1994 Formula One season

F1 season
Previous = 1993
Current = 1994
Next = 1995The 1994 Formula One season was the 45th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on March 27, 1994, and ended on November 13 after sixteen races. The season was remembered as one of the most tragic and controversial seasons in the 1990s, if not in the sport's history. 1994 was one of the closest in history, as the Champion, Michael Schumacher, won the title by a single point from Damon Hill, after the two controversially collided at the final round in Adelaide. However, the 1994 season will be remembered mainly for the tragic death of three-time World Champion Ayrton Senna at the San Marino Grand Prix.

eason summary

The main news at the end of the 1993 season was that world champion Alain Prost had retired because arch-rival Ayrton Senna had joined Prost's Williams team, who retained Damon Hill. McLaren, with Michael Andretti fired near the end of 1993 and Mika Häkkinen performing well as his replacement, retained the Finn but with Senna leaving for Williams, Martin Brundle was signed up to replace him. At Benetton, Michael Schumacher stayed but the retiring Riccardo Patrese was replaced by JJ Lehto. Ferrari retained both of their 1993 drivers - Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi.

Even before the first race, Lehto had injured his neck from a pre-season testing crash at Silverstone and was replaced by Jos Verstappen. The season started off in Brazil and all the native fans were supporting Senna. It was no surprise that Senna took pole ahead of Schumacher, Alesi, Hill, Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Gianni Morbidelli. At the start, Alesi took second from Schumacher while Karl Wendlinger and Verstappen got ahead of Frentzen and Morbidelli. Senna was leading Alesi, Schumacher, Hill, Wendlinger and Verstappen. On lap 2, Schumacher took second from Alesi after a couple of unsuccessful earlier attempts. The Frenchman had been holding Schumacher up while Senna pulled out a 4 second lead. Senna and Schumacher pulled away from the rest of the pack, increasing their lead by over a second a lap. Both pitted on lap 21 but Schumacher was quicker and rejoined ahead. He pulled away to take a 10 second lead but then Senna began to reel him in. By lap 35, Verstappen, Brundle and Eddie Irvine had all got ahead of Wendlinger. As they came up to lap Eric Bernard, Verstappen tried to pass Irvine. Irvine pushed him onto the grass and Verstappen spun off, going over Irvine and tipping it into Bernard's car and then hitting Brundle, being launched into a series of barrel rolls. All drivers were okay and Irvine was banned for three races. By now, Alesi, who had stopped twice, was behind Hill who had only stopped once. There was more action as both Ukyo Katayama and then Rubens Barrichello passed Wendlinger to get into the points. Both then stopped, with Barrichello getting ahead. Senna had reduced the gap to Schumacher to 5 seconds, but then spun off on lap 56, just pushing too hard. He was out. Schumacher won ahead of Hill, Alesi, Barrichello, Katayama and Wendlinger.

The main news was that Alesi had injured his back in a testing crash at Mugello and was replaced by Nicola Larini, while Aguri Suzuki would replace Irvine for the Jordan team. Round 2 was at the new Pacific circuit and Senna took pole ahead of Schumacher, Hill, Häkkinen, Berger and Brundle. At the start, Schumacher got ahead of Senna and Häkkinen got past Hill. Häkkinen tried to attack Senna but ran into the back of him. Senna spun and was hit by Larini, taking both out. Schumacher was leading Häkkinen, Hill, Berger, Barrichello and Brundle. Hill was frustrated at seeing Schumacher pull away and attacked Häkkinen on lap 4. Hill messed up, spun and dropped back to ninth. He charged back up, passing Brundle on lap 12. It was time for the pit stops during which Hill got ahead of Barrichello. Häkkinen retired when his gearbox failed on lap 19. While Schumacher, pulled away, Hill closed in on Berger. During the second round of pit stops, Hill got by Berger and Brundle got by Barrichello. However, Hill retired on lap 50 when his transmission failed and Brundle also went out on lap 68 when his engine overheated. Schumacher made it two wins out of two ahead of Berger, Barrichello, Christian Fittipaldi, Frentzen and Érik Comas.

