1994 Monaco Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 4 of 16 in the 1994 Formula One season | |||
 | |||
| Date | 15 May 1994 | ||
| Official name | LII Grand Prix Automobile de Monaco | ||
| Location | Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo | ||
| Course | Street circuit | ||
| Course length | 3.328 km (2.068 mi) | ||
| Distance | 78 laps, 259.584 km (161.298 mi) | ||
| Weather | Sunny | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Benetton-Ford | ||
| Time | 1:18.560 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Michael Schumacher | Benetton-Ford | |
| Time | 1:21.076 on lap 35 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Benetton-Ford | ||
| Second | McLaren-Peugeot | ||
| Third | Ferrari | ||
The 1994 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 15 May 1994 at the Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo. The race, which was the fourth round of the 1994 Formula One season, was won by Michael Schumacher and was the first race following the death of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
Report
Background
After the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at the previous race of the season, sweeping changes were announced by the FIA to the rules and regulations of Formula One in a bid to improve safety. The majority were scheduled to come into force after the Monaco Grand Prix, but an 80 km/h pit-lane speed limit was brought into force in time for this race.
Both Williams and Simtek, the teams for whom Senna and Ratzenberger drove, ran only one car each during the race weekend.
Eddie Irvine was serving the third race of his three race ban issued to him for his part in the crash during the Brazilian Grand Prix. Andrea de Cesaris again took Irvine's place at Jordan, whilst Irvine acted as a pit-lane reporter for the ESPN television station.[1]
Practice and qualifying
During the First Free Practice session on Thursday morning Austrian driver Karl Wendlinger had a major accident in the Nouvelle Chicane, after hitting the wall at almost 280 km/h. Wendlinger was in a coma for several weeks and threatened his F1 career. The Sauber Mercedes team decided to withdraw from the race after this incident.
Michael Schumacher claimed the first pole position of his Grand Prix career. Mika Häkkinen qualified second, which was also the highest starting position thus far in his career.
Race
As a mark of respect for the two drivers killed in Imola, the FIA decided to leave the first two grid positions empty for the race and painted them with the colors of the Brazilian and the Austrian flag, for Senna and Ratzenberger respectively. For the first time since the 1959 United States Grand Prix, there was no previous world champion competing in the race and also no former Monaco Grand Prix winner. Also the race only contained four previous race winners; Schumacher, Hill, Berger and Alboreto.
At the start of the race, Damon Hill crashed into the back of Mika Häkkinen's McLaren just before the St. Devote corner. Häkkinen retired straight away but Hill continued for a few corners before retiring with broken front suspension. Gianni Morbidelli and Pierluigi Martini also collided before St. Devote resulting in a retirement for both drivers.
On lap 40, the engine on Mark Blundell's Tyrrell failed leaving oil on the track at St. Devote which Schumacher, leading the race, had to avoid. The second placed Ferrari of Gerhard Berger did slip on the oil, however, and required a three-point turn to escape from the run off area beside the stricken Tyrrell. Berger returned to the track still in his second place, but dirty tyres left him vulnerable to the McLaren of Martin Brundle, who promptly overtook him down the outside of Mirabeau on the same lap. Christian Fittipaldi in his Footwork-Ford ran close behind the Ferrari's of Berger and Alesi in fourth position until his first refuelling stop near the start of the race. Fittipaldi continued to run strongly in a points position until lap 47 when the gearbox failed.
The race was led from start to finish by Michael Schumacher, who continued his perfect start to the 1994 season with four victories in the first four races. As Schumacher also held the fastest lap, this meant he scored the first Grand Slam of his career, and he was the first driver other than Alain Prost or Ayrton Senna to win the Monaco Grand Prix since 1983. The second place scored by Brundle was the equal best result of his career. Michele Alboreto finished sixth in his Minardi to score the final championship point available. This was the last point Alboreto would score in his Formula One career.
