1994 French Grand Prix Explained

Type:F1
Country:France
Grand Prix:French
Official Name:80e Grand Prix de France[1]
Date:3 July
Year:1994
Race No:7
Season No:16
Location:Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours, France
Course:Permanent racing facility
Course Mi:2.641
Course Km:4.250
Distance Laps:72
Distance Mi:191.140
Distance Km:306.000
Weather:Sunny
Pole Driver:Damon Hill
Pole Team:Williams-Renault
Pole Time:1:16.282
Pole Country:United Kingdom
Fast Driver:Damon Hill
Fast Team:Williams-Renault
Fast Time:1:19.678
Fast Lap:4
Fast Country:United Kingdom
First Driver:Michael Schumacher
First Team:Benetton-Ford
First Country:Germany
Second Driver:Damon Hill
Second Team:Williams-Renault
Second Country:United Kingdom
Third Driver:Gerhard Berger
Third Team:Ferrari
Third Country:Austria

The 1994 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 3 July 1994 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours near Magny-Cours in France. It was the seventh race of the 1994 Formula One World Championship.

The 72-lap race was won by Michael Schumacher, driving a Benetton-Ford. It was Schumacher's sixth victory in seven races. Damon Hill finished second in a Williams-Renault, having started from pole position and led the race, while Gerhard Berger finished third in a Ferrari.

Schumacher now led the Drivers' Championship by 37 points from Hill.

Report

Background

Nigel Mansell made his return to Formula One, driving for Williams-Renault in place of David Coulthard. He had left F1 at the end of 1992 to race in IndyCar. JJ Lehto was rested by Benetton-Ford and was replaced by the test driver Jos Verstappen who had previously deputised for Lehto earlier in the season. Jean-Marc Gounon would drive the second Simtek-Ford following Andrea Montermini's accident at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Race

Olivier Panis and Gianni Morbidelli collided on lap 29. This was the only retirement of the season for Panis. Michael Schumacher won the race ahead of Damon Hill and Gerhard Berger. Heinz-Harald Frentzen finished fourth, his best Formula One finish up to this point. Pierluigi Martini was fifth and Andrea de Cesaris finished sixth. These would prove to be the last world championship points that Martini and de Cesaris scored in their careers, with de Cesaris failing to finish another race in his Formula One career.[2] The ninth place of Jean-Marc Gounon, four laps behind, would be the best result for the Simtek Team, a feat they would only reach once again.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos No Driver Constructor Q1 Time Q2 Time Gap
10 Damon HillWilliams-Renault1:17.5391:16.282
22 Nigel MansellWilliams-Renault1:18.3401:16.359+0.077
35 Michael SchumacherBenetton-Ford1:17.0851:16.707+0.425
427 Jean AlesiFerrari1:17.8551:16.954+0.672
528 Gerhard BergerFerrari1:17.4411:16.959+0.677
615 Eddie IrvineJordan-Hart1:19.4631:17.441+1.159
714 Rubens BarrichelloJordan-Hart1:18.3261:17.482+1.200
86 Jos VerstappenBenetton-Ford1:18.6691:17.645+1.363
97 Mika HäkkinenMcLaren-Peugeot1:19.0411:17.768+1.486
1030 Heinz-Harald FrentzenSauber-Mercedes1:19.3181:17.830+1.548
1129 Andrea de CesarisSauber-Mercedes1:20.1451:17.866+1.584
128 Martin BrundleMcLaren-Peugeot1:18.1121:18.031+1.749
1326 Olivier PanisLigier-Renault1:19.6971:18.044+1.762
143 Ukyo KatayamaTyrrell-Yamaha1:19.9691:18.192+1.910
1525 Éric BernardLigier-Renault1:19.2921:18.236+1.954
1623 Pierluigi MartiniMinardi-Ford1:20.0841:18.248+1.966
174 Mark BlundellTyrrell-Yamaha1:20.0011:18.381+2.099
189 Christian FittipaldiFootwork-Ford1:20.8011:18.568+2.286
1912 Johnny HerbertLotus-Mugen-Honda1:20.1081:18.715+2.433
2020 Érik ComasLarrousse-Ford1:20.5761:18.811+2.529
2124 Michele AlboretoMinardi-Ford1:20.0971:18.890+2.608
2210 Gianni MorbidelliFootwork-Ford1:20.7071:18.936+2.654
2311 Alessandro ZanardiLotus-Mugen-Honda1:20.1221:19.066+2.784
2431 David BrabhamSimtek-Ford1:22.5271:19.771+3.489
2519 Olivier BerettaLarrousse-Ford1:21.9641:19.863+3.581
2632 Jean-Marc GounonSimtek-Ford1:23.2641:21.829+5.547
DNQ34 Bertrand GachotPacific-Ilmor1:24.0481:21.952+5.670
DNQ33 Paul BelmondoPacific-Ilmor1:24.6371:23.004+6.722
Sources:[3] [4] [5]

