of just £100,000! (Peanuts to Frank Williams who was underpaying him even as a test driver). This is not the case for a modern day rookie and unfortunately is now a factor for any F1 team looking to recruit new blood. For that reason, Josh will have to do two fundamental things: he must place at least runner-up in whichever series he is competing immediately prior to F1; and he must attract some new money (which is difficult in the present economic situation!).

 

[allsaintchris.]

It would be fairytale stuff.

Worth remembering that Graham or Damon were never rated as exceptionaly fast drivers, but brought more to their teams than a lot of people gave them credit for.

As Cosi summed up though, you need hard results thesedays to make the break unless you have money behind you.

 

[mephistopheles]

I really do hope so it would great to see that dark blue helmet with the rowing club ores on it, although for some reason Josh currently wears the famous helmet but in a much lighter shade of blue

 

[Delete Me]

I've seen Josh race in Formula ford last year, the kid had guts and wasn't afraid to overtake in tight spots when at brands hatch. I haven't been following recently but I think he has problem with qualifying at the moment, but Damon is helping out more so he should stay in that series for another year before going up the next level, which would be GP3 standards? Cosicave probably knows more than me in that area.

Can't comment how far he will go, heard he karted late of a similar age to Coulthard, 13-14 and not 7-9.

He's also 20 now, so even if he jumped every season he would be 23-24 by the time he gets even a sniff at F1. And consider the likes of Perez, Vettel, Alonso and Lewis were 19-22 when they entered F1 and Josh is still a way back in the lower series and not setting the world alight, though it is his rookie year and next year should be showing his stuff in confidence.

 

[shifty]

I have watched Josh Hill a few times and he does indeed have plenty of spirit, but whether he can take it to another level - let alone all the way to F1 - remains to be seen. It's worth bearing in mind that dad Damon came into F1 at a very late stage in his career, so anything is possible.