In 1997, Tom Walkenshaw bought a part of Arrows, and hired 1996 Drivers' Champion Damon Hill and Pedro Diniz. Diniz was very rich and helped pay for Hill's salary, placing Diniz as the role of a pay driver. Hill nearly won the Hungarian Grand Prix but a component failure meant that Hill had slowed down and fell to second place, where Hill would finish. In the next few years Walkenshaw would buy out what Jackie Oliver had owned.