Lehto was back for the San Marino Grand Prix and Andrea de Cesaris would be the second driver at Jordan. However, the weekend got off to a bad start as Barrichello had a major crash during practice and was unconscious. He had swallowed his tongue and his life was only saved by quick action from the medical team. He would be back at the circuit on the Saturday afternoon with a fractured nose, bandaged arm and cut lip. In qualifying, a front wing flap fell off Roland Ratzenberger's car, causing major suspension damage and worsened aerodynamics. On his next lap Ratzenberger lost control and crashed into the wall at the "Villeneuve curva" at over 180mph. Ratzenberger suffered a basal skull fracture caused by the impact and was pronounced dead a few minutes afterwards. This meant that qualifying was stopped. Senna took pole ahead of Schumacher, Berger, Hill, Lehto and Larini. During race morning, all the drivers were talking about Ratzenberger's crash and determined to put on more safety for drivers. Senna offered to take the role of leader as he was the most senior driver. At the start, Lehto stalled and was hit by Pedro Lamy. Debris from the crash, including Lamy's right front tyre, which flew off from his car, went into the grandstand and injured four spectators and a policeman. Lamy was unhurt but Lehto received a light arm injury. In front, Hill hit Schumacher, forcing the Englishman to pit with a damaged front wing. The Safety Car was called out with Senna leading Schumacher, Berger, Larini and Häkkinen. The race restarted at the end of lap 5. At the start of the 7th lap, Senna also lost control and his car went straight on at Tamburello into the wall at 131 mph (210 km/h). The suspension of the Williams broke from impact, flying backwards and hitting Senna on the head, piercing his helmet and fracturing his skull. The car slid to a halt on the circuit, with Senna motionless. Senna was airlifted to hospital but nothing could be done and Senna died that evening. Later, a poignant detail was revealed when an Austrian flag (Ratzenberger's home nation) was found in Senna's car, as Senna had planned to dedicate the win to Ratzenberger if he had won the race. The race was stopped after Senna's crash. When it restarted, Berger took the lead on track but Schumacher was still leading in the aggregate standings, with Berger, Larini, Häkkinen, Frentzen and Wendlinger following. On lap 6, Schumacher took the lead on track as well. Berger didn't last long, retiring on lap 17 with a suspension failure and soon after, Wendlinger took fifth from Frentzen. During the stops, there were no changes in the top 4 but Katayama also got ahead of Frentzen. Hill was still charging through the field, and passed Frentzen to take the last point on lap 49. Schumacher won ahead of Larini, Häkkinen, Wendlinger, Katayama and Hill but all the talk after the race centred on Senna and Ratzenberger.

Alesi returned as the mourning F1 field moved to Monaco where there would be more bad news as Wendlinger crashed sideways into the Nouvelle chicane wall at high speed during qualifying. Quick action from the marshals saved his life but he was in a coma and had serious head injuries. By the time he recovered, the season was over. Frentzen's Sauber would be withdrawn for the Monaco event. Schumacher took his first ever pole ahead of Häkkinen, Berger, Hill, Alesi and Fittipaldi. At the start, with the first two grid positions being painted with the Brazilian and Austrian flags, out of respect for Senna and Ratzenberger, Hill got ahead of Berger and attacked Häkkinen into the first corner. There was contact and both spun off into the escape road and were out. Schumacher was leading ahead of Berger, Alesi, Fittipaldi, Brundle and Katayama. Schumacher pulled away while Brundle used a good strategy during the stops, pitting earlier than the others to get ahead of Fittipaldi and Alesi. Katayama went out on lap 39 with gearbox failure and sixth place went to his teammate Mark Blundell. However, Blundell's engine failed two laps later, spreading oil across the track. Schumacher slid and nearly hit a wall while Berger went down an escape road and dropped behind Brundle. Fittipaldi retired on lap 48 with a gearbox failure. During the second stops, Andrea de Cesaris was able to get ahead of an exhausted Alesi who was struggling with neck pain. Schumacher won ahead of Brundle, Berger, de Cesaris, Alesi and Michele Alboreto.

