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1994 German Grand Prix

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1994 German Grand Prix
Race 9 of 16 in the 1994 Formula One World Championship
Race details
Date 31 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 United Kingdom David Coulthard Williams-Renault
Time 1:46.211 on lap 11
Podium
First Ferrari
Second Ligier-Renault
Third Ligier-Renault
Lap leaders
The starting grid
Gerhard Berger and the two Ligiers
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.

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

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

Qualifying report

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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

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Pos No Driver Constructor Q1 time Q2 time Gap
1 28 Austria Gerhard Berger Ferrari 1:44.616 1:43.582
2 27 France Jean Alesi Ferrari 1:45.272 1:44.012 +0.430
3 0 United Kingdom Damon Hill Williams-Renault 1:44.026 1:44.131 +0.444
4 5 Germany Michael Schumacher Benetton-Ford 1:44.875 1:44.268 +0.686
5 3 Japan Ukyo Katayama Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:46.534 1:44.718 +1.136
6 2 United Kingdom David Coulthard Williams-Renault 1:45.477 1:45.146 +1.564
7 4 United Kingdom Mark Blundell Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:45.814 1:45.474 +1.892
8 7 Finland Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Peugeot 1:45.487 1:45.878 +1.905
9 30 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Mercedes 1:46.488 1:45.893 +2.311
10 15 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Jordan-Hart 1:45.911 1:45.942 +2.329
11 14 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Jordan-Hart 1:45.962 1:45.939 +2.357
12 26 France Olivier Panis Ligier-Renault 1:47.925 1:46.185 +2.603
13 8 United Kingdom Martin Brundle McLaren-Peugeot 1:46.644 1:46.218 +2.636
14 25 France Éric Bernard Ligier-Renault 1:47.531 1:46.290 +2.708
15 12 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Lotus-Mugen-Honda 1:48.621 1:46.630 +3.048
16 10 Italy Gianni Morbidelli Footwork-Ford 1:47.814 1:46.817 +3.235
17 9 Brazil Christian Fittipaldi Footwork-Ford 1:47.150 1:47.102 +3.520
18 29 Italy Andrea de Cesaris Sauber-Mercedes 1:47.745 1:47.235 +3.653
19 6 Netherlands Jos Verstappen Benetton-Ford 40:34.496 1:47.316 +3.734
20 23 Italy Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford 1:47.831 1:47.402 +3.820
21 11 Italy Alessandro Zanardi Lotus-Mugen-Honda 1:47.678 1:47.425 +3.843
22 20 France Érik Comas Larrousse-Ford 1:48.770 1:48.229 +4.647
23 24 Italy Michele Alboreto Minardi-Ford 1:48.402 1:48.295 +4.713
24 19 Monaco Olivier Beretta Larrousse-Ford 1:48.681 1:48.875 +5.099
25 31 Australia David Brabham Simtek-Ford 1:50.685 1:48.870 +5.288
26 32 France Jean-Marc Gounon Simtek-Ford 1:50.361 1:49.204 +5.622
DNQ 33 France Paul Belmondo Pacific-Ilmor 1:51.916 1:51.122 +7.540
DNQ 34 France Bertrand Gachot Pacific-Ilmor 1:52.839 1:51.292 +7.710
Sources:[1][2][3]

Race report

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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.

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. 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, 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

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Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 28 Austria Gerhard Berger Ferrari 45 1:22:37.272 1 10
2 26 France Olivier Panis Ligier-Renault 45 + 54.779 12 6
3 25 France Éric Bernard Ligier-Renault 45 + 1:05.042 14 4
4 9 Brazil Christian Fittipaldi Footwork-Ford 45 + 1:21.609 17 3
5 10 Italy Gianni Morbidelli Footwork-Ford 45 + 1:30.544 16 2
6 20 France Érik Comas Larrousse-Ford 45 + 1:45.445 22 1
7 19 Monaco Olivier Beretta Larrousse-Ford 44 + 1 lap 24  
8 0 United Kingdom Damon Hill Williams-Renault 44 + 1 lap 3  
Ret 32 France Jean-Marc Gounon Simtek-Ford 39 Engine 26  
Ret 31 Australia David Brabham Simtek-Ford 37 Clutch 25  
Ret 5 Germany Michael Schumacher Benetton-Ford 20 Engine 4  
Ret 8 United Kingdom Martin Brundle McLaren-Peugeot 19 Engine 13  
Ret 2 United Kingdom David Coulthard Williams-Renault 17 Electrical 6  
Ret 6 Netherlands Jos Verstappen Benetton-Ford 15 Pit fire 19  
Ret 3 Japan Ukyo Katayama Tyrrell-Yamaha 6 Throttle 5  
Ret 27 France Jean Alesi Ferrari 0 Electrical 2  
Ret 4 United Kingdom Mark Blundell Tyrrell-Yamaha 0 Collision 7  
Ret 7 Finland Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Peugeot 0 Collision 8  
Ret 30 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Mercedes 0 Collision 9  
Ret 15 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Jordan-Hart 0 Collision 10  
Ret 14 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Jordan-Hart 0 Collision 11  
Ret 12 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Lotus-Mugen-Honda 0 Collision 15  
Ret 29 Italy Andrea de Cesaris Sauber-Mercedes 0 Collision 18  
Ret 23 Italy Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford 0 Collision 20  
Ret 11 Italy Alessandro Zanardi Lotus-Mugen-Honda 0 Collision 21  
Ret 24 Italy Michele Alboreto Minardi-Ford 0 Collision 23  
Source:[4]

Championship standings after the race

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References

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  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. ^ a b "Germany 1994 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
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Previous race:
1994 British Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1994 season
Next race:
1994 Hungarian Grand Prix
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1993 German Grand Prix
German Grand Prix Next race:
1995 German Grand Prix