1994 Australian Grand Prix

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1994 Australian Grand Prix
Race 16 of 16 in the 1994 Formula One World Championship
Adelaide (long route).svg
Race details
Date13 November 1994
Official name LIX Adelaide Australian Grand Prix
Location Adelaide Street Circuit
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Course Temporary street circuit
Course length 3.780 km (2.362 miles)
Distance 81 laps, 306.180 km (191.362 miles)
Weather Sunny with clouds
Attendance 132,000 [1]
Pole position
Driver
 Williams-Renault
Time 1:16.179
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of Germany.svg Michael Schumacher Benetton-Ford
Time 1:17.140 on lap 29
Podium
First
 Williams-Renault
Second
 Ferrari
Third
 McLaren-Peugeot
Lap leaders
  • 1994 Australian Grand Prix

The 1994 Australian Grand Prix (formally the LIX Adelaide Australian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 13 November 1994 at the Adelaide Street Circuit. It was the sixteenth and final race of the 1994 Formula One World Championship. The 81-lap race was won by Nigel Mansell driving for the Williams team after starting from pole position. As of March 2024, this is the last time a Formula One driver won a race over the age of 40. Gerhard Berger finished second in a Ferrari car with Martin Brundle third for the McLaren team.

Contents

The race is remembered, besides being the closing of one of the most tragic seasons in the history of the category, also for an incident involving the two title contenders Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher which forced both to retire and resulted in Schumacher winning the World Drivers' Championship. Also notable was the last appearance in a Formula One Grand Prix of the first incarnation of Team Lotus, previously seven-time Constructors' Champions. It was also the 31st and last Grand Prix victory of Nigel Mansell's Formula One career, as well as his last podium finish in his last race for Williams. As of 2024, this was the last Formula One race where the number of entrants exceeded the number of places on the starting grid. This would also prove to be the last Grand Prix for Christian Fittipaldi, Franck Lagorce, Michele Alboreto, Hideki Noda, David Brabham, JJ Lehto, and Paul Belmondo, and the first Grand Prix for Jean-Denis Délétraz.

Report

Background

Heading into the final race of the season, Benetton driver Michael Schumacher was leading the Drivers' Championship with 92 points; Williams driver Damon Hill was second on 91 points, one point behind Schumacher. Williams led the Constructors' Championship with 108 points, while Benetton were 5 points behind with 103. Thus, both titles were still at stake, and they would be determined in the final round.

Race

Schumacher took the lead at the start, with Hill second behind him. The order between the two remained the same until lap 36. Hill was catching Schumacher when the Benetton driver went off the track at the East Terrace corner, hitting a wall with his right side wheels before pulling back onto the track. [2] Hill had rounded the fifth corner of the track when Schumacher pulled across the track ahead of him to the left. At the next corner, Hill attempted to pass Schumacher; the two collided when Schumacher turned in. Schumacher was eliminated on the spot. Hill attempted to continue the race and pitted immediately, but retired from the race with irreparable damage to the car's front left suspension wishbone. As neither driver scored, Schumacher took the title. [3]

After Schumacher and Hill retired, Nigel Mansell took the lead of the race. Mansell stayed in the lead until he made his second pit stop. After Mansell pitted, Berger took the lead and stayed in the lead after his second pit stop. On lap 64, Mansell overtook Berger to retake the lead of the race. Mika Häkkinen was running 5th in the closing stages behind teammate Brundle and Barrichello until his brakes failed on lap 77, sending him off into the wall backwards into retirement but was classified 12th. Mansell stayed in the lead for the rest of the race to win, with Berger finishing second and Brundle finishing third ahead of Barrichello, Panis, and Jean Alesi in the other Ferrari completing the top 6.