The main news was that Williams, who didn't race two drivers in Monaco as respect for Senna had brought David Coulthard in and also, Nigel Mansell had offered to race when the F1 weekend didn't interfere with his season in CART. Alessandro Zanardi was in at Lotus alongside Johnny Herbert as Pedro Lamy had suffered a massive testing accident at Silverstone which resulted in him sustaining two dislocated legs and a broken wrist. He would be out for the majority of the season. Meanwhile it seemed that there could not be a weekend without a major crash. Andrea Montermini, who had replaced Ratzenberger, had a major crash in qualifying in Spain. Although his life was not in danger, he would miss the season as both his legs were broken after the crash. Schumacher took pole ahead of Hill, Häkkinen, Lehto, Barrichello and Alesi. At the start, Alesi got ahead of both Barrichello and Lehto with Coulthard getting ahead of Barrichello as well. Schumacher led Hill, Häkkinen, Alesi, Lehto and Coulthard. Schumacher pulled away until he began to have gear selection problems and was stuck in fifth gear. During the stops, Schumacher amazingly was able to start his car without stalling. Behind, there was action in the pits as Coulthard stalled and Alesi had troubles, dropping down four places. Schumacher, still in the lead, was struggling and was passed by Hill. During the second round of pit stops, Barrichello spun off near the pit entry and Schumacher was once again able to make a pitstop and not stall the car. Häkkinen was right with him but did not have a chance to attack as his engine failed on lap 49. Lehto took third, but his engine failed as well five laps later. Brundle took the place, but his transmission also failed with a single lap to go. Hill won from Schumacher who was a superb second, Blundell, Alesi, Pierluigi Martini and Irvine.

There were no major crashes in qualifying in Canada with Schumacher on pole ahead of Alesi, Berger, Hill, Coulthard and Barrichello. At the start, Coulthard surprised Hill and Häkkinen got ahead of Barrichello. Schumacher led from Alesi, Berger, Coulthard, Hill and Häkkinen. Hill passed Coulthard on lap 4 but Coulthard retook the place on the outside. Coulthard ultimately waved Hill through on lap 9. Hill now set off after Berger, passing him on lap 15. During the stops, Hill got by Alesi with Häkkinen getting ahead of Coulthard. Häkkinen closed up on Berger but was unable to pass. Although it began to rain on lap 40, still there were no major changes at the top, with the top 6 remaining unaltered. On lap 62, Häkkinen's engine blew up, putting him out. On the last lap, Barrichello and Blundell were fighting for sixth when they collided, with Blundell beached in the gravel trap and Barrichello dropping behind Fittipaldi and Lehto. Fittipaldi was then disqualified for an underweight car, giving sixth to Lehto. Schumacher won ahead of Hill, Alesi, Berger, Coulthard and Lehto.

France was the venue for the next grand prix and Mansell was going to race for Williams as it would not interfere with his CART racing. Benetton had put Lehto in as their third driver and given the second seat behind Schumacher to Verstappen. Frenchman Jean-Marc Gounon took the second Simtek seat alongside David Brabham. The Williams' took 1-2 in qualifying with Hill on pole ahead of Mansell, Schumacher, Alesi, Berger and Irvine. At the start Schumacher showed class to slice between both Williams' to take the lead while Barrichello got ahead of Irvine. Schumacher led ahead of Hill, Mansell, Alesi, Berger and Barrichello. Schumacher pulled away as usual with Hill unable to keep up. During the stops, Alesi got ahead of Mansell and Berger got by Barrichello. Berger then passed Mansell on lap 24. The order settled down at Schumacher, Hill, Alesi, Berger, Mansell and Barrichello. Alesi soon pitted, dropping to fifth. He then spun on lap 42, and was hit by Barrichello as he tried to rejoin, taking both out. Mansell was planning only to stop twice and took third when Berger pitted but retired on lap 46 when his transmission failed. Häkkinen, now fourth, retired two laps later with a blown engine. There were no changes in the third round of stops although Katayama spun off from fifth soon after, on lap 54. Schumacher won once again from Hill, Berger, Frentzen, Martini and de Cesaris.

Hill took pole position in front of his home crowd in Britain ahead of Schumacher, Berger, Alesi, Häkkinen and Barrichello. There was controversy as Schumacher passed Hill in the parade lap, then let him get by and repeat the cycle once more. At the start, Barrichello was the man on the move, getting by Alesi and Häkkinen. Hill led Schumacher, Berger, Barrichello, Alesi and Häkkinen. Hill and Schumacher stayed together, separated by two seconds until it was decided that Schumacher was given a five-second stop-go penalty for passing Hill on the parade lap. However, the team refused to accept and Schumacher stayed out. During the stops, Alesi and Häkkinen were quick and got by Berger and Barrichello. Schumacher was then shown a black flag which meant he must return to the pits and park his car, however Benetton continued to negotiate and Schumacher returned to the pits. He stayed there for five seconds and went back out, which Benetton said was the stop-go penalty, rejoining in second. The black flag was still shown but Benetton ignored it and Schumacher raced on. On lap 33, Berger went out with an engine failure. Hill won with Schumacher second but Schumacher was disqualified for ignoring the black flag and was banned for two races. This meant that Hill kept his win ahead of Alesi, Häkkinen, Barrichello, Coulthard (who was back) and Katayama.