Race

Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
15 Michael SchumacherBenetton-Ford721:38:35.704310
20 Damon HillWilliams-Renault72+ 12.64216
328 Gerhard BergerFerrari72+ 52.76554
430 Heinz-Harald FrentzenSauber-Mercedes71+ 1 Lap103
523 Pierluigi MartiniMinardi-Ford70+ 2 Laps162
629 Andrea de CesarisSauber-Mercedes70+ 2 Laps111
712 Johnny HerbertLotus-Mugen-Honda70+ 2 Laps19 
89 Christian FittipaldiFootwork-Ford70+ 2 Laps18 
932 Jean-Marc GounonSimtek-Ford68+ 4 Laps26 
104 Mark BlundellTyrrell-Yamaha67+ 5 Laps17 
1120 Érik ComasLarrousse-Ford66Engine20 
Ret3 Ukyo KatayamaTyrrell-Yamaha53Spun Off14 
Ret7 Mika HäkkinenMcLaren-Peugeot48Engine9 
Ret2 Nigel MansellWilliams-Renault45Gearbox2 
Ret27 Jean AlesiFerrari41Collision4 
Ret14 Rubens BarrichelloJordan-Hart41Collision7 
Ret25 Éric BernardLigier-Renault40Gearbox15 
Ret19 Olivier BerettaLarrousse-Ford36Engine25 
Ret8 Martin BrundleMcLaren-Peugeot29Engine12 
Ret10 Gianni MorbidelliFootwork-Ford28Collision22 
Ret26 Olivier PanisLigier-Renault28Collision13 
Ret31 David BrabhamSimtek-Ford28Transmission24 
Ret6 Jos VerstappenBenetton-Ford25Spun Off8 
Ret15 Eddie IrvineJordan-Hart24Gearbox6 
Ret24 Michele AlboretoMinardi-Ford21Engine21 
Ret11 Alessandro ZanardiLotus-Mugen-Honda20Engine23 
Source:[6]

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
PosDriverPoints
1 Michael Schumacher66
2 Damon Hill29
3 Gerhard Berger17
4 Jean Alesi13
5 Rubens Barrichello7
Source: [7]
Constructors' Championship standings
PosConstructorPoints
1 Benetton-Ford67
2 Ferrari36
3 Williams-Renault31
4 Jordan-Hart11
5 McLaren-Peugeot10
Source:

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Motor Racing Programme Covers: 1994 . The Programme Covers Project . 21 October 2017.
  2. Book: Walker, Murray . 1994 . Murray Walker's 1994 Grand Prix Year . Hazleton Publishing . 67 . 1-874557-01-2.
  3. Web site: Grand Prix de France – Qualifying 1. Formula1.com. 29 December 2023.
  4. Web site: Grand Prix de France – Qualifying 2. Formula1.com. 29 December 2023.
  5. Web site: 1994 French GP – Qualification. ChicaneF1. 29 December 2023.
  6. Web site: 2020-02-08. 1994 French Grand Prix - Race Result. 2020-02-08. Formula1.com. en.
  7. Web site: France 1994 - Championship • STATS F1. www.statsf1.com. 17 March 2019.