Post-race

Schumacher was blamed for the incident by many Formula One insiders despite having won the Championship. [4] After investigation, the race stewards judged it as a racing incident and took no action against Schumacher. At age 25, Schumacher was Germany's first Formula One World Drivers' Champion, albeit under highly controversial circumstances. Schumacher always maintained that the collision was a racing incident, a view that met with a large degree of media cynicism, particularly in the United Kingdom. Schumacher has been blamed by the United Kingdom public for the incident. In 2003, the BBC conducted a search for "The Most Unsporting Moment" in which the Adelaide incident was nominated. [5] Hill's 1994 season earned him the 1994 BBC Sports Personality of the Year. [6]

Although Hill deliberately avoided becoming involved in the outcry at the time, in later years he explicitly accused Schumacher of deliberately driving into him. [7] Formula One commentator Murray Walker maintained that Schumacher did not cause the crash intentionally while his co-commentators for the race, former Formula One driver Jonathan Palmer and pit reporter Barry Sheene, both argued that the crash was entirely Schumacher's fault. Patrick Head of the Williams team stated to F1 Racing magazine that in 1994 "Williams were already 100% certain that Michael was guilty of foul play" but did not protest Schumacher's title because the team was still dealing with the death of Ayrton Senna. [8]

Classification

Qualifying

PosNoDriverConstructorQ1 TimeQ2 TimeGap
12 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Nigel Mansell Williams-Renault 1:16.1791:33.988
25 Flag of Germany.svg Michael Schumacher Benetton-Ford 1:16.1971:32.627+0.018
30 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Damon Hill Williams-Renault 1:16.8301:33.792+0.651
47 Flag of Finland.svg Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Peugeot 1:16.9921:35.432+0.813
514 Flag of Brazil.svg Rubens Barrichello Jordan-Hart 1:17.5371:37.610+1.358
615 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Eddie Irvine Jordan-Hart 1:17.667No time+1.488
76 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Johnny Herbert Benetton-Ford 1:17.7271:35.712+1.548
827 Flag of France.svg Jean Alesi Ferrari 1:17.8011:33.905+1.622
98 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Martin Brundle McLaren-Peugeot 1:17.9501:36.246+1.771
1030 Flag of Germany.svg Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Mercedes 1:17.9621:35.623+1.783
1128 Flag of Austria.svg Gerhard Berger Ferrari 1:18.0701:33.818+1.891
1226 Flag of France.svg Olivier Panis Ligier-Renault 1:18.0721:36.222+1.893
134 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mark Blundell Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:18.2371:35.462+2.058
1412 Flag of Italy.svg Alessandro Zanardi Lotus-Mugen-Honda 1:18.3311:39.179+2.152
153 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Ukyo Katayama Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:18.4111:36.628+2.232
1624 Flag of Italy.svg Michele Alboreto Minardi-Ford 1:18.7551:36.498+2.576
1729 Flag of Finland.svg JJ Lehto Sauber-Mercedes 1:18.8061:36.245+2.627
1823 Flag of Italy.svg Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford 1:18.9571:36.257+2.778
199 Flag of Brazil.svg Christian Fittipaldi Footwork-Ford 1:19.0611:35.790+2.882
2025 Flag of France.svg Franck Lagorce Ligier-Renault 1:19.1531:37.393+2.974
2110 Flag of Italy.svg Gianni Morbidelli Footwork-Ford 1:19.6101:35.136+3.431
2211 Flag of Finland.svg Mika Salo Lotus-Mugen-Honda 1:19.8441:43.071+3.665
2319 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Hideki Noda Larrousse-Ford 1:20.1451:47.569+3.966
2431 Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham Simtek-Ford 1:20.442No time+4.263
2520 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Jean-Denis Délétraz Larrousse-Ford 1:22.4221:44.155+6.243
2632 Flag of Italy.svg Domenico Schiattarella Simtek-Ford 1:22.529No time+6.350
DNQ33 Flag of France.svg Paul Belmondo Pacific-Ilmor 1:24.087No time+7.908
DNQ34 Flag of France.svg Bertrand Gachot Pacific-Ilmor 7:40.317No time+6:24.138
Sources: [9] [10] [11]

