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The 1994 Japanese Grand Prix, otherwise known as the XXI Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix (XXフジテレビ日本グランプリ in Japanese) was the fifteenth and penultimate round of the 1994 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture, Japan, on the 6 November 1994.[1] Staged in incredibly wet conditions, which was a major factor in causing a red flag, the race would see Damon Hill beat Michael Schumacher to victory, leaving him a point behind the German ace heading into the season finale in Australia.[1]

The build-up to the race saw numerous seat changes, with Johnny Herbert leaving Ligier-Renault to join Benetton-Ford Cosworth, while Lotus convinced Mika Salo to race for them.[1] Elsewhere, Karl Wendlinger returned to Sauber-Mercedes, while Japanese driver Taki Inoue was handed his debut with the Simtek-Ford Cosworth squad.[1]

Qualifying would see Schumacher sweep to pole position in dry conditions, beating Hill in a straight fight.[1] Heinz-Harald Frentzen was best of the rest for Sauber-Mercedes, while Nigel Mansell got his Williams-Renault into fourth, with pressure on him to support Hill in the title fight.[1]

Rain would fall constantly on race day, meaning everyone would start on wet tyres.[1] The start itself would see Schumacher make a poor getaway, with the German instantly slithering across the circuit to block Hill into the first corner, allowing Frentzen to briefly attempt a lunge around the outside of both title contenders through turn one.[1]

Ultimately, however, Frentzen would hold back, only to try a lunge on Hill on lap two and send himself skating off the circuit.[1] That move came as the rain began to pound the circuit harder, resulting in the safety car making an appearance, albeit not before an accident had further thinned the field.[1]

The source was Herbert, who spun into the pitwall exiting the final corner, to be followed by Ukyo Katayama and Inoue a few moments later.[1] After seven laps the wreckage was cleared and the race resumed, with Schumacher still leading Hill, as Gerhard Berger dropped out with an engine failure.[1]

However, it was not long before the race was brought to a complete half, with Gianni Morbidelli flying off the circuit in his Footwork-Ford Cosworth.[1] Indeed, a huge accident had all but destroyed the Italian's car, although it was only when Martin Brundle skated into the scene and hit the marshals assisting Morbidelli that the red flag was thrown.[1]

Fortunately there were no life-threatening injuries, although one marshal was left with a badly broken leg.[1] It did, however, leave just fifteen relatively healthy cars ready to take the restart, with long negotiations between the teams required before the race could resume.[1]

The restart came behind the safety, with Schumacher pitting a few laps after the green flag was shown, handing Hill the lead.[1] The German ace would subsequently remain behind the Brit when the #0 Williams made its stop, although with the race set to be decided on aggregate times Schumacher was technically still ahead.[1]

Indeed, Benetton had gambled on the race remaining wet and running to time rather than distance, and hence had altered their plan to run a one-stop strategy.[1] This, ultimately, proved to be the wrong call, for the track would dry dramatically in the closing stages, resulting in Schumacher burning through his tyres and hence requiring another stop.[1]

That left Schumacher too far behind to challenge Hill, who duly crossed the line with a three second lead on aggregate to claim victory ahead of the German.[1] Jean Alesi, meanwhile, was almost a full minute behind in third ahead of Mansell, while Eddie Irvine and Frentzen claimed the remaining points.[1]

Background[]

The Suzuka Circuit was unchanged for the 1994 event, and was hosting the Japanese Grand Prix for the eighth consecutive year; the tenth Japanese Grand Prix in total as a round of the Formula One World Championship.

Since the previous round in Jerez, experienced driver, Andrea de Cesaris announced his immediate retirement from F1 after 214 races without a win. He would be replaced by JJ Lehto who had been unseated at Benetton by Johnny Herbert. Also leaving the sport ahead of this event was Frenchman, Éric Bernard, who was replaced by débutant, Mika Salo. Two other teams turned to new blood for the Japanese Grand Prix: Ligier promoted reserve driver, Franck Lagorce, to a race seat to replace Herbert, who had moved to Benetton, and Simtek hired their 6th driver of a tragic season, Taki Inoue, to their driver line-up.

