Villenevue holds off dogged Hill to keep drivers' championship alive

THE Formula One team founded by Frank Williams in 1969 yesterday clinched its eighth World Constructors' championship and guaranteed that one of its two drivers will be 1996 world champion following their domination of the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Jacques Villeneuve won on his debut visit to the tight and dusty track with Damon Hill crossing the finish line just yards adrift as Frenchman Jean Alesi drove his Benetton to third place. However, tens of thousands of German fans were disappointed as Michael Schumacher lost any mathematical chance of retaining his title when his Ferrari broke down. Eddie Irvine's Ferrari also failed though Rubens Barrichello survived to take sixth place and the final championship point for Jordan.

Villenueve benefited from a poor start by Hill and held on to win by half a second. "This is not normally my type of track," he said afterwards. "Usually I like the fast tracks but here, once I got in front I knew, if I didn't make a mistake, Damon would not be able to pass."

Hill was overtaken immediately by his team mate, who started third on the grid. Alesi also managed to guide his Benneton Renault through on the outside into the first corner.

"I was pretty disgusted with the start," raged Hill. "I lost the race in the first 10 laps. It was over. Jacques and Michael Schumacher were long gone as I got trapped behind Alesi.

"The start was going okay then I had wheelspin, tried to use the clutch to modulate it and Just quit. It's all pretty ineffective for me at the moment. It's cost me places in a race so many times now. It has got to be fixed."

Hill uses a foot operated semiautomatic clutch, whereas his team mate uses a more conventional two paddle system behind the steering wheel.

"The way the clutch works doesn't suit me - I have been working very hard to get Williams to provide me with a clutch that I can use more easily," added Hill.

"I'm really frustrated. It's not a question of a disagreement with the team, simply a matter of what can be done in a space of time."

Two time world champion Schumacher, who started on pole, and Villeneuve pulled away, leaving Hill trapped behind the Frenchman, unable to overtake on the tight, winding circuit. After only 12 laps, Hill was 15 seconds behind the German. But Hill wound his way back through the field and hounded the Canadian over the final laps.

The six points gained by Hill yesterday leaves him with a 17 point lead over Villenueve with four races to go. "It's going to be an exciting end to the championship," said Hill.

A frustrated Irvine walked back to the Ferrari garage with the race only half over. "It's the gearbox again," he said after his seventh retirement in a row. Earlier he had joked that "at least I'm getting rich" as an optimistic way to looking at the team's amazing inability to provide him with a reliable car. He is undoubtedly the best paid driver in Formula One on a pound per mile basis - he gets no testing and the race car rarely lasts long.

Martin Brundle was stiff after a high speed excursion over the ploughed gravel trap ended his race after 10 minutes, while Barrichello's sixth place finish, two laps down, earned a vital world championship point to keep the Jordan team just ahead of Ligier in the Constructors Championship.

Afterwards Barrichello said he wanted to explain reports that he was going to Indy cars next year: "Last year I had an offer to go Indy cars and now I have two teams who are interested. But I want to make it clear that my first interest is in Formula One. Maybe a change from Jordan would not be a bad thing, but I have to say Formula One in a good car is where I want to be."

Yesterday's result mean that the earliest Hill can clinch hiss first world title will be at Monza in a month's time, but if Villeneuve continues to drive like yesterday it may go all the way to the wire and the last race of the season in Japan on October 29th.