Hill can follow in father's footsteps

DAMON HILL need only make a short walk from his luxury hotel in Monaco to be reminded of the reverence in which the family name is still held. The exploits of his late father, Graham, are captured on the wall of the bar where he celebrated his famous five victories in the unique event in the 1960s.

Victory for Hill in tomorrow's 54th running of the Monaco Grand Prix will ensure the family name lives on for another year although Rosie's bar will not.

The bar, which septuaenarian Rosie still runs, is to be demolished soon after the race to make way for an extension to the nearby hospital in the congested Principality.

Hill realises he is unlikely to have a better chance than this year of finally emulating his father who died in a light plane crash in 1975 and achieve his goal of a first win, watched by his mother, Betty.

"I've made no secret of the fact I would love to win it," said Hill, who leads the drivers' champion ship by 21 points after victory in four of the first five races. "But you can't force it or make it happen.

"Everyone knows my father's record here. To win it five times is an incredible achievement as Monaco stands alone on the Formula One calendar.

"It would be nice to have another Hill name on the trophy and equal Ayrton Senna's six wins. But I also want to do this for myself, although I could live without winning it. I think we have the right ingredient at present.

Hill, who goes into today's qualifying session second fastest behind McLaren's Mika Hakkinen, added "It carries a great deal of kudos in anyone's C.V. if you can win at Monaco. It ranks up there with all the great races and is the jewel in the crown of the Formula One championship.

"Monaco is needed by Formula One and Formula One needs Monaco. You can't have one without the other as it represents all the things Formula One is famous for the glitz, glamour and excitement.

"It's an anachronism in terms of what we require for safety compared to other circuits. There are parts where you are almost standing still and others when you are doing ridiculous speeds through a dark tunnel. It is exciting and terrifying in equal quantities."

Hill knows he should have won last year's race after getting the all important pole position only to lose out in a tactical battle that allowed world champion Michael Schumacher to claim his second successive win.

Schumacher, who, along with Senna and Alain Prost are the only drivers to have won this race in the last 12 years, should provide the most serious threat despite his lowly 11th place in practice on Thursday.

The fiercely competitive German said he felt for the first time this season that Ferrari are "close to being in a position where we can challenge for victory".