Going into the event, Michael Schumacher held a five point lead over Damon Hill. Schumacher could win the World Championship by outscoring the Williams driver by five points or more. Schumacher's team, Benetton-Ford, held a slender one two point advantage over Williams-Renault: only a one-two finish could potentially secure the title in Japan, depending on other results.

Entry list[]

The full entry list for the 1994 Japanese Grand Prix is outlined below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
0 United Kingdom Damon Hill United Kingdom Rothmans Williams Renault Williams FW16B Renault RS6 3.5 V10 G
2 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell United Kingdom Rothmans Williams Renault Williams FW16B Renault RS6 3.5 V10 G
3 Japan Ukyo Katayama United Kingdom Tyrrell Racing Organisation Tyrrell 022 Yamaha OX10B 3.5 V10 G
4 United Kingdom Mark Blundell United Kingdom Tyrrell Racing Organisation Tyrrell 022 Yamaha OX10B 3.5 V10 G
5 Germany Michael Schumacher United Kingdom Mild Seven Benetton Ford Benetton B194 Ford Cosworth ECA Zetec-R 3.5 V8 G
6 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert United Kingdom Mild Seven Benetton Ford Benetton B194 Ford Cosworth ECA Zetec-R 3.5 V8 G
7 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom Marlboro McLaren Peugeot McLaren MP4/9 Peugeot A6 3.5 V10 G
8 United Kingdom Martin Brundle United Kingdom Marlboro McLaren Peugeot McLaren MP4/9 Peugeot A6 3.5 V10 G
9 Brazil Christian Fittipaldi United Kingdom Footwork Ford Footwork FA15 Ford Cosworth HBE7/8 3.5 V8 G
10 Italy Gianni Morbidelli United Kingdom Footwork Ford Footwork FA15 Ford Cosworth HBE7/8 3.5 V8 G
11 Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Team Lotus Lotus 109 Mugen-Honda MF351HC 3.5 V10 G
12 Italy Alex Zanardi United Kingdom Team Lotus Lotus 109 Mugen-Honda MF351HC 3.5 V10 G
14 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ireland Sasol Jordan Jordan 194 Hart 1035 3.5 V10 G
15 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Ireland Sasol Jordan Jordan 194 Hart 1035 3.5 V10 G
19 Japan Hideki Noda France Tourtel Larrousse F1 Larrousse LH94 Ford Cosworth HBF7/8 3.5 V8 G
20 France Érik Comas France Tourtel Larrousse F1 Larrousse LH94 Ford Cosworth HBF7/8 3.5 V8 G
23 Italy Pierluigi Martini Italy Minardi Scuderia Italia Minardi M194 Ford Cosworth HBC7/8 3.5 V8 G
24 Italy Michele Alboreto Italy Minardi Scuderia Italia Minardi M194 Ford Cosworth HBC7/8 3.5 V8 G
25 France Franck Lagorce France Ligier Gitanes Blondes Ligier JS39B Renault RS6 3.5 V10 G
26 France Olivier Panis France Ligier Gitanes Blondes Ligier JS39B Renault RS6 3.5 V10 G
27 France Jean Alesi Italy Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 412T1B Ferrari 043 3.5 V12 G
28 Austria Gerhard Berger Italy Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 412T1B Ferrari 043 3.5 V12 G
29 Finland JJ Lehto Switzerland Sauber Mercedes Sauber C13 Mercedes 2175B 3.5 V10 G
30 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Switzerland Sauber Mercedes Sauber C13 Mercedes 2175B 3.5 V10 G
31 Australia David Brabham United Kingdom MTV Simtek Ford Simtek S941 Ford Cosworth HBD6 3.5 V8 G
32 Japan Taki Inoue United Kingdom MTV Simtek Ford Simtek S941 Ford Cosworth HBD6 3.5 V8 G
33 France Paul Belmondo United Kingdom Ursus Pacific Grand Prix Pacific PR01 Ilmor 2175A 3.5 V10 G
34 France Bertrand Gachot United Kingdom Ursus Pacific Grand Prix Pacific PR01 Ilmor 2175A 3.5 V10 G
Source:[2]

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

Friday Qualifying[]

Saturday Qualifying[]

Qualifying Results[]

