By the time of the 1994 British Grand Prix Michael Schumacher had a considerable lead in the World Championship. The pre-season title favourite, Ayrton Senna, had been killed at Imola along with Formula 1 newcomer Roland Ratzenberger.
Hill Wins Home Formula 1 Race at Silverstone
David Coulthard was back in the second Williams at Silverstone, after Nigel Mansell made an appearance in the car at Magny-Cours. The Scotsman had a disastrous British Grand Prix debut, starting from the back of the grid after stalling and then spinning shortly after the start.
Damon Hill started from pole at his home race, with Schumacher’s Benetton second and then the Ferrari’s of Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi in third and fourth respectively. Hill kept his lead at the start, but Schumacher was soon in trouble. The German was handed a stop-go penalty for overtaking Hill during the warm-up lap. Schumacher stayed out while his team argued their case.
Schumacher found himself leading from Hill after the pit stops, but was then given a black flag. Eventually he pitted for his stop-go penalty, rejoining in fourth and coming home second. It was in vain, as he was later excluded from the results and his Benetton team fined. Hill won the Grand Prix from Alesi. Mika Hakkinen finished third, followed by Rubens Barrichello, Coulthard and Ukyo Katayama in the Tyrrell.
Berger and Ferrari Win German Grand Prix
From Hockenheim onwards all Formula 1 cars had to be fitted with wooden planks on their underside. This was in a bid to reduce downforce and slow cornering speeds. Excessive wear, as a result of running the car too low, would result in disqualification.
The powerful Ferrari engine was suited to the Hockenheim track, and Berger swept to pole ahead of his team-mate Alesi. Hill was third in the Williams, followed by local hero Schumacher. Katayama had an impressive session, qualifying his Tyrrell fifth.
Berger led away from Alesi and Katayama, but behind there was carnage. Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Rubens Barrichello, Johnny Herbert, Eddie Irvine, Mark Blundell, Hakkinen, Alex Zanardi, Pierluigi Martini, Michele Alboreto and Andrea De Cesaris were all out of the race at the first corner. Alesi joined them soon after when his Ferrari engine failed.
Schumacher made his way past Katayama’s Tyrrell to run second behind Berger. The Japanese driver’s good showing lasted just a handful of laps before he was forced to retire with a sticking throttle. Jos Verstappen had a major scare when his Benetton caught fire during a refuelling stop. Verstappen and several of his mechanics were left with minor burns.
The home crowd were left disappointed when Schumacher retired from the race with a blown engine. The final classification had an unusual look to it. Berger won, followed by the two Ligier drivers. Olivier Panis finished second and Eric Bernard third. Then came the two Footworks, with Christian Fittipaldi ahead of Gianni Morbidelli. The final World Championship point went to Erik Comas in a Larrousse.
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