Post-race
| “ | This is more or less where I live now so this victory means a lot. I am very pleased that we came here with the car sorted out after a few small problems and we were very competitive. I am very happy that Formula One set such an example. | ” | |
| — Michael Schumacher commenting about victory, Transcript of recording from Grand Prix Racing. | |||
| “ | This is a great day for me and I am so glad to achieve this for my loyal and patient fans. Today was one of the best days in my racing career. I made a perfect start and had a faultless race. It has been a very difficult time. When your five-year-old daughter asks you if it's true [Ayrton] Senna is dead it is difficult to reconcile things. | ” | |
| — Martin Brundle on his second place and Ayrton Senna, Transcript of recording from Grand Prix Racing. | |||
Classification
Qualifying
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 Time | Q2 Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Michael Schumacher |
Benetton-Ford | 1:20.230 | 1:18.560 | |
| 2 | 7 |  Mika Häkkinen |
McLaren-Peugeot | 1:21.881 | 1:19.488 | +0.928 |
| 3 | 28 |  Gerhard Berger |
Ferrari | 1:22.038 | 1:19.958 | +1.398 |
| 4 | 0 |  Damon Hill |
Williams-Renault | 1:22.605 | 1:20.079 | +1.519 |
| 5 | 27 |  Jean Alesi |
Ferrari | 1:22.521 | 1:20.452 | +1.892 |
| 6 | 9 |  Christian Fittipaldi |
Footwork-Ford | 1:23.588 | 1:21.053 | +2.493 |
| 7 | 10 |  Gianni Morbidelli |
Footwork-Ford | 1:23.580 | 1:21.189 | +2.629 |
| 8 | 8 | Martin Brundle |
McLaren-Peugeot | 1:21.580 | 1:21.222 | +2.662 |
| 9 | 23 | Pierluigi Martini |
Minardi-Ford | 1:23.162 | 1:21.288 | +2.728 |
| 10 | 4 | Mark Blundell |
Tyrrell-Yamaha | 1:23.522 | 1:21.614 | +3.054 |
| 11 | 3 |  Ukyo Katayama |
Tyrrell-Yamaha | 1:24.488 | 1:21.731 | +3.171 |
| 12 | 24 | Michele Alboreto |
Minardi-Ford | 1:25.421 | 1:21.793 | +3.233 |
| 13 | 20 | Érik Comas |
Larrousse-Ford | 1:23.514 | 1:22.211 | +3.651 |
| 14 | 15 | Andrea de Cesaris |
Jordan-Hart | 1:24.519 | 1:22.265 | +3.701 |
| 15 | 14 | Rubens Barrichello |
Jordan-Hart | 1:24.731 | 1:22.359 | +3.799 |
| 16 | 12 | Johnny Herbert |
Lotus-Mugen-Honda | 1:24.103 | 1:22.375 | +3.815 |
| 17 | 6 | JJ Lehto |
Benetton-Ford | 1:23.885 | 1:22.679 | +4.119 |
| 18 | 19 |  Olivier Beretta |
Larrousse-Ford | 1:24.126 | 1:23.025 | +4.465 |
| 19 | 11 |  Pedro Lamy |
Lotus-Mugen-Honda | 1:25.859 | 1:23.858 | +5.298 |
| 20 | 26 | Olivier Panis |
Ligier-Renault | 1:25.115 | 1:24.131 | +5.571 |
| 21 | 25 | Éric Bernard |
Ligier-Renault | 1:27.694 | 1:24.377 | +5.817 |
| 22 | 31 |  David Brabham |
Simtek-Ford | 1:26.690 | 1:24.656 | +6.096 |
| 23 | 34 | Bertrand Gachot |
Pacific-Ilmor | 1:48.173 | 1:26.082 | +7.522 |
| 24 | 33 | Paul Belmondo |
Pacific-Ilmor | 1:29.984 | 8:36.897 | +11.424 |
| WD | 30 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen |
Sauber-Mercedes | |||
| WD | 29 | Karl Wendlinger |
Sauber-Mercedes | |||
Race
Championship standings after the race
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References
- ↑ ESPN Speedworld: Formula 1 Grand Prix of Monaco. 1994.
- ↑ "1994 Monaco Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 6 November 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1994 Monaco Grand Prix. |
| Previous race: 1994 San Marino Grand Prix |
FIA Formula One World Championship 1994 season |
Next race: 1994 Spanish Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1993 Monaco Grand Prix |
Monaco Grand Prix | Next race: 1995 Monaco Grand Prix |
Coordinates: 43°44′4.74″N 7°25′16.8″E / 43.7346500°N 7.421333°E