Thus, at the halfway stage of the championship, Schumacher was well ahead of the field with 66 points. Hill was a distant second with 39, Alesi third with 19, Berger fourth with 17, Barrichello fifth with 10, Häkkinen sixth with 8, Brundle seventh with 6 and Larini eighth with 6. In the Constructors Championship, Benetton were comfortably ahead with 67 points, 24 points ahead of Williams on 43. Ferrari were also right there, just a single point behind on 42, with McLaren fourth on 14.

Benetton had appealed against Schumacher's ban and he was able to race while the decision was pending. The second half of the season started in Germany but the Schumacher fans went home disappointed as the Ferrari's took 1-2 in qualifying. Berger took pole ahead of Alesi, Hill, Schumacher down in fourth, Katayama and Coulthard. At the start Katayama got ahead of Hill and Schumacher and then Schumacher got by Hill. There was mayhem behind as Häkkinen hit Brundle and spun off, taking out Frentzen, Barrichello and Irvine, as well as knocking Coulthard's front wing out of place. Brundle braked to avoid the mess but was hit by Herbert, taking Herbert out. Behind, there was a collision between Martini and Alex Zanardi, taking out de Cesaris and Alboreto in the process. On the run down to the first chicane Alesi slowed with an electrical problem and retired in the pits, but also blocked Katayama, allowing both Schumacher and Hill to attack. Schumacher went through but Hill messed up and hit Katayama, knocking out his front wing. Coulthard had to go on with a damaged car for an extra lap while the team put a new wing on Hill's car and sent him away. Brundle and Coulthard also rejoined after repairs as Berger was leading from Schumacher, Katayama, Olivier Panis, Bernard and Fittipaldi. Katayama retired on lap 7 with throttle troubles as Verstappen passed Fittipaldi. It was time for the stops and Verstappen retired with a major fire as fuel spilled on the bodywork of the car. Schumacher retired on lap 20 with an engine failure. Berger took an emotional win which he dedicated to Senna ahead of Panis, Bernard, Fittipaldi, Morbidelli and Comas.

The news before Hungary was that Häkkinen had been banned for one race for causing the pile-up in Germany and was replaced by Philippe Alliot. Schumacher was on pole ahead of Hill, Coulthard, Berger, Katayama and Brundle. At the start Irvine and Barrichello were quick and got ahead of Brundle and Katayama. However, they collided into the second corner and took off Katayama as well. Schumacher led Hill, Coulthard, Berger, Brundle and Panis. Early on, Alesi passed Panis for sixth. Nothing changed as the order settled down, with the first round of stops leaving the same order. Finally, there was action behind as Berger stalled during the second round of pit stops and dropped behind Brundle, Alesi and Verstappen. Both Ferrari engines then failed; Alesi's on lap 59 and Berger's on lap 73. Alesi's engine left oil on the track, and Coulthard spun on it into the wall. On the last lap, Brundle stopped with an electrical failure. Schumacher won from Hill, Verstappen, Brundle, Blundell and Panis. Controversy surrounded Benetton following the Verstappen pit-fire at Hockenheim. The team was summoned to appear before the World Motorsport council on 19th October 1994, to explain why a filter had been removed from the refuelling rig. If found guilty, the team would be excluded from the championship but they were acquitted. McLaren were also in the dock over the use of a fully automatic upchange device. They were also acquitted.

Häkkinen was back in Belgium after the ban, with rain in qualifying resulting in a scrambled grid order with Barrichello on pole from Schumacher, Hill, Irvine, Alesi and Verstappen. At the start Alesi was on the move, quickly getting ahead of Irvine and Hill. Schumacher took the lead on the run up the hill with Alesi following him to second soon after and Verstappen then passing Irvine. Schumacher led Alesi, Barrichello, Hill, Verstappen and Irvine. Hill passed Barrichello for third and this became second when Alesi's engine failed on the next lap. Soon Häkkinen passed Irvine but Coulthard dropped back while trying to follow him through. Barrichello was passed by Verstappen and then Häkkinen attacked him. Barrichello cracked under the pressure and spun off on lap 20 into the wall, ending his race. On the next lap, Schumacher had a 360 degree spin and his lead was reduced when he rejoined. He kept a five second lead during the stops in which Häkkinen got ahead of Verstappen. On lap 35, Coulthard passed Irvine, who then retired on lap 41 with three laps to go, with an alternator failure. Schumacher won but was disqualified after the race because the wooden stepped flat bottom on Schumacher's car had been excessively worn away and he was running illegally low which can give the car better speed and cornering. Hill was reclassified as the winner ahead of Häkkinen, Verstappen, Coulthard, Blundell and Morbidelli.

