1994 German Grand Prix

Last updated
1994 German Grand Prix
Race 9 of 16 in the 1994 Formula One World Championship
Hockenheimring prior to 2002.svg
Race details
Date31 July 1994
Official name LVI Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland
Location Hockenheimring
Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 6.823 km (4.264 miles)
Distance 45 laps, 307.035 km (191.896 miles)
Weather Sunny
Pole position
Driver Ferrari
Time 1:43.582
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of the United Kingdom.svg David Coulthard Williams-Renault
Time 1:46.211 on lap 11
Podium
First Ferrari
Second Ligier-Renault
Third Ligier-Renault
Lap leaders
  • 1994 German Grand Prix
The starting grid Hockenheim94-start.png
The starting grid
Gerhard Berger and the two Ligiers Hockenheim94-finish.png
Gerhard Berger and the two Ligiers
Michael Schumacher started fourth but retired from the race. Hockenheim94-schumi-1.png
Michael Schumacher started fourth but retired from the race.

The 1994 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 31 July 1994 at the Hockenheimring, Hockenheim. It was the ninth race of the 1994 Formula One World Championship.

Contents

The 45-lap race was won from pole position by Austrian driver Gerhard Berger, driving a Ferrari. Berger achieved the first victory for the Ferrari team since the 1990 Spanish Grand Prix, some 59 races previously. In a race of high attrition, including eleven retirements on the opening lap, only eight cars finished, with French drivers Olivier Panis and Éric Bernard second and third respectively in their Ligier-Renaults.

Background

The fast Hockenheim circuit had been modified from the year before, with the fast Senna chicane being made slower.

Qualifying report

The Ferraris filled the front row of the grid, Gerhard Berger taking pole position by 0.43 seconds from Jean Alesi. Damon Hill was third in his Williams, with Drivers' Championship leader Michael Schumacher fourth in his Benetton. The Tyrrells impressed with Ukyo Katayama fifth and Mark Blundell seventh, with David Coulthard between them in the second Williams. Completing the top ten were Mika Häkkinen in the McLaren, Heinz-Harald Frentzen in the Sauber and Eddie Irvine in the Jordan. Once again, the Pacifics of Paul Belmondo and Bertrand Gachot failed to qualify, with Belmondo, the faster of the two, nearly two seconds slower than the 26th and last qualifier, Jean-Marc Gounon in the Simtek.

Qualifying classification

PosNoDriverConstructorQ1 timeQ2 timeGap
128 Flag of Austria.svg Gerhard Berger Ferrari 1:44.6161:43.582
227 Flag of France.svg Jean Alesi Ferrari 1:45.2721:44.012+0.430
30 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Damon Hill Williams-Renault 1:44.0261:44.131+0.444
45 Flag of Germany.svg Michael Schumacher Benetton-Ford 1:44.8751:44.268+0.686
53 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Ukyo Katayama Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:46.5341:44.718+1.136
62 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg David Coulthard Williams-Renault 1:45.4771:45.146+1.564
74 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mark Blundell Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:45.8141:45.474+1.892
87 Flag of Finland.svg Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Peugeot 1:45.4871:45.878+1.905
930 Flag of Germany.svg Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Mercedes 1:46.4881:45.893+2.311
1015 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Eddie Irvine Jordan-Hart 1:45.9111:45.942+2.329
1114 Flag of Brazil.svg Rubens Barrichello Jordan-Hart 1:45.9621:45.939+2.357
1226 Flag of France.svg Olivier Panis Ligier-Renault 1:47.9251:46.185+2.603
138 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Martin Brundle McLaren-Peugeot 1:46.6441:46.218+2.636
1425 Flag of France.svg Éric Bernard Ligier-Renault 1:47.5311:46.290+2.708
1512 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Johnny Herbert Lotus-Mugen-Honda 1:48.6211:46.630+3.048
1610 Flag of Italy.svg Gianni Morbidelli Footwork-Ford 1:47.8141:46.817+3.235
179 Flag of Brazil.svg Christian Fittipaldi Footwork-Ford 1:47.1501:47.102+3.520
1829 Flag of Italy.svg Andrea de Cesaris Sauber-Mercedes 1:47.7451:47.235+3.653
196 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Jos Verstappen Benetton-Ford 40:34.4961:47.316+3.734
2023 Flag of Italy.svg Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford 1:47.8311:47.402+3.820
2111 Flag of Italy.svg Alessandro Zanardi Lotus-Mugen-Honda 1:47.6781:47.425+3.843
2220 Flag of France.svg Érik Comas Larrousse-Ford 1:48.7701:48.229+4.647
2324 Flag of Italy.svg Michele Alboreto Minardi-Ford 1:48.4021:48.295+4.713
2419 Flag of Monaco.svg Olivier Beretta Larrousse-Ford 1:48.6811:48.875+5.099
2531 Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham Simtek-Ford 1:50.6851:48.870+5.288
2632 Flag of France.svg Jean-Marc Gounon Simtek-Ford 1:50.3611:49.204+5.622
DNQ33 Flag of France.svg Paul Belmondo Pacific-Ilmor 1:51.9161:51.122+7.540
DNQ34 Flag of France.svg Bertrand Gachot Pacific-Ilmor 1:52.8391:51.292+7.710
Sources: [1] [2] [3]

Race report

The race was notable for its high rate of attrition, with 11 retirements on the opening lap. Within ten seconds of the start Alessandro Zanardi and Andrea de Cesaris tangled towards the back of the pack, taking out both Michele Alboreto and Pierluigi Martini before even reaching the first corner. Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard then tangled going into the first corner, the Finn sliding in front of a group of cars into the wall on the outside of the circuit while the Scot continued to the pits to replace his front wing. Unfortunately, for the cars that had been eliminated, the Clerk of the Course opted not to red flag the race.

