Damon Hill reacts to Tom Watson apologising for the American fans' conduct during the Ryder Cup final

With Tom Watson apologizing for the American fans' behavior during the Ryder Cup final at Bethpage Black, 1996 F1 champion Damon Hill reacted to the 76-year-old's message. While Hill admitted that the incident was not in the spirit of the sport, he commented highly on Watson's subsequent apology and expressed how it would be hard to find a decent human being like him.

With the Ryder Cup rounding out in favor of the European contingent, fans at Bethpage Black were called out for their abusive behavior during the event. Their booing and actions against the European players made the fabled event tainted by the fans' actions.

Watson then expressed his regret for the fans' conduct and wrote on X:

"I’d like to congratulate @RyderCupEurope on their victory. Your team play the first few days was sensational. More importantly, I’d like to apologize for the rude and mean-spirited behavior from our American crowd at Bethpage. As a former player, Captain and as an American, I am ashamed of what happened. #RyderCup."

Tom Watson

@TomWatsonPGA

I’d like to congratulate @RyderCupEurope on their victory. Your team play the first few days was sensational. More importantly, I’d like to apologize for the rude and mean-spirited behavior from our American crowd at Bethpage. As a former player, Captain and as an American, I am ashamed of what happened. #RyderCup

Stumbling across Watson's apology, Hill reacted to the revered golfer's statement and wrote on his Instagram story:

"Tragic[.] A more decent human being you'll be hard pressed to find."

Damon Hill reacting to Tom Watson's X post on his Instagram story | Source: Instagram/@96f1champ

On the other hand, while Damon Hill has followed the golf sphere with strong dedication, he still has his roots going back to F1, despite leaving the Sky Sports panel in the latter half of 2024.

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Damon Hill praises Max Verstappen for his impressive skills on the racetrack

Damon Hill (L) and Max Verstappen (R) at the 2024 F1 Grand Prix of Belgium race weekend - Source: Getty

Damon Hill had acted as a pundit in the F1 realm with Sky Sports for a few years. While he has called out Max Verstappen for his driving and tactics previously, he has also lauded the Dutchman for his impressive pace whenever he has done a solid job on the raceday.

So, with Verstappen returning to the victory lane at the Italian GP and etching his name in the history books by completing the fastest F1 race ever, the Briton wrote on X:

"I know I've been critical of some of his passing and tactics, but there is not getting away from the fact that Max Verstappen is the driver of this age. He's a cut above in almost every respect. A phenomenon, actually. Nice job this weekend Max 👏🏼👍🏻✌🏻"

Moreover, Verstappen has since gone on to win the Azerbaijan GP, his fourth victory of the 2025 season. This has helped reduce his gap to the top of the table, which was brought down from over 100 points heading into Monza, to leaving Baku with the deficit being brought down to 69 points.