The Tom and Damon Show

TOM WALKINSHAW used the British media to deliver a message to Damon Hill at the British GP. "Any professional is only as good as his last race and if Damon wants to be in a better situation he should be trying 110 per cent to show others what he is capable of doing," Walkinshaw told pressmen. "I have to get him back on the boil. I've been subtle but now is the time to be blunt. It is time for me to remind him what he is capable of."

This sent the headline writers into a fever and there were stories that Hill would be fired on the Monday after Silverstone. This was absurd and the following day Damon had his say. "There's only so much I can do that the driver can do," Damon commented. "I've been keen to play this down and not draw comparisons between what I feel was the package offered at the beginning of the year by Tom and the one we have now. I don't want to let anyone down. I am 100 per cent behind the team."

The feeling in the paddock at Silverstone was that Hill is not likely to stay at Arrows next year unless the team has secured Mecachrome engines - which is unlikely.