Schumacher's ban stood after appeal and he would miss Italy and Portugal. He was replaced by Lehto. In Italy, the Ferrari fans were sent wild as their drivers took 1-2 in qualifying, Alesi on pole ahead of Berger, Hill, Johnny Herbert, Coulthard and Panis. At the start, Herbert and Irvine got ahead of the Williams' but Irvine hit Herbert and Herbert spun, causing mayhem behind and a red flag. The second start was uneventful with Coulthard getting ahead of Herbert and Häkkinen getting ahead of Panis. Alesi led Berger, Hill, Coulthard, Herbert and Häkkinen. While the Ferrari's pulled away (Alesi pulling away from Berger), Häkkinen passed Herbert who retired on lap 13 when his alternator failed. Alesi then pitted but his car refused to engage a gear when he tried to rejoin resulting in his retirement. During Berger's stop, he was blocked by another car which was going into the pit. In his frustration, he accidentally stalled the car and lost over 10 seconds, dropping back to third. Coulthard also got ahead of Hill during the stops, however Hill passed Coulthard on lap 29 to take the lead. Berger was closing in on them both, however the Williams' held him off and looked set to finish 1-2 until Coulthard ran off on the last lap. Hill won from Berger, Häkkinen, Barrichello, Brundle and Coulthard, who was classified sixth.

With three-quarters of the season gone, Schumacher who has served one race of his two-race ban led the championship with 76 points, but Hill, second with 65 points was just 11 points behind. Berger was third with 33, Alesi fourth with 19, Häkkinen fifth with 18, Barrichello sixth with 13, Brundle seventh with 11 and Verstappen eighth with 8. In the Constructors Championship, Benetton led with 85 points but Williams were hot on their heels with 73. Ferrari were not too far behind on 58 with McLaren fourth on 29.

Schumacher was still out as the field went to Portugal. In qualifying, Berger took pole ahead of Hill, Coulthard, Häkkinen, Alesi and Katayama. At the start, Coulthard got ahead of Hill and Alesi was ahead of Häkkinen. Berger was leading Coulthard, Hill, Alesi, Häkkinen and Katayama. Berger only lasted until lap 8 when his gearbox failed, promoting Barrichello to the points. Just before the stops, Katayama's gearbox also failed, on lap 27. The stops did not change the order, with Coulthard leading ahead of Hill, Alesi, Häkkinen, Barrichello and Brundle. Coulthard went wide while lapping a backmarker on lap 33, and Hill edged ahead. On lap 39, when Alesi was coming up to lap David Brabham, they collided and both were out. Soon afterwards, Verstappen passed Brundle to take fifth. The second round of stops did not change anything. Hill won with Coulthard second, giving Williams a 1-2 and the lead in the Constructors Championship, ahead of Häkkinen, Barrichello, Verstappen and Brundle.

Now to the new race in Jerez and there was major news. Schumacher was back after his ban and with the CART season over, Mansell replaced Coulthard in order to help Williams in the Constructors battle. Schumacher took pole ahead of Hill, Mansell, Frentzen, Berger and Barrichello. At the start, Hill took the lead from Schumacher while Mansell went backwards, losing three places with Barrichello getting ahead of Berger. Hill led from Schumacher, Frentzen, Barrichello, Berger and Mansell. Mansell quickly passed Berger and then Barrichello to get up to fourth. During the stops, Hill messed up and the team, afraid that he would lose the lead, sent him back out too quickly without giving him enough fuel. Schumacher however was already ahead and Hill had to stop again for fuel. When he rejoined, he was over 20 seconds behind. Mansell too was slow and Barrichello was ahead of him. Mansell tried to pass him and there was contact. Both had to pit, with Mansell dropping to seventh and Barrichello going well down. The result was the same when Berger attacked Frentzen but damage was minor. They rejoined in sixth and seventh, behind Häkkinen, Irvine and Mansell, with Berger ahead. Mansell, now fifth, spun off on lap 48 into retirement while trying to close the gap to Irvine. Schumacher won ahead of Hill, Häkkinen, Irvine, Berger and Frentzen.

