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The 1995 Belgian Grand Prix, otherwise known as the LIII Grand Prix de Belgique, was the eleventh round of the 1995 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Spa, Belgium, on the 27 August 1995.[1] The race would be won in controversial circumstances by Michael Schumacher, with the German ace throwing some very dangerous defensive moves to keep Damon Hill at bay.[1]

Weather would dictate the weekend, and hence resulted in a rather bizarre grid, with Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi sharing the front row for Ferrari.[1] Mika Häkkinen was next ahead of Johnny Herbert, while title protagonists Hill and Schumacher found themselves down in eighth and sixteenth respectively.[1]

The start of the race saw Herbert make a barnstorming getaway, sprinting into La Source to challenge Alesi for the lead.[1] David Coulthard and Hill also made strong starts and so ran in third and fourth, with track damp but dry enough for slicks after pre-race rain.[1]

Alesi eventually secured the lead of the race, only for a suspension failure to end his race, while Herbert's pace evaporated as the track dried.[1] That left Coulthard at the head of the field ahead of Hill, with the Scot surprisingly able to pull clear of his Williams-Renault teammate, while Schumacher had battled his way up into fifth.[1]

Schumacher picked up two more places to move into third, just in time to see Coulthard's bid for a maiden victory end with a gearbox failure.[1] Hill duly inherited the lead until he stopped for fresh slick tyres, with Schumacher briefly leading until he came in for his own fresh slicks.[1]

However, within a few laps of the German's stop rain would sweep across the circuit, prompting Hill to pit for wets as the safest option.[1] Schumacher, in contrast, was told by the Benetton team to stay out, who believed that the circuit would soon dry out and hence was their only chance at beating Williams.[1]

Initially that gamble appeared to have backfired, for as masterly as Schumacher was able to keep his slick-shod car on the circuit, his pace was significantly slower than Hill's.[1] It was not long before the #1 Benetton had its mirrors full of the #5 Williams, with Schumacher opting to take his defensive driving to a whole new level.[1]

Indeed, Schumacher would do everything in his power to keep Hill's Williams at bay, almost literally pushing Hill off circuit at every opportunity.[1] Hill would go the stewards after the race about the German's actions, with the pair rubbing wheels as Schumacher tried to run Hill off circuit at Blanchimont.[1]

Evenutally Hill would get ahead of Schumacher, the German's resistance finally breaking as the Benetton slithered onto the grass.[1] Unfortunately for Hill his move came just as the track began to dry again, resulting in Schumacher breezing back past the Williams a little over a lap later.[1]

That prompted Hill to stop for slicks, only for the rain to return and cause everyone to stop for wets, the majority pitting under a hastily called safety car.[1] That left Hill right on Schumacher's tail, only for the Brit to get slapped with a ten second stop-go for speeding in the pitlane, and hence dropping to third behind Martin Brundle.[1]

With that the fight for victory was over, with Schumacher easing clear of Brundle to claim victory.[1] Hill, meanwhile, would pull off a daring move on the final lap to relieve Brundle of second, with the Ligier-Mugen-Honda ultimately finishing in third, Brundle's final podium appearance.[1] The remaining points were split between Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Mark Blundell and Rubens Barrichello.[1]

Background[]

Victory for Damon Hill would alleviate fears that Michael Schumacher was simply going to runaway with the title, the Brit leaving Hungary eleven behind the German ace. Indeed, it seemed as if the pair had very similar pace, and it was only the unreliability and accident factor that was keeping the two apart in the Championship. Jean Alesi, meanwhile, had lost ground in third, while David Coulthard had moved ahead of Johnny Herbert to secure fourth.

Benetton-Renault had seen their lead atop the Constructors Championship severely wounded, leaving Hungary with only six points in hand over the team in second. That team was Williams-Renault, with their first one-two of the season carrying them ahead of Ferrari and onto Benetton's similarly powered tail. Ferrari themselves, meanwhile, would slip eleven points behind Williams, but still had a huge margin over fourth placed Jordan-Peugeot.

