A Formula 1 documentary that plays like a rollercoaster underdog sports drama, Hill hits the apex of every dramatic beat in its invigorating narrative. Eschewing on-track action in favour of an intense personal portrait, it delves with candid vigour into an athlete whose greatest adversary turns out to have always been himself.

Told entirely from the perspective of Damon Hill and his wife Georgie, Alex Holmes’ documentary follows Hill’s journey from the death of celebrated father Graham, twice F1 world champion, in a plane crash in 1975, to his own triumph at the pinnacle of the sport in 1996.

There’s always uncertainly in this kind of documentary of the appeal it may hold beyond enthusiasts of the subject matter. How likely is it an F1 neophyte would be drawn to a film about a driver whose heyday was 30 years ago? But Hill‘s focus on Damon as a person first and as a driver second goes a long way to overcome any qualms. This is a very human story with its themes of family and legacy made very much explicit.

The documentary certainly hits all the known events – his father’s death, his unorthodox entry into the sport, the fateful weekend that saw the death of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna at Imola in 1994, his notorious on-track conflagrations with Michael Schumacher for instance. But the narrative always revolves around the interiority of Hill. How did the imperious Schumacher get under his skin? How did the news that his team Williams was dropping him for the 1997 season affect him? How did he feel pursuing his career under the long shadow of his father? It’s this focus on who Hill is as a person, the hopes and joys, the insecurities and the heartbreak, rather than the the traction and torque, the technology and telemetry of Formula 1 that makes it so compelling beyond its sporting niche.

On a technical level, Hill also impresses. Alex Holmes (of such projects as Maiden and TV drama The Rig) certainly knows how to wring the most from what could be a straight-forward doc. From its opening in media res at the final race of the 1996 season at Suzuka, to the cinematic touches that juxtapose Damon’s personality and achievements with that of his father, Holmes strives for the most engaging experience he can.

The film wouldn’t be what it is without the efforts of two women. Georgie Hill frequently provides valuable context and an alternative viewpoint that stops any slide towards solipsism, and offers a necessary feminine perspective on a monumentally male-driven industry. She’s also responsible for one of the most purely moving moments, a recollection of a chat about family with Senna a few hours before his fatal crash. Plaudits should also go to editor Cinzia Baldessari, whose work unerringly finds the greatest emotional resonance in the wealth of archive footage of father and son. One tiny jump cut between Damon and Graham brushing back their hair in an identical gesture three decades apart is testament to how painstakingly the film has been assembled.

There’s a chance that the specificity of Hill‘s narrative approach my leave some people adrift. Large chunks of the seasons from 1993-96 are excised, perhaps for efficiency or for having less relevance in Hill’s story. It means there’s an occasional lack of full context that can only really be filled in with some knowledge of those years, a slight issue with the film’s narrative flow. There’s also, by design, a relative dearth of racing action, which may disappoint some, especially given how Hill was involved in some of the most dramatic races of the 1990s. These are very much minor quibbles however.

Asif Kapadia‘s exhaustive Senna remains the benchmark of Formula 1 documentary, but Hill’s unparalleled access to its subject and its inspiring Rocky-esque storytelling puts it well above recent documentaries on the Williams team and Bruce McLaren. It’s a true labour of love that is assembled with the skill and precision of the cars themselves. Frequently moving and consistently gripping. If you don’t know about Damon Hill as a driver, come for the uplifting underdog tale. If you do, Hill offers a fresh and incisive perspective on familiar events.

Screening as part of Glasgow Film Festival 2025 Thu 27 and Fri 28 Feb 2025