Race

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
12 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Nigel Mansell Williams-Renault 811:47:51.480110
228 Flag of Austria.svg Gerhard Berger Ferrari 81+ 2.511116
38 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Martin Brundle McLaren-Peugeot 81+ 52.48794
414 Flag of Brazil.svg Rubens Barrichello Jordan-Hart 81+ 1:10.53053
526 Flag of France.svg Olivier Panis Ligier-Renault 80+ 1 lap122
627 Flag of France.svg Jean Alesi Ferrari 80+ 1 lap81
730 Flag of Germany.svg Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Mercedes 80+ 1 lap10 
89 Flag of Brazil.svg Christian Fittipaldi Footwork-Ford 80+ 1 lap19 
923 Flag of Italy.svg Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford 79+ 2 laps18 
1029 Flag of Finland.svg JJ Lehto Sauber-Mercedes 79+ 2 laps17 
1125 Flag of France.svg Franck Lagorce Ligier-Renault 79+ 2 laps20 
127 Flag of Finland.svg Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Peugeot 76Brakes/Accident4 
Ret24 Flag of Italy.svg Michele Alboreto Minardi-Ford 69Suspension16 
Ret4 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mark Blundell Tyrrell-Yamaha 66Collision13 
Ret20 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Jean-Denis Délétraz Larrousse-Ford 56Gearbox25 
Ret11 Flag of Finland.svg Mika Salo Lotus-Mugen-Honda 49Electrical22 
Ret31 Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham Simtek-Ford 49Engine24 
Ret12 Flag of Italy.svg Alessandro Zanardi Lotus-Mugen-Honda 40Throttle14 
Ret0 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Damon Hill Williams-Renault 35Collision3 
Ret5 Flag of Germany.svg Michael Schumacher Benetton-Ford 35Collision2 
Ret32 Flag of Italy.svg Domenico Schiattarella Simtek-Ford 21Gearbox26 
Ret3 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Ukyo Katayama Tyrrell-Yamaha 19Spun off15 
Ret19 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Hideki Noda Larrousse-Ford 18Oil leak23 
Ret10 Flag of Italy.svg Gianni Morbidelli Footwork-Ford 17Oil leak21 
Ret15 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Eddie Irvine Jordan-Hart 15Spun off6 
Ret6 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Johnny Herbert Benetton-Ford 13Gearbox7 
Source: [12]

Championship standings after the race

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References

  1. ↑ "Grand Prix fever in Adelaide". GrandPrix.com. Inside F1, Inc. 6 November 1995. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015.
  2. ↑ "Schumacher 500: Has the King Lost His Crown". autosport.com. Archived from the original on 7 October 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2006.
  3. ↑ "Schumacher's chequered history". news.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 31 August 2007. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  4. ↑ Henry, Alan (1996). Wheel to Wheel: Great Duels of Formula One Racing. Weidenfeld Nicolson Illustrated. p. 117. ISBN   0-7538-0522-7.
  5. ↑ "Most unsporting moment?". news.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 June 2003. Retrieved 27 January 2016. Reader's "Have your Say" voting for the most unsporting moment in history. Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" goal won the award in June 2003.
  6. ↑ "Roll call of past winners". news.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 February 2007. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  7. ↑ Motor Sport, January 2007, p. 43
  8. ↑ "'Ruthless' Schumi blasted". motoring.iafrica.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2008. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  9. ↑ "Australian Grand Prix – Qualifying 1". Formula1.com. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  10. ↑ "Australian Grand Prix – Qualifying 2". Formula1.com. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  11. ↑ "1994 Australian GP – Qualifying". ChicaneF1. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  12. ↑ "1994 Australian Grand Prix - Race Result". Formula1.com. 22 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  13. 1 2 "Australia 1994 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
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