In the Williams car was clearly the quickest in Formula One and Hill went on to win the title ahead of his teammate, reigning Indycar champion Jacques Villeneuve, becoming the first son of a Formula One champion to win the championship himself. Taking eight wins and never qualifying off the front row, Hill enjoyed by far his most successful season. At Monaco, where his father had won five times in the 1960s, he led until his engine failed, curtailing his race and allowing Olivier Panis to take his only Formula One win. Near the end of the season, Villeneuve began to mount a title challenge and took pole in the Japanese Grand Prix, the final race of the year. However, Hill took the lead at the start and won both the race and the championship while the Canadian retired. Hill equalled the record for starting all 16 races of the season from the front row, matching Ayrton Senna in and Alain Prost in 1993.