Australian GP 1994

Australian GP, 1994

There had been some changes to the field since Suzuka with the pay-drivers taking over. Larrousse was down to Jean-Denis Deletraz and Hideki Noda while Simtek had replaced Taki Inoue with Mimmo Schiattarella. Otherwise the field was the same as it had been in Suzuka. In qualifying Michael Schumacher was under pressure and crashed heavily on Friday afternoon. He was second behind Nigel Mansell (Williams). On Saturday it was raining and so the grid was set with Damon Hill third, Mika Hakkinen (McLaren-Peugeot) fourth ahead of the two Jordans of Rubens Barrichello and Eddie Irvine. Johnny Herbert (Benetton) was seventh, followed by Jean Alesi 's Ferrari, Martin Brundle's McLaren and Heinz-Harald Frentzen's Sauber.

At the start Schumacher edged ahead of Mansell and Damon Hill did the same. But this time Hill did not fall away and chased after Schumacher pressuring him all the way. Mansell made a mistake and allowed Hakkinen and Barrichello to pass him. It took 15 laps before Mansell could repass Rubens and go after Hakkinen. When the pit stops began the order was shuffled but the two leaders stayed out and on lap 32 Schumacher cracked under the pressure and went off and hit a wall. Hill tried to pass the German but Schumacher turned into his path. The Benetton was launched up onto two wheels and then went nose first into a tyre barrier. Schumacher was out but Hill's suspension was damaged and he crawled round to the pits where he retired. Michael Schumacher was the World Champion.

The accident left Mansell in the lead, with Berger on his tail and behind them came Alesi, Hakkinen, Barrichello and Brundle. Alesi had a slow stop soon afterwards and dropped away. The battle between Mansell and Berger was a lively one. Eventually Berger made a mistake and dropped back leaving Mansell to win. Brundle claimed third while Hakkinen disappeared with a large accident while running fourth, leaving the place to Barrichello. Olivier Panis (Ligier-Renault) and Alesi completed the top six.

POSNODRIVERENTRANTLAPSTIME/RETIREMENTQUAL POS
1 2 Nigel Mansell Williams-Renault  81 1h47m51.480s  1 
2 28 Gerhard Berger Ferrari  81 1h47m53.991s  11 
3 8 Martin Brundle McLaren-Peugeot  81 1h48m43.967s  9 
4 14 Rubens Barrichello Jordan-Hart  81 1h49m02.010s  5 
5 26 Olivier Panis Ligier-Renault  80  12 
6 27 Jean Alesi Ferrari  80  8 
7 30 Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Mercedes  80  10 
8 9 Christian Fittipaldi Footwork-Cosworth  80  19 
9 23 Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Cosworth  79  18 
10 29 JJ Lehto Sauber-Mercedes  79  17 
11 25 Franck Lagorce Ligier-Renault  79  20 
12r 7 Mika Hakkinen McLaren-Peugeot  76 Brakes/accident 4 
r 24 Michele Alboreto Minardi-Cosworth  69 Accident/suspension 16 
r 4 Mark Blundell Tyrrell-Yamaha  66 Accident 13 
r 20 Jean-Denis Deletraz Larrousse-Cosworth  56 Gearbox 25 
r 11 Mika Salo Lotus-Mugen Honda  49 Electrics 22 
r 31 David Brabham Simtek-Cosworth  49 Engine 24 
r 12 Alessandro Zanardi Lotus-Mugen Honda  40 Throttle 14 
r 0 Damon Hill Williams-Renault FW16 35 Accident/front Suspension 3 
r 5 Michael Schumacher Benetton-Cosworth  35 Accident 2 
r 32 Mimmo Schiattarella Simtek-Cosworth  21 Gear Lever 26 
r 3 Ukyo Katayama Tyrrell-Yamaha  19 Spin 15 
r 19 Hideki Noda Larrousse-Cosworth  18 Oil Leak 23 
r 10 Gianni Morbidelli Footwork-Cosworth  17 Oil Scavenge Pump 21 
r 15 Eddie Irvine Jordan-Hart  15 Spin 5 
r 6 Johnny Herbert Benetton-Cosworth  13 Gearbox 7 
nq 33 Paul Belmondo Pacific-Ilmor     
nq 34 Bertrand Gachot Pacific-Ilmor