With just two more races to go, there was a major battle for the Drivers Championship. Schumacher led the championship with 86 points, but Hill was right behind with 81. Berger was third with 35, Häkkinen fourth with 26, Alesi fifth with 19, Barrichello sixth with 16, Coulthard seventh with 14 and Brundle eighth with 12. The Constructors Championship was even closer as Benetton led with 97 points and Williams a mere 2 points behind on 95. Ferrari were third with 60, while McLaren were fourth with 38.

Before Japan, Benetton signed up Herbert and demoted Verstappen to third driver in order to help them in the Constructors battle. Schumacher took pole ahead of Hill, Frentzen, Mansell, Herbert and Irvine. At the start the track was wet and it was raining heavily. Mansell went backwards again with Alesi getting ahead of Irvine. Schumacher was leading Hill, Frentzen, Herbert, Alesi and Irvine. Herbert spun off on lap 4 and retired, while Mansell soon passed Irvine. On lap 14, Morbidelli crashed with Brundle crashing straight into his car while the marshals were around. Although none were hit by the car, one was hit by debris and suffered a broken leg; the race was stopped. The race restarted after some time behind the Safety Car and Frentzen ran wide into the first corner, dropping down three places. Schumacher, who was just ahead on track but 6 seconds ahead on aggregate pitted early. He rejoined 17 seconds behind Hill on aggregate but soon the gap was up to 30 seconds before it stabilized. This meant that Hill rejoined 7 seconds ahead when he pitted but he rejoined on dry tyres on a wet track. On lap 36, Schumacher took the lead on aggregate and then on track, two laps later. He pulled away at over 3 seconds a lap and grew to 20 seconds in aggregate before the track began to dry. The gap was reduced to 15 seconds before Schumacher pitted for dry tyres, rejoining 5 seconds behind. Hill held the gap and won to reduce his deficit in the Drivers Championship to 1 point, as well as giving Williams a 5 point lead in the Constructors Championship going into the last race, ahead of Schumacher, Alesi, Mansell, Irvine and Frentzen.

Both Championships were going to be decided in Australia and Mansell took pole ahead of Schumacher, Hill, Häkkinen, Barrichello and Irvine. At the start, Mansell dropped backwards as was proving usual, with Irvine getting ahead of Barrichello, leaving the front six as Schumacher, Hill, Häkkinen, Irvine, Mansell and Barrichello. Schumacher and Hill, separated by a second pulled away at an astonishing rate from the field. Mansell took fourth from Irvine on lap 10 and six laps later, Irvine spun off into the wall and retired. It did not take long for Mansell to pass Häkkinen but even then he was lapping over a second slower than Schumacher and Hill. During the stops, Schumacher and Hill stayed just over a second apart, while, behind, Berger got ahead of Alesi and both got ahead of Barrichello. Soon Berger passed Häkkinen, with Alesi following him through three laps later. On lap 35, Schumacher went wide at the East Terrace corner and brushed the wall. He lost time but it was unclear whether his car was damaged or not, because Hill was suddenly right behind him and attacking. Both tried to take the racing line and they collided. Schumacher retired immediately while Hill went back slowly to the pits and retired. Schumacher was the World Champion, amid much controversy over whether he had purposefully taken both out. Mansell and the Ferrari's fought for the lead, but Alesi lost a full lap and dropped down to eighth during the second round of stops because of trouble fixing a tyre and then stalling his car while trying to leave. Behind, Brundle got ahead of Barrichello. On lap 77, Häkkinen's brakes failed, sending him into the wall and into retirement. Mansell took his 31st career win ahead of Berger, Brundle, Barrichello, Panis and Alesi.

Thus, at the end of the season, Schumacher with 92 points pipped Hill on 91 by just one point. Controversy and speculation abounded, however the FIA took no action as Williams, who were still dealing with Senna's death, did not protest. Berger came third with 41, Häkkinen fourth with 26, Alesi fifth with 24, Barrichello sixth with 19, Brundle seventh with 16 and Coulthard eighth with 14. In the Constructors Championship, Williams with 118 points beat Benetton on 103 but the battle was much closer. Ferrari were third with 71 and McLaren were fourth with 42. Under the current points system (10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1), Hill would have been World Champion.

Drivers and constructors

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1994 FIA Formula One World Championship.

1994 Constructors Championship final standings

ee also

*Allegations of cheating in the 1994 Formula One season
*Death of Ayrton Senna

References