Entry list[]

The full entry list for the 1995 Belgian Grand Prix is outlined below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 Germany Michael Schumacher United Kingdom Mild Seven Benetton Renault Benetton B195 Renault RS7B 3.0 V10 G
2 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert United Kingdom Mild Seven Benetton Renault Benetton B195 Renault RS7B 3.0 V10 G
3 Japan Ukyo Katayama United Kingdom Nokia Tyrrell Yamaha Tyrrell 023 Yamaha OX10C 3.0 V10 G
4 Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Nokia Tyrrell Yamaha Tyrrell 023 Yamaha OX10C 3.0 V10 G
5 United Kingdom Damon Hill United Kingdom Rothmans Williams Renault Williams FW17 Renault RS7B 3.0 V10 G
6 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom Rothmans Williams Renault Williams FW17 Renault RS7B 3.0 V10 G
7 United Kingdom Mark Blundell United Kingdom Marlboro McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4/10B Mercedes FO 110 3.0 V10 G
8 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom Marlboro McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4/10B Mercedes FO 110 3.0 V10 G
9 Italy Max Papis United Kingdom Footwork Hart Footwork FA16 Hart 830 3.0 V8 G
10 Japan Taki Inoue United Kingdom Footwork Hart Footwork FA16 Hart 830 3.0 V8 G
14 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ireland Total Jordan Peugeot Jordan 195 Peugeot A10 3.0 V10 G
15 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Ireland Total Jordan Peugeot Jordan 195 Peugeot A10 3.0 V10 G
16 Italy Giovanni Lavaggi United Kingdom Pacific Grand Prix Pacific PR02 Ford Cosworth EDC 3.0 V8 G
17 Italy Andrea Montermini United Kingdom Pacific Grand Prix Pacific PR02 Ford Cosworth EDC 3.0 V8 G
21 Brazil Pedro Diniz Italy Parmalat Forti Ford Forti FG01 Ford Cosworth EDD 3.0 V8 G
22 Brazil Roberto Moreno Italy Parmalat Forti Ford Forti FG01 Ford Cosworth EDD 3.0 V8 G
23 Portugal Pedro Lamy Italy Minardi Scuderia Italia Minardi M195 Ford Cosworth EDM 3.0 V8 G
24 Italy Luca Badoer Italy Minardi Scuderia Italia Minardi M195 Ford Cosworth EDM 3.0 V8 G
25 United Kingdom Martin Brundle France Ligier Gitanes Blondes Ligier JS41 Mugen-Honda MF-301 3.0 V10 G
26 France Olivier Panis France Ligier Gitanes Blondes Ligier JS41 Mugen-Honda MF-301 3.0 V10 G
27 France Jean Alesi Italy Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 412T2 Ferrari 044/1 3.0 V12 G
28 Austria Gerhard Berger Italy Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 412T2 Ferrari 044/1 3.0 V12 G
29 France Jean-Christophe Boullion Switzerland Red Bull Sauber Ford Sauber C14 Ford Cosworth ECA Zetec-R 3.0 V8 G
30 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Switzerland Red Bull Sauber Ford Sauber C14 Ford Cosworth ECA Zetec-R 3.0 V8 G
Source:[2]

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

Friday Qualifying[]

Saturday Qualifying[]

Qualifying Results[]

The full qualifying results for the 1995 Belgian Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Time Gap
Q1 Q2
1 28 Austria Gerhard Berger Italy Ferrari 2:14.744 1:54.392
2 27 France Jean Alesi Italy Ferrari 2:15.077 1:54.631 +0.239s
3 8 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 2:15.848 1:55.435 +1.043s
4 2 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert United Kingdom Benetton-Renault 1:56.085 +1.693s
5 6 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom Williams-Renault 2:15.232 1:56.254 +1.862s
6 7 United Kingdom Mark Blundell United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 2:18.136 1:56.622 +2.230s
7 15 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 2:16.540 1:57.001 +2.609s
8 5 United Kingdom Damon Hill United Kingdom Williams-Renault 2:15.143 1:57.768 +3.376s
9 26 France Olivier Panis France Ligier-Mugen-Honda 2:17.579 1:58.021 +3.629s
10 30 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Switzerland Sauber-Ford Cosworth 2:15.533 1:58.148 +3.756s
11 4 Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Tyrrell-Yamaha 2:18.104 1:58.224 +3.832s
12 14 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 2:17.144 1:58.293 +3.901s
13 25 United Kingdom Martin Brundle France Ligier-Mugen-Honda 2:17.207 1:58.314 +3.922s
14 29 France Jean-Christophe Boullion Switzerland Sauber-Ford Cosworth 2:17.406 1:58.356 +3.964s
15 3 Japan Ukyo Katayama United Kingdom Tyrrell-Yamaha 2:18.194 1:58.551 +4.159s
16 1 Germany Michael Schumacher United Kingdom Benetton-Renault 2:14.962 1:59.079 +4.687s
17 23 Portugal Pedro Lamy Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 2:18.547 1:59.256 +4.864s
18 10 Japan Taki Inoue United Kingdom Footwork-Hart 2:23.311 2:00.990 +6.598s
19 24 Italy Luca Badoer Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 2:17.335 2:01.013 +6.621s
20 9 Italy Max Papis United Kingdom Footwork-Hart 2:19.300 2:01.685 +7.293s
21 17 Italy Andrea Montermini United Kingdom Pacific-Ford Cosworth 2:25.291 2:02.405 +8.013s
22 22 Brazil Roberto Moreno Italy Forti-Ford Cosworth 2:23.417 2:03.817 +9.425s
23 16 Italy Giovanni Lavaggi United Kingdom Pacific-Ford Cosworth 2:26.311 2:06.407 +12.015s
24 21 Brazil Pedro Diniz Italy Forti-Ford Cosworth 2:25.699 2:09.537 +15.145s
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.