Mark Blundell braked hard to avoid the McLaren only to be hit from behind by Eddie Irvine, while Rubens Barrichello and Heinz-Harald Frentzen had nowhere to go but the gravel. Barrichello retired on the spot, but Frentzen stopped towards the end of the lap with broken suspension and a punctured tyre. In the melee behind this incident, Johnny Herbert and Martin Brundle tangled, the McLaren spinning out and the Lotus retiring later on in the lap with a broken front suspension. Damon Hill also damaged his suspension in a first-lap contact with Ukyo Katayama and, along with a very long pitstop, circulated outside the points for the remainder of the race. This result would have significant consequences for Hill at the end of the season.

Meanwhile Jean Alesi had gotten away unscathed, having qualified second, only for his Ferrari to stop with electrical problems on the run to the first chicane. It was a bad weekend for the Benetton team. After the first lap mayhem, Schumacher went on to take on the leading Ferrari of Gerhard Berger but fell away with engine problems very quickly. Then, a few laps later, Benetton driver Jos Verstappen also came into the pits; while refuelling, some fuel was accidentally sprayed onto the hot bodywork of the car, and a few seconds later the fuel ignited and Verstappen's car was engulfed in a ball of flames. The Dutchman escaped the incident with burns around his eyes, as he had his visor up during the pit stop. No other crew members or any persons were injured severely. As well as Ferrari winning its first and only race of the 1994 Formula One season (and the first Ferrari win since the 1990 Spanish Grand Prix), the race was especially good for Ligier with Olivier Panis finishing second, in his first career podium in Formula One, and Éric Bernard coming home third, achieving his only podium. Christian Fittipaldi finished fourth, scoring what would be his last points in Formula One, ahead of Gianni Morbidelli in fifth. Érik Comas finished sixth achieving his and Larrousse's last Formula One points.

Race classification

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
128 Flag of Austria.svg Gerhard Berger Ferrari 451:22:37.272110
226 Flag of France.svg Olivier Panis Ligier-Renault 45+ 54.779126
325 Flag of France.svg Éric Bernard Ligier-Renault 45+ 1:05.042144
49 Flag of Brazil.svg Christian Fittipaldi Footwork-Ford 45+ 1:21.609173
510 Flag of Italy.svg Gianni Morbidelli Footwork-Ford 45+ 1:30.544162
620 Flag of France.svg Érik Comas Larrousse-Ford 45+ 1:45.445221
719 Flag of Monaco.svg Olivier Beretta Larrousse-Ford 44+ 1 lap24 
80 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Damon Hill Williams-Renault 44+ 1 lap3 
Ret32 Flag of France.svg Jean-Marc Gounon Simtek-Ford 39Engine26 
Ret31 Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham Simtek-Ford 37Clutch25 
Ret5 Flag of Germany.svg Michael Schumacher Benetton-Ford 20Engine4 
Ret8 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Martin Brundle McLaren-Peugeot 19Engine13 
Ret2 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg David Coulthard Williams-Renault 17Electrical6 
Ret6 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Jos Verstappen Benetton-Ford 15Pit fire19 
Ret3 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Ukyo Katayama Tyrrell-Yamaha 6Throttle5 
Ret27 Flag of France.svg Jean Alesi Ferrari 0Electrical2 
Ret4 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mark Blundell Tyrrell-Yamaha 0Collision7 
Ret7 Flag of Finland.svg Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Peugeot 0Collision8 
Ret30 Flag of Germany.svg Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Mercedes 0Collision9 
Ret15 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Eddie Irvine Jordan-Hart 0Collision10 
Ret14 Flag of Brazil.svg Rubens Barrichello Jordan-Hart 0Collision11 
Ret12 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Johnny Herbert Lotus-Mugen-Honda 0Collision15 
Ret29 Flag of Italy.svg Andrea de Cesaris Sauber-Mercedes 0Collision18 
Ret23 Flag of Italy.svg Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford 0Collision20 
Ret11 Flag of Italy.svg Alessandro Zanardi Lotus-Mugen-Honda 0Collision21 
Ret24 Flag of Italy.svg Michele Alboreto Minardi-Ford 0Collision23 
Source: [4]

Championship standings after the race

References

  1. "Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland – Qualifying 1". Formula1.com. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  2. "Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland – Qualifying 2". Formula1.com. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  3. "1994 German GP – Qualifying". ChicaneF1. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  4. "1994 German Grand Prix - Race Result". Formula1.com. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Germany 1994 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
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1994 British Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1994 season
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1994 Hungarian Grand Prix
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1993 German Grand Prix
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