The full qualifying results for the 1994 Japanese Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Time Gap
Q1 Q2
1 5 Germany Michael Schumacher United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth 1:37.209 1:57.128
2 0 United Kingdom Damon Hill United Kingdom Williams-Renault 1:37.696 1:57.278 +0.487s
3 30 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Switzerland Sauber-Mercedes 1:37.742 1:56.935 +0.533s
4 2 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell United Kingdom Williams-Renault 1:37.768 2:00.963 +0.559s
5 6 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth 1:37.828 1:59.729 +0.619s
6 15 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Ireland Jordan-Hart 1:37.880 1:57.760 +0.671s
7 27 France Jean Alesi Italy Ferrari 1:37.907 1:58.610 +0.698s
8 7 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom McLaren-Peugeot 1:37.998 1:58.204 +0.789s
9 8 United Kingdom Martin Brundle United Kingdom McLaren-Peugeot 1:38.076 1:56.876 +0.877s
10 14 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ireland Jordan-Hart 1:38.533 2:01.905 +1.324s
11 28 Austria Gerhard Berger Italy Ferrari 1:38.570 1:58.926 +1.361s
12 10 Italy Gianni Morbidelli United Kingdom Footwork-Ford Cosworth 1:39.030 2:07.293 +1.821s
13 4 United Kingdom Mark Blundell United Kingdom Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:39.266 2:02.266 +2.057s
14 3 Japan Ukyo Katayama United Kingdom Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:39.462 2:04.187 +2.253s
15 29 Finland JJ Lehto Switzerland Sauber-Mercedes 1:39.483 1:59.943 +2.274s
16 23 Italy Pierluigi Martini Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 1:39.548 2:01.929 +2.339s
17 12 Italy Alex Zanardi United Kingdom Lotus-Mugen-Honda 1:39.721 2:02.077 +2.512s
18 9 Brazil Christian Fittipaldi United Kingdom Footwork-Ford Cosworth 1:39.868 2:00.084 +2.659s
19 26 France Olivier Panis France Ligier-Renault 1:40.042 2:00.575 +2.833s
20 25 France Franck Lagorce France Ligier-Renault 1:40.577 2:02.780 +3.368s
21 24 Italy Michele Alboreto Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 1:40.652 2:02.219 +3.443s
22 20 France Érik Comas France Larrousse-Ford Cosworth 1:40.978 2:01.035 +3.769s
23 19 Japan Hideki Noda France Larrousse-Ford Cosworth 1:40.990 2:05.354 +3.781s
24 31 Australia David Brabham United Kingdom Simtek-Ford Cosworth 1:41.659 2:09.453 +4.450s
25 11 Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Lotus-Mugen-Honda 1:41.805 2:01.637 +4.596s
26 32 Japan Taki Inoue United Kingdom Simtek-Ford Cosworth 1:45.004 +7.795s
DNQ 34 France Bertrand Gachot United Kingdom Pacific-Ilmor 1:46.374 +9.165s
DNQ 33 France Paul Belmondo United Kingdom Pacific-Ilmor 1:46.629 +9.420s
Source:[3][4][5]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
  • Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.

Starting Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 1 ______________
Michael Schumacher 2
______________ Damon Hill
Row 2 3 ______________
Heinz-Harald Frentzen 4
______________ Nigel Mansell
Row 3 5 ______________
Johnny Herbert 6
______________ Eddie Irvine
Row 4 7 ______________
Jean Alesi 8
______________ Mika Häkkinen
Row 5 9 ______________
Martin Brundle 10
______________ Rubens Barrichello
Row 6 11 ______________
Gerhard Berger 12
______________ Gianni Morbidelli
Row 7 13 ______________
Mark Blundell 14
______________ Ukyo Katayama
Row 8 15 ______________
JJ Lehto 16
______________ Pierluigi Martini
Row 9 17 ______________
Alessandro Zanardi 18
______________ Christian Fittipaldi
Row 10 19 ______________
Olivier Panis 20
______________ Franck Lagorce
Row 11 21 ______________
Michele Alboreto 22
______________ Érik Comas
Row 12 23 ______________
Hideki Noda* 24
______________ David Brabham
Row 13 25 ______________
Mika Salo 26
______________ Taki Inoue
  • * Noda started the race from the pit lane.