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 ______________ 1
2 Gerhard Berger
Jean Alesi ______________
Row 2 ______________ 3
4 Mika Häkkinen
Johnny Herbert ______________
Row 3 ______________ 5
6 David Coulthard
Mark Blundell ______________
Row 4 ______________ 7
8 Eddie Irvine
Damon Hill ______________
Row 5 ______________ 9
10 Olivier Panis
Heinz-Harald Frentzen ______________
Row 6 ______________ 11
12 Mika Salo
Rubens Barrichello ______________
Row 7 ______________ 13
14 Martin Brundle
Jean-Christophe Boullion ______________
Row 8 ______________ 15
16 Ukyo Katayama
Michael Schumacher ______________
Row 9 ______________ 17
18 Pedro Lamy
Taki Inoue ______________
Row 10 ______________ 19
20 Luca Badoer
Max Papis ______________
Row 11 ______________ 21
22 Andrea Montermini
Roberto Moreno ______________
Row 12 ______________ 23
24 Giovanni Lavaggi
Pedro Diniz ______________

Race[]

Report[]

Results[]

The full results for the 1995 Belgian Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1 Germany Michael Schumacher United Kingdom Benetton-Renault 44 1:36:47.875 16 10
2 5 United Kingdom Damon Hill United Kingdom Williams-Renault 44 +19.493s 8 6
3 25 United Kingdom Martin Brundle France Ligier-Mugen-Honda 44 +24.998s 13 4
4 30 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Switzerland Sauber-Ford Cosworth 44 +26.972s 10 3
5 7 United Kingdom Mark Blundell United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 44 +33.772s 6 2
6 14 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 44 +39.674s 12 1
7 2 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert United Kingdom Benetton-Renault 44 +54.043s 4
8 4 Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Tyrrell-Yamaha 44 +54.548s 11
9 26 France Olivier Panis France Ligier-Mugen-Honda 44 +1:06.170 9
10 23 Portugal Pedro Lamy Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 44 +1:19.789 17
11 29 France Jean-Christophe Boullion Switzerland Sauber-Ford Cosworth 43 +1 Lap 14
12 10 Japan Taki Inoue United Kingdom Footwork-Hart 43 +1 Lap 18
13 21 Brazil Pedro Diniz Italy Forti-Ford Cosworth 42 +2 Laps 24
14 22 Brazil Roberto Moreno Italy Forti-Ford Cosworth 42 +2 Laps 22
Ret 3 Japan Ukyo Katayama United Kingdom Tyrrell-Yamaha 28 Spin 15
Ret 16 Italy Giovanni Lavaggi United Kingdom Pacific-Ford Cosworth 27 Gearbox 23
Ret 24 Italy Luca Badoer Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 23 Accident 19
Ret 28 Austria Gerhard Berger Italy Ferrari 22 Electrical 1
Ret 15 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 21 Fire 7
Ret 9 Italy Max Papis United Kingdom Footwork-Hart 20 Spin 20
Ret 17 Italy Andrea Montermini United Kingdom Pacific-Ford Cosworth 18 Out of fuel 21
Ret 6 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom Williams-Renault 13 Gearbox 5
Ret 27 France Jean Alesi Italy Ferrari 4 Suspension 2
Ret 8 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1 Spin 3
Source:[6]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.

Milestones[]

Standings[]

Victory for Michael Schumacher ensured that the German ace extended his Championship lead, although he was on the verge of missing a race if he received another reprimand. Regardless, Schumacher left Spa with fifteen points in hand over Damon Hill in second, with the Brit realistically the only man capable of challenging the German. Behind, another pointless weekend for Jean Alesi saw him lose more ground in third, with David Coulthard and Johnny Herbert completing the top five.

