After six seasons driving for McLaren Ayrton Senna moved to Williams for the 1994 Formula 1 season. Senna won three Formula 1 World Championship titles with McLaren but did not fell they would be competitive with Peugeot engines. He was unable to join Williams in 1993 due to his old rival Alain Prost refusing to have Senna as his team-mate. When Prost retired at the end of the season the way was left clear for Senna to join Damon Hill.
Michael Schumacher remained at Benetton for 1994, with new team-mate JJ Lehto. The Sauber team enjoyed a promising debut season in 1993 and kept on Karl Wendlinger, along with new recruit Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Martin Brundle moved from Ligier to McLaren, where Mika Hakkinen kept his race seat after impressive showings at the end of the previous season. Eddie Irvine landed a full time drive with Jordan, after driving in the final two Grands Prix of 1993. The Irishman seemed to attract controversy. Senna had punched him after an argument at Suzuka and Irvine would soon be the centre of attention again.
Two new teams appeared on the Formula 1 grid in 1994, Simtek and Pacific. Simtek had David Brabham driving for them, a son of the triple World Champion Jack Brabham. In the other car was Austrian Formula 1 rookie Roland Ratzenberger. Pacific’s drivers were Bertrand Gachot and Paul Belmondo.
Schumacher Wins First Two Formula 1 Races
Williams and Senna were expected to dominate the 1994 season but, with the removal of electronic driver aids, the car proved tricky to set up and did not handle nearly as well as its predecessor. In Brazil Senna managed to get pole, ahead of Schumacher. Jean Alesi qualified third, a promising result for the new Ferrari. Hill was fourth in the other Williams and Frentzen an excellent fifth in the Sauber.
Senna led the race until the first pit stops, when Schumacher emerged ahead. Further back a huge accident occurred when Brundle, Verstappen (who was replacing an injured Lehto at Benetton) and Irvine came up to lap Eric Bernard’s Ligier. Irvine was later identified as the cause of the crash and banned for three races. Senna struggled to keep up with Schumacher and eventually spun into retirement. Schumacher won from Hill, with Alesi third and Barrichello fourth for Jordan. Ukyo Katayama was fifth in his Tyrrell and Wendlinger sixth.
The Pacific Grand Prix, at the TI Aida circuit, was a new race on the Formula 1 calendar. Senna again claimed pole, only to go out at the first corner when Hakkinen hit the Williams from behind and Nicola Larini (replacing an injured Alesi at Ferrari) crashed into Senna, having nowhere else to go.
Schumacher led the race from an impressive Hakkinen, until the Fin retired with a hydraulic failure. Hill had an eventful race, twice charging through the field, before his gearbox broke. At the flag it was Schumacher from Gerhard Berger’s Ferrari, over one minute behind. Barrichello took the final podium spot, followed by Christian Fittipaldi, Frentzen and Erik Comas.