Race[]

Report[]

Results[]

The full results for the 1994 Japanese Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 0 United Kingdom Damon Hill United Kingdom Williams-Renault 50 1:55:53.532 2 10
2 5 Germany Michael Schumacher United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth 50 +3.365s 1 6
3 27 France Jean Alesi Italy Ferrari 50 +52.045s 7 4
4 2 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell United Kingdom Williams-Renault 50 +56.074s 4 3
5 15 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Ireland Jordan-Hart 50 +1:42.107 6 2
6 30 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Switzerland Sauber-Mercedes 50 +1:59.863 3 1
7 7 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom McLaren-Peugeot 50 +2:02.985 8
8 9 Brazil Christian Fittipaldi United Kingdom Footwork-Ford Cosworth 49 +1 Lap 18
9 20 France Érik Comas France Larrousse-Ford Cosworth 49 +1 Lap 22
10 11 Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Lotus-Mugen-Honda 49 +1 Lap 25
11 26 France Olivier Panis France Ligier-Renault 49 +1 Lap 19
12 31 Australia David Brabham United Kingdom Simtek-Ford Cosworth 48 +2 Laps 24
13 12 Italy Alex Zanardi United Kingdom Lotus-Mugen-Honda 48 +2 Laps 17
Ret 4 United Kingdom Mark Blundell United Kingdom Tyrrell-Yamaha 26 Engine 13
Ret 14 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ireland Jordan-Hart 16 Gearbox 10
Ret 8 United Kingdom Martin Brundle United Kingdom McLaren-Peugeot 13 Spun Off 9
Ret 10 Italy Gianni Morbidelli United Kingdom Footwork-Ford Cosworth 13 Spun Off 12
Ret 28 Austria Gerhard Berger Italy Ferrari 10 Battery 11
Ret 25 France Franck Lagorce France Ligier-Renault 10 Collision 20
Ret 23 Italy Pierluigi Martini Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 10 Collision 16
Ret 24 Italy Michele Alboreto Minardi-Ford Cosworth 10 Spun Off 21
Ret 6 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth 3 Spun Off 5
Ret 3 Japan Ukyo Katayama United Kingdom Tyrrell-Yamaha 3 Spun Off 14
Ret 32 Japan Taki Inoue United Kingdom Simtek-Ford Cosworth 3 Spun Off 26
Ret 29 Finland JJ Lehto Switzerland Sauber-Mercedes 0 Engine 15
Ret 19 Japan Hideki Noda France Larrousse-Ford Cosworth 0 Spun Off PL
DNQ 34 France Bertrand Gachot United Kingdom Pacific-Ilmor
DNQ 33 France Paul Belmondo United Kingdom Pacific-Ilmor
Source:[6]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.

Milestones[]

Standings[]

Damon Hill's sixth victory of the season left the British driver just a point behind Championship leader Michael Schumacher ahead of the season finale, meaning it would be winner takes all in Australia. Indeed, if Schumacher finished ahead of the Brit that he would become the first German World Champion, while Hill had to finish fifth or higher just to overhaul Schumacher's tally. Elsewhere, Gerhard Berger was secure in third ahead of Mika Häkkinen, with the Finn set to battle with Jean Alesi for fourth.

The Constructors Championship was also to go down to the finale in Adelaide, with Williams-Renault and Benetton-Ford Cosworth separated by just five points. It was the former who held the advantage ahead of the finale, having moved ahead of the latter as a result of the battle of Japan. Various permutations could see either team win, with a one-two for either guaranteeing them the title, while Ferrari were set to finish a distant third.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 Germany Michael Schumacher 92
2 United Kingdom Damon Hill 91
3 Austria Gerhard Berger 35
4 Finland Mika Häkkinen 26
5 France Jean Alesi 23
6 Brazil Rubens Barrichello 16
7 United Kingdom David Coulthard 14
8 United Kingdom Martin Brundle 12
9 Netherlands Jos Verstappen 10
10 United Kingdom Mark Blundell 8
11 France Olivier Panis 7
12 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen 7 ▲2
13 Italy Nicola Larini 6 ▼1
14 Brazil Christian Fittipaldi 6 ▼1
15 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine 6 ▲2
16 Japan Ukyo Katayama 5 ▼1
17 France Éric Bernard 4 ▼1
18 Austria Karl Wendlinger 4
19 Italy Andrea de Cesaris 4
20 Italy Pierluigi Martini 4
21 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell 3 ▲14
22 Italy Gianni Morbidelli 3 ▼1
23 France Érik Comas 2 ▼1
24 Finland JJ Lehto 1 ▼1
25 Italy Michele Alboreto 1 ▼1
World Championship for Constructors
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom Williams-Renault 108 ▲1
2 United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth 103 ▼1
3 Italy Ferrari 64
4 United Kingdom McLaren-Peugeot 38
5 Ireland Jordan-Hart 25
6 United Kingdom Tyrrell-Yamaha 13
7 Switzerland Sauber-Mercedes 12 ▲1
8 France Ligier-Renault 11 ▼1
9 United Kingdom Footwork-Ford Cosworth 9
10 Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 5
11 France Larrousse-Ford Cosworth 2

Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.

References[]

Images and Videos:

References:

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 'Japanese GP, 1994', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr563.html, (Accessed 06/08/2019)
  2. 'Japan 1994: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1994/japon/engages.aspx, (Accessed 06/08/2019)
  3. 'Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix - QUALIFYING 1', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1994/races/619/japan/qualifying-1.html, (Accessed 06/08/2019)
  4. 'Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix - QUALIFYING 2', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1994/races/619/japan/qualifying-2.html, (Accessed 06/08/2019)
  5. 'Japan 1994: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1994/japon/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 04/08/2019)
  6. 'Japan 1994: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1994/japon/classement.aspx, (Accessed 06/08/2019)
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 '1994 Japanese GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1994&gp=Japanese%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 06/08/2019)
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 '15. Japan 1994', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1994/japon.aspx, (Accessed 06/08/2019)
V T E Japan Japanese Grand Prix
Circuits Fuji (1976–1977, 2007–2008), Suzuka (1987–2006, 2009–present)
SuzukaCircuit2005
Races 197619771978–1986 • 19871988198919901991199219931994 • 19951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023
See also Pacific Grand Prix
V T E 1994 Formula One Season
Teams Williams • Tyrrell • Benetton • McLaren • Footwork • Lotus • Jordan • Larrousse • Minardi • Ligier • Ferrari • Sauber • Simtek • Pacific
Engines Ferrari • Ford • Hart • Ilmor • Mercedes • Mugen-Honda • Peugeot • Renault • Yamaha
Drivers Hill • 2 Senna • 2 Coulthard • 2 Mansell • 3 Katayama • 4 Blundell • 5 Schumacher • 5/6 Lehto • 6 Verstappen • 6 Herbert • 7 Häkkinen • 7 Alliot • 8 Brundle • 9 Fittipaldi • 10 Morbidelli • 11 Lamy • 11/12 Zanardi • 11 Adams • 11 Bernard • 11 Salo • 12 Herbert • 14 Barrichello • 15 Irvine • 15 Suzuki • 15 De Cesaris • 19 Beretta • 19 Alliot • 19 Dalmas • 19 Noda • 20 Comas • 20 Délétraz • 23 Martini • 24 Alboreto • 25 Bernard • 25 Herbert • 25 Lagorce • 26 Panis • 27 Alesi • 27 Larini • 28 Berger • 29 Wendlinger • 29 De Cesaris • 29 Lehto • 30 Frentzen • 31 Brabham • 32 Ratzenberger • 32 Montermini • 32 Gounon • 32 Schiattarella • 32 Inoue • 33 Belmondo • 34 Gachot
Other Drivers Magnussen • McNish
Cars Williams FW16 • Williams FW16B • Tyrrell 022 • Benetton B194 • McLaren MP4/9 • Footwork FA15 • Lotus 107C • Lotus 109 • Jordan 194 • Larrousse LH94 • Minardi M193B • Minardi M194 • Ligier JS39B • Ferrari 412T1 • Ferrari 412T1B • Sauber C13 • Simtek S941 • Pacific PR01
Tyres Goodyear
Races Brazil • Pacific • San Marino • Monaco • Spain • Canada • France • Britain • Germany • Hungary • Belgium • Italy • Portugal • Europe • Japan • Australia
See also 1993 Formula One Season • 1995 Formula One Season • Category
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