In the Constructors Championship Benetton-Renault had gained some breathing room, moving ten clear of Williams-Renault at the head of the hunt. Those two were hence set to fight for the crown amongst themselves, with Ferrari having slipped 27 points behind the leaders after another weekend of poor reliability. Behind, Ligier-Mugen-Honda had moved into fourth ahead of Jordan-Peugeot, while McLaren-Mercedes and Sauber-Ford Cosworth inched closer to the Irish squad.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 Germany Michael Schumacher 66
2 United Kingdom Damon Hill 51
3 France Jean Alesi 32
4 United Kingdom David Coulthard 29
5 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert 28
6 Austria Gerhard Berger 25
7 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen 10 ▲2
8 Brazil Rubens Barrichello 8
9 France Olivier Panis 8 ▼2
10 United Kingdom Martin Brundle 7 ▲3
11 United Kingdom Mark Blundell 7 ▲1
12 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine 6 ▼2
13 Finland Mika Häkkinen 5 ▼2
14 France Jean-Christophe Boullion 2
15 Japan Aguri Suzuki 1
16 Italy Gianni Morbidelli 1
World Championship for Constructors
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom Benetton-Renault 84
2 United Kingdom Williams-Renault 74
3 Italy Ferrari 57
4 France Ligier-Mugen-Honda 16 ▲1
5 Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 14 ▼1
6 United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 12
7 Switzerland Sauber-Ford Cosworth 12
8 United Kingdom Footwork-Hart 1

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 1.22 'Belgian GP, 1995', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr575.html, (Accessed 10/08/2019)
  2. 'Belgium 1995: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1995/belgique/engages.aspx, (Accessed 10/08/2019)
  3. 'Belgian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING 1', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1995/races/631/belgium/qualifying-1.html, (Accessed 10/08/2019)
  4. 'Belgian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING 2', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1995/races/631/belgium/qualifying-2.html, (Accessed 10/08/2019)
  5. 'Belgium 1995: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1995/belgique/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 10/08/2019)
  6. 'Belgium 1995: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1995/belgique/classement.aspx, (Accessed 10/08/2019)
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 '11. Belgium 1995', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1995/belgique.aspx, (Accessed 10/08/2019)
  8. 8.0 8.1 '1995 Belgian GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1995&gp=Belgian%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 10/08/2019)
V T E Belgium Belgian Grand Prix
Circuits Spa-Francorchamps (1950 - 1970, 1983, 1985 - Present), Nivelles (1972, 1974), Zolder (1973, 1975 - 1982, 1984)
Track map of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium
Races 19501951195219531954195519561957195819591960196119621963196419651966196719681969197019711972197319741975197619771978197919801981198219831984198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023
Pre-1950 races 1925193019311933193419351937193919471949
V T E 1995 Formula One Season
Teams Benetton • Tyrrell • Williams • McLaren • Footwork • Simtek • Jordan • Pacific • Larrousse • Forti • Minardi • Ligier • Ferrari • Sauber
Engines Ferrari • Ford • Hart • Mercedes • Mugen-Honda • Peugeot • Renault • Yamaha
Drivers Schumacher • 2 Herbert • 3 Katayama • 3 Tarquini • 4 Salo • 5 Hill • 6 Coulthard • 7 Blundell • 7 Mansell • 8 Häkkinen • 8 Magnussen • 9 Morbidelli • 9 Papis • 10 Inoue • 11 Schiattarella • 12 Verstappen • 14 Barrichello • 15 Irvine • 16 Gachot • 16 Lavaggi • 16 Délétraz • 17 Montermini • 19 Bouchut • 20 Comas • 21 Diniz • 22 Moreno • 23 Martini • 23 Lamy • 24 Badoer • 25 Suzuki • 25 Brundle • 26 Panis • 27 Alesi • 28 Berger • 29 Wendlinger • 29 Boullion • 30 Frentzen
Other Drivers Fisichella
Cars Benetton B195 • Tyrrell 023 • Williams FW17 • Williams FW17B • McLaren MP4/10 • McLaren MP4/10B • McLaren MP4/10C • Footwork FA16 • Simtek S951 • Jordan 195 • Pacific PR02 • Larrousse LH95 • Forti FG01 • Minardi M195 • Ligier JS41 • Ferrari 412T2 • Sauber C14
Tyres Goodyear
Races Brazil • Argentina • San Marino • Spain • Monaco • Canada • France • Britain • Germany • Hungary • Belgium • Italy • Portugal • Europe • Pacific • Japan • Australia
See also 1994 Formula One Season • 1996 Formula One Season • Category
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